Agreed Anotherjohn that there was a definite rise in anti social behaviour in the early 90's ( to tie in with the recession then?)but before that it was all good for us and afterwards it did seem to recover for some time.
We used to go drinking in FH and wander back somewhat the worse for wear without ever encountering any problems. Of course in those days there were no Internet Forums to report every incident on so maybe it was a case of us simply not knowing about things unless we actually saw them?
When I first came to London in the mid 70's I spent a lot of time in Tooting / Clapham / New Cross and the Wandsworth Road area where I went to college (PSB) and they really did seem rough - especially the run down bits of Clapham.
When we picked Forest Hill as somewhere to buy a house it seemed much more relaxed to us but I guess its all relative.