"We have a general problem of drink-related violence in our society, . . ." Well, that's simple, ban alcohol! 
Great stuff for the "Use Britain as a model" crowd.
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_805000/805190.stm
Sunday, 25 June, 2000, 12:09 GMT 13:09 UK
Violent crime figures 'set to soar'
A sharp increase in violent crime in England and Wales is to be disclosed in a new set of statistics, it has emerged.
Next month's Home Office crime figures for the 12 months to the end of March are expected to show an average 19% increase in violent crime, including assaults and robberies.
In London robberies, including muggings, are believed to have shot up by 38%.
According to The Sunday Times, which collated statistics from 21 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, the overall increase in recorded offences of all types will be about 3.8%.
If those increases are reflected in the official statistics, they will be a major embarrassment to New Labour, which has pledged to be tough on crime and tough on its causes.
The Home Office said it could not comment on the figures, which have yet to be published officially.
But, appearing on the BBC's Breakfast with Frost programme, Mr Straw acknowledged the trend on violent crime was upwards.
"We have a general problem of drink-related violence in our society, particularly amongst younger men, which we have got to deal with, and it's one of the reasons why the violent crime figures are going up," he said.
"We have also, in some of the main cities, got problems of street crime, and for dealing with that we have put money into those police forces, to give them quite a lot of money, £20m, to be able to target the robbers."
Getting tough
Mr Straw said he also wanted to see tough sentences for those convicted of robbery and urged police forces and local authorities to make greater use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders.
An increase in police officer numbers would also help, said Mr Straw, adding that the government was "putting additional cash into the police to get their numbers to go back after seven years of decline".
Reacting to news of the increases, shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe accused Mr Straw of a "pathetic" performance on combating crime.
"It isn't surprising there are rises in crime when police numbers have fallen sharply, when violent prisoners are being let out before their due release date and when the automatic life sentence is accompanied by low tariffs," said Ms Widdecombe.
Related article, dated, and might be redundant, but relevant:
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_607000/607623.stm
Tuesday, 18 January, 2000, 16:02 GMT
Street crime surges
A huge surge in muggings, amid a worrying rise in violent crime, have been revealed in Home Office statistics.
Crime figures for England and Wales, 1998/99
Overall crime rose by 2.2%
Recorded crime fell in 24 out of the 43 police forces
84% of offences were against property
13% were violent crimes
The figures for recorded offences, a blow to the government's anti-crime crusade, show the first rise in England and Wales for six years.
The number of robberies - most of them muggings - increased by 19% in the year to September 1999 compared with a fall of nearly 6% over the previous 12 months.
Overall, police in England and Wales recorded a total of 5.2 million offences in the year to September 1999 - an increase of 2.2%.
'Hard reality'
Home Secretary Jack Straw acknowledged the increase, but said the figures showed "a dramatic variation in crime rates across the country".
But Fred Broughton, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, immediately demanded more cash to deal with a situation which he said was "nothing short of alarming".
He said: "The figures are the hard reality of fewer police, underfunding and big increases in workloads."
The home office figures showed that the biggest rise in crime was recorded by the City of London force, which saw a 22% rise, followed by the West Midlands force (16%) and Bedfordshire (12%).
Stop and search
In London, Britain's biggest force, the Metropolitan Police, saw its total number of offences top the million mark with a 9% rise in offences.
The city has witnessed a heated debate over stop and search tactics which have disproportionately targeted members of the black community.
Crime figures for England and Wales 1998/99
Violent offences: Up 5%
Sexual offences: Up 2%
Robberies: Up 19%
Domestic burglary: Down 5%
Non-domestic burglary: Down 3%
Theft of motor vehicles: Down 2%
Stop and searches have declined following the Macpherson Report into the death of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence - which criticised the tendency to target black and Asian youths.
Some senior policemen have blamed that for an increase in street crime, and Mr Straw admitted the reluctance of officers to use stop and search powers following the report "may have been a factor" behind the rise.
