Crime over the generations.

[pickle1972]

Old people always harp on about "back in my day".

Crime was bad in the 40's/50's/60's/70's/80's, we just have more outlets in society today that lets us view it.

Yeah this. Its everywhere. Hard not to see absolutely everything that is going on so it makes it seem like it is worse when in reality it maybe isnt the case.
I can't watch the news in detail. I catch up on headlines and threads posted but I find it difficult to watch in detail. I like my little bubble I live in nice and safe

 

[thedoc46]

fumes? lol

I think security camera's and the fact that everyone has a camera on them, and can't wait to load you up onto youtube or paste you all over FB has something to do with it personally.

 

[Greebo]

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/historical-crime-data

Good link is the top one from 1898-2001, then 2003-onwards.

And huge amounts of crime went unreported the further back you go. Especially with sexual crimes like child molesting and rape. They were taboo subjects and didnt get talked about and swept under the carpet.

On an interesting side note, people dont realise the legal age of consent was 12 in this country in 1875 and only became 16 in 1908.

 

[krooton]

Less crime? Pffft don't believe you. I need proof links please

Just so you know, he does work in the police, so knows his stuff more than most of us on this topic

 

[Dave M]

So, is crime far worse today than it was twenty or thirty years ago? If so why? And what does the future hold?

No it is not. Violence in general is down, burglaries are down, car theft is down.

The violence I don't know why, maybe lead in petrol, maybe everyone's just numbed by facebook and netflix. Burglaries are down because it's not worth it for a £100 tv and for cars they're just too damned hard to steal for the common criminal.

Fraud of all kinds is on the rise though.

My prediction for the future is a similar number of criminals as there ever was but moving to more modern information based crimes - hitting someone over the head for their wallet is so 20th century.

 

[FortuitousFluke]

A very good point. I've seen programs and read stuff which basically shows that with a majority of people, the perceived risk of been caught and the punishment is the only thing that stopped them doing the crime.

When I was a kid, it was a right of passage to steal sweets from the sweet shop while his back was turned, reaching the top shelf for the pineapple chunks. I once even stole a cassette of Lionel Ritchie from Woolworths when I was 9.

Nowadays, with cctv etc, most kids won't try shoplifting for fear of been caught.

I never really thought about that, even when I was at school back in the late nineties we had kids who would shoplift to order. Doesn't seem to be anywhere near that level these days, maybe it's just because I'm not around kids anymore.

My folks both work in a supermarket and you still get the druggy thieves, but I'd imagine the threat of arrest isn't too much of a deterrent when you're desperate for a fix.

 

[Dave M]

Funny that stats say it's safer, yet I would not let my kids do half the things I was allowed to do at their age...

Newsflash, you don't know half the things your kids get up to

 

[Greebo]

The problem is the definition of crime changes over time. Didn't nu_labour bring in thousands of new laws during their tenure for example?

If you make more things illegal, then clearly you will get more 'crime'.

For example, in the early 60s drink driving was perfectly legal and commonplace, so if you were to retrospectively apply today's laws backwards the crime rate for that period would sky rocket.

Again, that applies to a lot of stuff. The child molesting didnt become an issue until the act of 1974 and then wasnt really pushed for people to report it until the 80s.

 

[pickle1972]

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/historical-crime-data

Good link is the top one from 1898-2001, then 2003-onwards.

They are pretty big files though, quite interesting to read through if you are bored, or nosey like me.

Thanks josh I am both bored and nosey so this will make good reading

 

[Mat]

I imagine when you were growing up, you were also blissfully unaware of the vast majority of what was going on outside your own home. Your interest in the news and current affairs will have been all but absent at best and your exposure to anything remotely criminal will have been severely limited.

Your view of the world will have been markedly different and completely skewed your opinion and memories.

 

[JBuk]

Just so you know, he does work in the police, so knows his stuff more than most of us on this topic

Well he's in the police force but "work" may be too strong a word

 

[Vanquish-Storm]

The stats are quite clear. There is a lot less crime now than there was 20 or 30 years ago. I think those rose tinted glasses are skewing your perception

Is that based on reported crime Burnsy?

