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164 muggings a day in London
Edited for brevity.The extent of street crime in London is revealed in new figures showing there are 164 muggings in the capital every day. A report by independent watchdogs shows that, although street crime has come down from its record high levels of early 2002, it is still higher than at any other time in recent history. It will say that the massive effort to reduce muggings and robberies, involving hundreds of thousands of hours of police time, has produced only a 15 per cent reduction in London. Scotland Yard figures show that Lambeth is the worst of the 32 boroughs for street crime and that, per head of population, Richmond-is the least dangerous. The full report - published tomorrow by Her Majestyâs Inspectors of Constabulary, Probation and Prisons - is the first independent evaluation of the street crime initiative announced by Tony Blair and Home Secretary David Blunthem a valuable asset they can easily sell. It is expected to show that the first six months of the police campaign against street crime - when officers got out of their cars and went on the beat in mugging hotspots - produced a steady fall to an average of 163 muggings a day. But there was a rise in the next six months, leading to the average for the year being 164. The report will also warn that the clear-up rate for street crime is still too low. In London only 9.04 per cent of all street crimes were classified as "cleared-up" last year, far lower than the 14 per cent average for all crimes, but a rise from the 2001-2 figure of 8.7 per cent. Fewer than one in 10 street robberies in London end with someone being charged or cautioned, the worst figure in the country. And, despite the rise in the clearup rate, the fall in numbers of street crimes meant fewer crimes were classifiedas cleared up and fewer muggers went to prison in 2002-3 than in 2001-2. I donât want to be Britain-bashing--theyâre a great ally and I have a world of respect for them--yet I canât believe that such a great nation is so poor at protecting its citizens and condemns and convicts those who defend themselves (e.g. Tony Martin). Can any of our British readers clarify what legal self-defense options a citizen has? Is pepper spray/mace even legal? Posted by: Dar 2003-07-28 |
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