He said: "It has obviously made a difference. I am aware of course that the Lawrence report did represent a deep trauma for many officers in the Metropolitan Police Service and they became very concerned indeed about whether actions on the street could be categorised as racist.
"We want to see the Metropolitan Police use those powers. I think we will see, after the shock to the service in the past year as a result of the Lawrence report, an improvement in their work on the streets."
The figures released on Tuesday are broken down into divisional areas of police forces for the first time.
They show a variable picture of the ability of forces to tackle crime, with Lancashire showing the biggest drop in offences with 11%.
Rapes increase sharply
The rise in violent crime, which includes attacks, sex offences and robbery, is the largest since 1995/1996, when attacks increased by 10%.
Paul Wiles, director of Research, Development and Statistics at the home office, said the overall increase in crime was caused by the rises recorded by just two forces, the Metropolitan Police and the West Midlands force, which saw a combined rise in offences of 129,000, larger than the overall increase across England and Wales of 115,000.
But he said both these forces had been affected particularly by a new system for recording crime.
The report said two-thirds of the increased robberies had taken place in just four forces: the Met, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.
Increased wealth
But West Yorkshire - along with Northumbria - was one of just two metropolitan forces where crime fell.
“People will be quite right to demand an urgent explanation from the Home Secretary as to why we are less and less safe on our streets” - Ann Widdecombe
Research published by the home office last year suggested Britain was on the brink of a sharp rise in crime, partly due to increased personal wealth.
Most offences are committed by men aged under 24, while the 1980s baby boom also contributed to warnings of imminent problems.
Publication of the crime figures coincided with the first meeting between Prime Minister Tony Blair and the incoming Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, John Stevens.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Simon Hughes said the figures gave the government "a clear warning" that police chiefs need increased resources.
Shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe said: "People will be quite right to demand an urgent explanation from the Home Secretary as to why we are less and less safe on our streets and in our homes under the party who promised to be tough on crime."
Crime figures for Scotland will be published in March or April.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
[This message has been edited by Oatka (edited June 26, 2000).]
Great stuff for the "Use Britain as a model" crowd.
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_805000/805190.stm
Sunday, 25 June, 2000, 12:09 GMT 13:09 UK
Violent crime figures 'set to soar'
A sharp increase in violent crime in England and Wales is to be disclosed in a new set of statistics, it has emerged.
Next month's Home Office crime figures for the 12 months to the end of March are expected to show an average 19% increase in violent crime, including assaults and robberies.
In London robberies, including muggings, are believed to have shot up by 38%.
According to The Sunday Times, which collated statistics from 21 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, the overall increase in recorded offences of all types will be about 3.8%.
If those increases are reflected in the official statistics, they will be a major embarrassment to New Labour, which has pledged to be tough on crime and tough on its causes.
The Home Office said it could not comment on the figures, which have yet to be published officially.
But, appearing on the BBC's Breakfast with Frost programme, Mr Straw acknowledged the trend on violent crime was upwards.
"We have a general problem of drink-related violence in our society, particularly amongst younger men, which we have got to deal with, and it's one of the reasons why the violent crime figures are going up," he said.
"We have also, in some of the main cities, got problems of street crime, and for dealing with that we have put money into those police forces, to give them quite a lot of money, £20m, to be able to target the robbers."
Getting tough
Mr Straw said he also wanted to see tough sentences for those convicted of robbery and urged police forces and local authorities to make greater use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders.
An increase in police officer numbers would also help, said Mr Straw, adding that the government was "putting additional cash into the police to get their numbers to go back after seven years of decline".
Reacting to news of the increases, shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe accused Mr Straw of a "pathetic" performance on combating crime.
"It isn't surprising there are rises in crime when police numbers have fallen sharply, when violent prisoners are being let out before their due release date and when the automatic life sentence is accompanied by low tariffs," said Ms Widdecombe.