 

[Cosimo]

It's a lot safer nowadays compared to the 70s when I was a kid.

All those blokes offering sweets heard the word of god and put on frocks.

 

[Burnsy2023]

Or that the government and police have got better at massaging the stats to show what they want to show.

Just putting that out there..............

This is actually a very valid concern. HMIC did an inspection of crime recording across the country and my force came last in accuracy of crime recording, indeed many forces weren't classifying crime according to the Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR) as we should be. Crime data integrity is a huge thing in my force at the moment and has been for the last year or so. It's a good ballpark dataset but shouldn't be totally relied upon.

With that said, there are other sources of crime statistics such as the Crime Survey for England and Wales which is independent of the police and has been running since 1982. It also shows similar correlations.

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-met...urvey-for-england-and-wales--csew-/index.html

The decrease in crime isn't unique to the UK, indeed is a phenomenon which has been observed across the western world.

Just so you know, he does work in the police, so knows his stuff more than most of us on this topic

I need to provide sources just like anyone else, let's not use the appeal to authority fallacy

 

[Greebo]

Here's a good quote from a locksmith

The locksmith told him that locks are on doors only to keep honest people honest. One percent of people will always be honest and never steal. Another 1% will always be dishonest and always try to pick your lock and steal your television; locks won't do much to protect you from the hardened thieves, who can get into your house if they really want to. The purpose of locks, the locksmith said, is to protect you from the 98% of mostly honest people who might be tempted to try your door if it had no lock.

And there does appear to be a lot of truth in that.

And look at self service tills in supermarket. In a survey, 1 in 5 admitted to stealing and not paying for some goods as they can get away with it. I suspect these people would never have considered shoplifting before but because they now can with a low perceived risk of been caught and even then a low risk of punishment as can always just blame it on a "mistake". I doubt 1 on 5 stole from supermarkets before these tills were installed.

 

[pickle1972]

Just so you know, he does work in the police, so knows his stuff more than most of us on this topic

I know interesting to read though. Josh has put one up which I will have a look at.
I've really no idea if its worse today or not. Its interesting to me though why I would percieve it to be worse. And if others also perceive it to be worse.
Also burnsey brings me great joy by telling me the stats show it is not worse. This is great news! Makes me less scared of the world. Its easy for your imagination to run away when you are bombarded by the media.

 

[neoboy]

If you read certain newspapers then everything is doom and gloom and getting worse in the world.

 

[Greebo]

I know interesting to read though. Josh has put one up which I will have a look at.
I've really no idea if its worse today or not. Its interesting to me though why I would percieve it to be worse. And if others also perceive it to be worse.
Also burnsey brings me great joy by telling me the stats show it is not worse. This is great news! Makes me less scared of the world. Its easy for your imagination to run away when you are bombarded by the media.

That's the issue, we are satuated with it nowadays.

When I was younger, like you, you might watch the 9 o'clock news and read the odd paper. That was all we ever got to hear about, a fraction of what was happening.

 

[Heinz57]

I don't know about 30 years ago, but I suspect the world has always been a little bit mad and there has always been a certain level of crime.

Currently looking at rural manor court rolls from 1350s and only this morning discovered:
1) A drunk vicar who stabbed both his neighbour's wife and pig with a long sword (both 'damages to property'...).
2) A vicar being investigated by the local bishop for repeatedly getting drunk and ringing the church bells for hours on end after midnight.

A bit of a theme today perhaps... Coroner's reports for towns like Oxford are far worse still. Crime rates vary and the types of crime might change too, but I expect a lot it is perception. Crime is always there to some degree.

 

[anything I don't mind]

Crime is less it's the media coverage that makes it seem worse. Back in the day you will only hear about local crime if it was major and national crime if it was extreme. These days every crime is national news and full coverage with images, bio, life stories.