By James Slack
Last updated at 12:14 AM on 03rd July 2009
Britain's violent crime record is worse than any other country in the European union, it has been revealed.
Official crime figures show the UK also has a worse rate for all types of violence than the U.S. and even South Africa - widely considered one of the world's most dangerous countries.
The figures comes on the day new Home Secretary Alan Johnson makes his first major speech on crime, promising to be tough on loutish behaviour.
Read the full article here.
And I know these are only 'reported' crime figures .... and that many of you will be quick to point that out ... but bear in mind many unreported crimes happen worldwide.
14 comments:
I think that most people here report serious crimes - we just don't report the ones that aren't worth the hassle. Mind you - even petty theft is worth reporting for insurance purposes. My neice from Zambia went to the US to celebrate her 18th birthday & on the night of her arrival in Palm Springs, Florida, her & her 2 friends were followed home from the airpost by 2 balaclavad & armed black men (sigh...surprise)& she was robbed of every possession she took over, including all identification & travellers cheques. It didn't stop there - they woke the mother up in the house & robbed them of all their valuables including the safe contents & packed it all into the car & stole that too! They were also very rough & tried to rape them. Talk about ironic...
BTW that was less than one month ago...she is still there trying to get a new passport, etc...(she was excited for months at the prospect of getting out of Africa & into civilization...)
I am shocked! Can I use this too?
i saw the link on Twitter yesterday and forgot to read it! Very interesting
Always good to keep a little perspective. As one of our friends put it (quote):
I read the article yesterday morning and I thought that the country it was describing was very different to the one I now live in, until I realized what is included in the category of violent crime in the UK.: robbery, sexual offences, assault and murder.
* Robbery (without physical harm done makes up the bulk of the numbers - someone nicking your cell phone when your back is turned).
* The definition of sexual offences is very broad and includes sending rude text messages.
* Anti-social behaviour is included in assault and is defined as any aggressive, intimidating or destructive activity that damages or destroys another person's quality of life (a 76 year old granny was recently convicted of this because she threw eggs at her neighbours house after an argument).
Here is a less sensational interpretation of the same figures: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-v...violent-crime/
Very interesting, the stats and the comments!
The only reason the grass is greener on the other side is because there is more "manure" there(sien ek is ordentlik, ek vloek nie:)
Ha-ha Lynette...I like that!
I'm going to 'hold back' with my comment, just a tad. Obviously I'm one of the Saffers planning on leaving. One thing that really upsets me is how South Africans try so desperately to cling to some sense of hope (that's okay with me - by all means hope away and hope things dont go the same way as Zim) and will believe stuff like this, when the stats are grossly taken out of context. The unfortunate thing that people have not really reported on in this article, is that in Britain, a great many crimes are categorized as violent than here. Here it is either rape or murder, there it includes little things like 'affray' 'pub brawls' etc. However it does put things into perspective a little when it says that there are 20 000 reported murders in SA per year (reported) and only 900 in Britain.
South Africans are more than welcome to remain hopeful. However, I think a serious amount of wool (propaganda) needs to be pulled away from the eyes. This is nobodies fault - but people do need to wake up to the fact that we do NOT have the facts on crime in this country. I reckon its far worse than we think it is.
Yup, I knew these stats would raise eyebrows...
Frankly, stats dont mean a helluva lot to me, but interesting nonetheless.
There will always be as many interpretations / disclaimers on stats as there are readers.
Ness....you make me smile...thanks for 'holding back' with your comments. I hear you girl, I know how nervous you are of this becoming Zim.
It is not that the grass is greener... it is merely that the sewerage fertilises different sections of the field...
I do wonder how accurate out figures are though- reported or not- because so often our politicians are caught out manipulating the figures to make themselves look good.
It has been very interesting to receive the follow up comments via e mail. I see now that the stats can be deceiving...I can comment with experience on whether I think South Africa will become another Zimbabwe - having been born & bred in Zim, & having lived there for the best part of my 39 years spent there & only having emmigrated 3.5 years ago. I have seen it all before with regard to hoping but it is natural to hope for the best in your country. Where you have been born & bred, where all your ancestry is, where your family originated, etc...the best advice I can give is to enjoy it for as long as possible without overinvesting. We built a mega house there (in Harare) on an acre - 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms & are now trying to sell (it has been on & off the market since a year before we left - so the best part of 5 years - & so far we are battling to raise R2 mill for it - not enough to buy us a house half the size or half as nice here in Durban. Show me an African country that is not corrupt & that is well organised without all the usual problems & I'll eat my hat. It IS inevitable that standards will drop etc, but it is also hard to up sticks across the world into the great unknown & start from scratch - just our little jaunt across the border cost us R50 000 just for the container, not to mention all our other start up expenses & 3.5 years down the line we are still living in a rented dive. So I suggest a "Plan B" for everyone, if you can, but while you have little kids & lots of laundry, etc, I can understand not wanting to make the move just yet - believe me this place has MANY more years left before it gets to be anything remotely as intolerable as Zimbabwe.
You seriously don't have to delete your comments, Mel.
It made me smile 'cause you're probably right.
Having the last laugh has to be a mother's prerogative and blogging about it makes life so much sweeter.
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