Crime is on the rise

This headline has been seen often over the past few days. Is it just me or is crime getting out of control? I decided to look at a few of the different newspapers over the past 24 hours and try to get a feel of what else is going on around here. Here is an excerpt of some of the news stories over the past few days:

January 29: ‘Many afraid to walk alone at night’
Fifty-six percent of women and more than a third of men (36%) are afraid to walk alone at night in their own neighbourhoods, according to a recent survey.

The survey showed many people felt afraid in their own areas after dark. One-third of women (30,4%) and men (34,4%) also said that either they or someone close to them had been victims of street crime.

January 29: ‘Father is hacked to death in row over football’
A father was killed with a hatchet in a row about his son’s football, it emerged last night.

Neighbours told how the man was set upon with the weapon and a golf club in a garden yards from where he lived.

One resident, who lives opposite the crime scene, said the victim’s sister had told him the attack was over a football belonging to Mr Martin’s 10-year-old son.

January 28: ‘Youth crime convictions rise by a fifth in one year’
Fresh evidence of the growth in teenage crime is revealed today as figures show juvenile convictions jumped by a fifth in a year.

The police point to sharp increases in the number of killings, burglaries and attacks carried out last year by offenders aged 17 or under. The biggest rise was in convictions for robbery, which leapt by 43%.

Overall, the statistics show that there was an increase of 19% on the 2006 total. This has been highlighted by the recent wave of fatal stabbings and shootings involving teenagers.

Homicide convictions of teenagers also rose in 2006 to last year, while the biggest increase of all was for robbery, where last year’s total was up on the 2006 figure.

Sex-offence convictions in 2006 to last year and drug crimes increased compared with the previous 12 months.

January 28: ‘Youth in court over knife death’
A youth has appeared in court charged with murdering an 18-year-old student who was stabbed in a street fight. A second 18-year-old was treated in hospital for stab wounds.

The 17-year-old is charged with murder and grievous bodily harm and will reappear before magistrates on February 6. Four other suspects have been bailed over the murder, which happened on January 21.

A post-mortem examination revealed he died from a stab wound to the chest. He was the third teenager in this area to be killed with a knife since the start of 2008.

January 28: ‘Youth gangs triple child murder rate’
Murders of children by other children have tripled in three years, as more of the nation’s youth get drawn into a deadly world of guns and knives.

A quarter of all gun crimes last year were committed by under-18s.

More than half of killings are believed to be gang-related.

Children as young as five are joining gangs.

Youths are killed for going into the “wrong” postcode area.

A sixfold increase in the number of gangs in some areas since 2000.

Last week the courts heard how Paul Erhahon, a 14-year-old schoolboy, was stabbed to death outside his home just so that a gang of youths — some as young as 13 — could “earn their spurs”.

Four teenagers have already been killed this month, with a 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl arrested in connection with the attacks.

Teenagers said that they faced being killed for nothing more than venturing into the wrong postcode district. They were afraid to accompany their parents to shops or visit leisure centres outside their area.

I am not sure if I mentioned this before, but I am currently living in London and all these news reports come from the newspapers here in the United Kingdom. The crime problem is so serious, I even overheard a lady on the bus-replacement service (buses used when the train service is not functioning) the other day saying: “This country is going to the dogs! I am going to emigrate to Australia and live there coz it’s much better …”

Headline from an Australian newspaper this morning: “Trouble in paradise as refugees get racist hate mail“.