Originally published @ 10:14 am, Sat 23rd Jan 2010
It was the famous mantra coined by Tony Blair – tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime.
Now it appears that crime has fallen during this latest recession, rather than gone up, suggesting that the focus of the effectiveness of the Police and the new technologies available to both detection and prevention is having an effect.
Figures show a fall nationally and in Derbyshire over the last 12 months.
Since 1997, crime has fallen by 39 per cent and violence is down by 40 per cent.
o The risk of being a victim of crime remains at a historically low level (23%)
o Overall police recorded crime fell by eight per cent on the same quarter (July-September) in 2008
o Recorded violence (with and without injury) is down by 4% on the same quarter in 2008
o The percentage of people who perceive a high level of anti-social behaviour has fallen to 15 per cent, which is the lowest since records began; in Derbyshire, the figure is lower at 12%, a significant drop
Latest Police recorded crime figures in Derbyshire, for the quarter July to September 2009 , compared to the same period in 2008, show total recorded crime down 6 per cent.
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The Tories would have stood by and allowed crimes like burglary and robbery to rise like they did in the downturns of the 1980s and 1990s.
During the 1990s recession, acquisitive crime - burglary, robbery and theft - rose by 19% in 1990 and 18% in 1991.
If crime had followed the pattern of the previous two recessions, over a hundred thousand more homes would have been burgled this year, and over fifteen thousand more people would have been robbed this year, compared to what has actually happened.
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Compared with 1997, the last annual BCS statistics (to the year ending March 2009, published in July 2009) showed the longer term trends:
o Overall crime is down 36 per cent
o Domestic burglary down 54 per cent
o All vehicle-related thefts down 57 per cent
o All household crime down 36 per cent
o All BCS violence down 41 per cent
o All personal crime down 36 per cent
Britain has the lowest murder rate for twenty years. Local perceptions of anti-social behaviour are at their lowest since 2001. Confidence in the police is rising right across the country.
Britain is not broken.
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And a reminder of the Tory record when they were in power –
Tory record on crime 1979-1997
ï Crime doubled
ï Violent crime rose by 168%
ï The number of convictions fell by a third
ï The chance of being a victim of violent crime trebled and being a victim of burglary more than doubled
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