UK police among worst in the world, says report
DAVID CRACKNELL, POLITICAL EDITOR - January 02, 2005
BRITAIN has one of the world’s most ineffective police forces and highest crime rates, according to an authoritative report to be published this week. It says the police spend too much time behind desks instead of tackling and preventing crime. The result, it says, is that crime is “a very low-risk activity for the criminalâ€.
America, France and Germany have suffered similar sharp rises in crime to Britain since the 1960s but have tackled them more effectively, the report says. British police have failed to focus on prevention of crime and zero tolerance of low-level disorder and antisocial behaviour, it claims.
The rise in crime in the UK is “so spectacular†it is “difficult to comprehendâ€, the report argues. Home Office claims that crime in Britain is falling and at “historically low levels†are false: the country is now “a seriously crime-afflicted and disintegrating societyâ€.
The damning and controversial study from Civitas, the right-of-centre think tank, is bound to provoke criticism from British police forces.
It cites official figures that show crime rising steadily over 40 years. The report says:
· Burglaries have increased more than fivefold from 72,000 in 1964 to 402,000 last year.
· There are 33 robberies of personal property for every one 40 years ago: a rise from 3,000 in 1964 to 101,000 in 2003-04.
The report concludes: “The attitude of the police towards crime and antisocial behaviour has changed radically from the principles which were laid down by the founders of the Metropolitan police in the early 19th century.
“The Peelite principles of policing put the prevention of crime as the highest priority . . . The hostility of the law enforcement establishment to the old beat policing model is a significant factor in the police force’s inability to get to grips with rising crime.â€
It adds: “England, from being a society remarkably free of crime and disorder, especially from the middle of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century, by the late 1990s had a worse record than either France, Germany or the United States.â€
The Civitas report contrasts the crime figures with police numbers. In 1921, it says, there were 57,000 police officers dealing with 103,000 crimes — two crimes per officer. In 2002-03 there were 134,000 officers dealing with 5.9m crimes — 44 per officer.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) questioned the findings. It said the authors had accepted that crime had dropped to the levels of 1981 but failed to give the police credit. Chris Fox, Acpo’s president, said the think tank’s conclusions did not “reflect the reality†of the police force’s achievements in recent years.
Cited from Sunday Times
DAVID CRACKNELL, POLITICAL EDITOR - January 02, 2005
BRITAIN has one of the world’s most ineffective police forces and highest crime rates, according to an authoritative report to be published this week. It says the police spend too much time behind desks instead of tackling and preventing crime. The result, it says, is that crime is “a very low-risk activity for the criminalâ€.
America, France and Germany have suffered similar sharp rises in crime to Britain since the 1960s but have tackled them more effectively, the report says. British police have failed to focus on prevention of crime and zero tolerance of low-level disorder and antisocial behaviour, it claims.
The rise in crime in the UK is “so spectacular†it is “difficult to comprehendâ€, the report argues. Home Office claims that crime in Britain is falling and at “historically low levels†are false: the country is now “a seriously crime-afflicted and disintegrating societyâ€.
The damning and controversial study from Civitas, the right-of-centre think tank, is bound to provoke criticism from British police forces.
It cites official figures that show crime rising steadily over 40 years. The report says:
· Burglaries have increased more than fivefold from 72,000 in 1964 to 402,000 last year.
· There are 33 robberies of personal property for every one 40 years ago: a rise from 3,000 in 1964 to 101,000 in 2003-04.
The report concludes: “The attitude of the police towards crime and antisocial behaviour has changed radically from the principles which were laid down by the founders of the Metropolitan police in the early 19th century.
“The Peelite principles of policing put the prevention of crime as the highest priority . . . The hostility of the law enforcement establishment to the old beat policing model is a significant factor in the police force’s inability to get to grips with rising crime.â€
It adds: “England, from being a society remarkably free of crime and disorder, especially from the middle of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century, by the late 1990s had a worse record than either France, Germany or the United States.â€
The Civitas report contrasts the crime figures with police numbers. In 1921, it says, there were 57,000 police officers dealing with 103,000 crimes — two crimes per officer. In 2002-03 there were 134,000 officers dealing with 5.9m crimes — 44 per officer.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) questioned the findings. It said the authors had accepted that crime had dropped to the levels of 1981 but failed to give the police credit. Chris Fox, Acpo’s president, said the think tank’s conclusions did not “reflect the reality†of the police force’s achievements in recent years.
Cited from Sunday Times
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