Met officers report violent attacks on a pregnant staff member and an elderly man outside the restaurant in recent months
The Metropolitan Police has warned against extending hours for a McDonald’s on a busy Camden high street after a string of “horrific” crimes at the restaurant.
In June 2025, Camden Council granted the fast food outlet on Finchley Road permission to stay open until 1am for customers and 2am for deliveries, despite opposition from locals and the Met that the burger restaurant was attracting crowds in the early morning hours.
Now that the franchise wants to allow customers in until 2am the Met has once again urged the council to reject the bid amid concerns over a “surprising” number of assaults, raids and public disorder incidents.
Local police licensing officer, PC Chris Malone, cited 19 incidents recorded in 2026. “[This] McDonald’s was always a robbery hotspot,” he said, though adding that police had cracked down on robber tactics such as where suspects sit inside and “wait for potential victims”.
The officer claimed letting in more customers late at night would “give these street robbers more potentially vulnerable targets” and allow thieves and robbers to blend into the background.
PC Malone cited a report from June when an elderly man was assaulted and had his walking stick broken outside the restaurant. The suspect “constantly frequents” the Finchley Road McDonald’s, PC Malone said.
The officer also referenced an incident from December 2025 when three youths “violently attacked” a pregnant staff member.
“The concern is that the venue struggles to deal with violent crimes throughout the day and night. Some of the crimes sound really horrific where even staff are assaulted or threatened,” PC Malone concluded.
The franchisee, Reema Mavani, has promised that the shift manager and employees working in the dining areas will wear body cameras between 11pm and 2am, but this has not been enough to satisfy police officers. Camden’s licensing panel is set to hear the application on Thursday, September 17.
The Finchley Road McDonald’s has seen two armed robberies in the past two decades. In 2011, a trio of masked men – one wielding a sawn-off shotgun – held up the restaurant while an accomplice looked on. All four were later caught and jailed. This followed an earlier raid in 2008 when a group sneaked in through a fire exit and looted the tills while brandishing large swords. They were also identified and sentenced to a total of 16 years.
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