BRITAIN'S gangs have pushed street crime up nearly 10per cent, Home Secretary John Reid will reveal this week.
The increase in robberies and muggings is linked to a rise in thefts of mobile phones and iPods, which thieves can easily sell for cash. Drug dealers are said to be behind the rise in street crime, making £7,500 a week - as much as Premiership footballers.
It has been on the increase for two years since funding for the Home Office's street crime initiative was removed. But there has been a small fall in total crime.
I think that society as a whole has to take some responsibility for street crime. I was in highschool less than a decade ago and the most we ever had on us in or out of school was a few pounds for food and stuff. Nowadays parents send their 12 year old kids out with mobile phones, mp3 plays and other tech that has hundreds of pounds of value at street level. It's the equivalent of taking out about £150 in notes, rolling it up and putting it in your childs pocket every time they go out and then wondering why street crime is more appealing. Boggles the mind sometimes.
Originally posted by PEACEofMIND: I think that society as a whole has to take some responsibility for street crime. I was in highschool less than a decade ago and the most we ever had on us in or out of school was a few pounds for food and stuff. Nowadays parents send their 12 year old kids out with mobile phones, mp3 plays and other tech that has hundreds of pounds of value at street level. It's the equivalent of taking out about £150 in notes, rolling it up and putting it in your childs pocket every time they go out and then wondering why street crime is more appealing. Boggles the mind sometimes.
Peace
That sounds like a line straight out of David Cameron's book i.e. we need to do more and expect less from those who we look to, to protect us.
Originally posted by PEACEofMIND: I think that society as a whole has to take some responsibility for street crime. I was in highschool less than a decade ago and the most we ever had on us in or out of school was a few pounds for food and stuff. Nowadays parents send their 12 year old kids out with mobile phones, mp3 plays and other tech that has hundreds of pounds of value at street level. It's the equivalent of taking out about £150 in notes, rolling it up and putting it in your childs pocket every time they go out and then wondering why street crime is more appealing. Boggles the mind sometimes.
Peace
That sounds like a line straight out of David Cameron's book i.e. we need to do more and expect less from those who we look to, to protect us.
Is it possible to expect less when in some cases the least is already bieng done?
Originally posted by Deus ex machina: But there has been a small fall in total crime.
This is always the bit that gets me - so the crimes that aren't against the person i.e. the crimes that really concern us are way up (the ones physically against the person), but the ones that are less worrying are down a bit. Great.
There has probably been a small fall in recorded crime, which is a different kettle of fish from total crime. A Downing Street policy review, leaked to The Times just before Christmas, admitted that nine out of ten crimes go unreported or unpunished.
As for street crime being up 10 per cent, this is down to people bringing trouble on themselves by provocatively leaving the safety of their homes and disrespecting the muggers' right to roam. If they get mugged, they have only themselves to blame.
Originally posted by Rabies: There has probably been a small fall in recorded crime, which is a different kettle of fish from total crime. A Downing Street policy review, leaked to The Times just before Christmas, admitted that nine out of ten crimes go unreported or unpunished.
As for street crime being up 10 per cent, this is down to people bringing trouble on themselves by provocatively leaving the safety of their homes and disrespecting the muggers' right to roam. If they get mugged, they have only themselves to blame.
So I have a nice watch - or have the latest phone - and deserve to be attacked and the fault is mine? Sorry the fault is the person who attacks me. This attitude is why people feel they can 'take' what the want - it's not their fault. The lack of any responsibilty is ruining this country.
Originally posted by Rabies: There has probably been a small fall in recorded crime, which is a different kettle of fish from total crime. A Downing Street policy review, leaked to The Times just before Christmas, admitted that nine out of ten crimes go unreported or unpunished.
As for street crime being up 10 per cent, this is down to people bringing trouble on themselves by provocatively leaving the safety of their homes and disrespecting the muggers' right to roam. If they get mugged, they have only themselves to blame.