Related article, dated, and might be redundant, but relevant:
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_607000/607623.stm
Tuesday, 18 January, 2000, 16:02 GMT
Street crime surges
A huge surge in muggings, amid a worrying rise in violent crime, have been revealed in Home Office statistics.
Crime figures for England and Wales, 1998/99
Overall crime rose by 2.2%
Recorded crime fell in 24 out of the 43 police forces
84% of offences were against property
13% were violent crimes
The figures for recorded offences, a blow to the government's anti-crime crusade, show the first rise in England and Wales for six years.
The number of robberies - most of them muggings - increased by 19% in the year to September 1999 compared with a fall of nearly 6% over the previous 12 months.
Overall, police in England and Wales recorded a total of 5.2 million offences in the year to September 1999 - an increase of 2.2%.
'Hard reality'
Home Secretary Jack Straw acknowledged the increase, but said the figures showed "a dramatic variation in crime rates across the country".
But Fred Broughton, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, immediately demanded more cash to deal with a situation which he said was "nothing short of alarming".
He said: "The figures are the hard reality of fewer police, underfunding and big increases in workloads."
The home office figures showed that the biggest rise in crime was recorded by the City of London force, which saw a 22% rise, followed by the West Midlands force (16%) and Bedfordshire (12%).
Stop and search
In London, Britain's biggest force, the Metropolitan Police, saw its total number of offences top the million mark with a 9% rise in offences.
The city has witnessed a heated debate over stop and search tactics which have disproportionately targeted members of the black community.
Crime figures for England and Wales 1998/99
Violent offences: Up 5%
Sexual offences: Up 2%
Robberies: Up 19%
Domestic burglary: Down 5%
Non-domestic burglary: Down 3%
Theft of motor vehicles: Down 2%
Stop and searches have declined following the Macpherson Report into the death of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence - which criticised the tendency to target black and Asian youths.
Some senior policemen have blamed that for an increase in street crime, and Mr Straw admitted the reluctance of officers to use stop and search powers following the report "may have been a factor" behind the rise.
He said: "It has obviously made a difference. I am aware of course that the Lawrence report did represent a deep trauma for many officers in the Metropolitan Police Service and they became very concerned indeed about whether actions on the street could be categorised as racist.
"We want to see the Metropolitan Police use those powers. I think we will see, after the shock to the service in the past year as a result of the Lawrence report, an improvement in their work on the streets."
The figures released on Tuesday are broken down into divisional areas of police forces for the first time.
They show a variable picture of the ability of forces to tackle crime, with Lancashire showing the biggest drop in offences with 11%.
Rapes increase sharply
The rise in violent crime, which includes attacks, sex offences and robbery, is the largest since 1995/1996, when attacks increased by 10%.
Paul Wiles, director of Research, Development and Statistics at the home office, said the overall increase in crime was caused by the rises recorded by just two forces, the Metropolitan Police and the West Midlands force, which saw a combined rise in offences of 129,000, larger than the overall increase across England and Wales of 115,000.
But he said both these forces had been affected particularly by a new system for recording crime.
The report said two-thirds of the increased robberies had taken place in just four forces: the Met, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.
Increased wealth
But West Yorkshire - along with Northumbria - was one of just two metropolitan forces where crime fell.
“People will be quite right to demand an urgent explanation from the Home Secretary as to why we are less and less safe on our streets” - Ann Widdecombe
Research published by the home office last year suggested Britain was on the brink of a sharp rise in crime, partly due to increased personal wealth.
Most offences are committed by men aged under 24, while the 1980s baby boom also contributed to warnings of imminent problems.
Publication of the crime figures coincided with the first meeting between Prime Minister Tony Blair and the incoming Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, John Stevens.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Simon Hughes said the figures gave the government "a clear warning" that police chiefs need increased resources.
Shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe said: "People will be quite right to demand an urgent explanation from the Home Secretary as to why we are less and less safe on our streets and in our homes under the party who promised to be tough on crime."
Crime figures for Scotland will be published in March or April.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
[This message has been edited by Oatka (edited June 26, 2000).]