Britian – Recession blamed for the Rise in Crime
Crime is rising in many parts of the country because of the recession but councils are doing all they can to maintain frontline budgets, new research published today by the Local Government Association has revealed.
A survey of town halls in England and Wales found that burglary is on the rise in half of all areas that responded – and one in three authorities has seen an increase in vehicle crime and domestic violence. The LGA study also found that antisocial behaviour and alcohol misuse were also going up. More than three quarters of respondents blamed the recession for the increases.
Anti-social behaviour, fear of crime, alcohol and drug misuse, were each identified by respondents as one of their top three priorities – followed by domestic violence.
The new figures suggest that years of falling crime figures may be coming to an end. But the survey also revealed that local authorities are maintaining their community safety programmes despite ongoing financial constraints. Two-thirds of councils said that these initiatives, which include street wardens or youth projects, were still in place.
The LGA said today that the survey’s findings reinforced the need for councils and the police to be given space to combat crime and for top-down, time consuming initiatives from central government to be halted.
Cllr Les Lawrence, Chairman of the LGA Safer Communities Board, said:
“The recession is clearly causing an increase in certain types of crime. Many parts of the country are witnessing a rise in burglary, vehicle crime, domestic violence and anti-social behaviour.
“Councils and the police are determined to maintain frontline services in the battle against crime and antisocial behaviour. The significant financial pressures local authorities are facing have so far not had a major impact on programmes such as street wardens or youth projects.
“With public funds set to become increasingly scarce, it is vital that councils and the police can concentrate all their efforts on fighting crime without excessive central government interference. Now is not the time for top down initiatives, or anything else that ties councils up in unnecessary bureaucracy.”
Examples of council programmes to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour include:
* The council and police in Warrington set up a town centre neighbouring policing unit to keep track of trouble makers in the town centre. Since the scheme began, violent crime has fallen by 30%.
* In Gorton South, Manchester, a partnership between the police, council and members of the local community has reduced crime overall by 28%, antisocial behaviour by 18% and criminal damage by 17%.
* Havering Council in east London identified the potential risk of a rise in property crime resulting from the recession. A dedicated action group – ‘Safe and Sound’ – was established to focus on commercial robbery, residential burglary and vehicle crime
* Anti-social behaviour incidents in an area of Milton Keynes have fallen after a programme was set up to tackle concerns about large gatherings of youths and under-age drinking
Topics: alcohol, behaviour, burglary, crime, drug use, Economy, fear, recession, theft
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