So I have a nice watch - or have the latest phone - and deserve to be attacked and the fault is mine? Sorry the fault is the person who attacks me. This attitude is why people feel they can 'take' what the want - it's not their fault. The lack of any responsibilty is ruining this country.
Originally posted by Rabies: There has probably been a small fall in recorded crime, which is a different kettle of fish from total crime. A Downing Street policy review, leaked to The Times just before Christmas, admitted that nine out of ten crimes go unreported or unpunished.
As for street crime being up 10 per cent, this is down to people bringing trouble on themselves by provocatively leaving the safety of their homes and disrespecting the muggers' right to roam. If they get mugged, they have only themselves to blame.
So I have a nice watch - or have the latest phone - and deserve to be attacked and the fault is mine? Sorry the fault is the person who attacks me. This attitude is why people feel they can 'take' what the want - it's not their fault. The lack of any responsibilty is ruining this country.
Originally posted by Rabies: There has probably been a small fall in recorded crime, which is a different kettle of fish from total crime. A Downing Street policy review, leaked to The Times just before Christmas, admitted that nine out of ten crimes go unreported or unpunished.
As for street crime being up 10 per cent, this is down to people bringing trouble on themselves by provocatively leaving the safety of their homes and disrespecting the muggers' right to roam. If they get mugged, they have only themselves to blame.
Also, what the policy review may not 'factor in' to all of this, is the effectiveness of the punishments themselves. It's said that ASBO's have had some effect in some areas, but are worn as abadge of honour in others. Prison sentances are short and is it not the case that most prisoners re-offend after their release? If this is so then in some cases where convictions take place, nothing has actually been achieved anyway.
Originally posted by PEACEofMIND: I think that society as a whole has to take some responsibility for street crime. I was in highschool less than a decade ago and the most we ever had on us in or out of school was a few pounds for food and stuff. Nowadays parents send their 12 year old kids out with mobile phones, mp3 plays and other tech that has hundreds of pounds of value at street level. It's the equivalent of taking out about £150 in notes, rolling it up and putting it in your childs pocket every time they go out and then wondering why street crime is more appealing. Boggles the mind sometimes.
Peace
That is actually a very good point. Why do kids need hundred of pounds worth of mobile phones, mp3 players, trainers etc just to walk to school?
Originally posted by Rabies: There has probably been a small fall in recorded crime, which is a different kettle of fish from total crime. A Downing Street policy review, leaked to The Times just before Christmas, admitted that nine out of ten crimes go unreported or unpunished.
As for street crime being up 10 per cent, this is down to people bringing trouble on themselves by provocatively leaving the safety of their homes and disrespecting the muggers' right to roam. If they get mugged, they have only themselves to blame.
So I have a nice watch - or have the latest phone - and deserve to be attacked and the fault is mine? Sorry the fault is the person who attacks me. This attitude is why people feel they can 'take' what the want - it's not their fault. The lack of any responsibilty is ruining this country.
I think he was being ironic..
But if you think about it that's what Cameron is suggesting when he says we need to take personal responsibility.
I don't agree with blaming the victim, but it's true that young kids - who make easy targets - are now routinely carrying hundreds of pounds worth of kit around where in the past they simply wouldn't have.
I wonder what the figures for housebreaking are like - in this era of the twenty quid DVD player one wonders if it's still a lucrative pursuit.
That sounds like a line straight out of David Cameron's book i.e. we need to do more and expect less from those who we look to, to protect us.
I was actually going for a more Lord of the Rings approach with mp3 players as witty modern versions of the ring
Books aside, I never mentioned expecting less from police or the government. But if you survey various countries around the world, the ones that take the view that crime is less of a social responsibility and something that is the responsibility of the police do tend to be the countries with higher crime rates. I think it comes down to an individualist (UK,America for example) and collectivist (China, Japan) country divide. Still there are probably plenty of other factors.
