Violent crime is not at record levels
Back to Topic
Click to Print
Useful Websites
Glossary Term Selection
In brief.
By Joseph O’Leary
Claim
Violent crime is at record levels.
‘Never since records began have violent crime and knife crime been as high as they are today. This crisis is a consequence of nine years of government cuts to the police and youth services.’
– Louise Haigh MP on Twitter (@LouHaigh) 25 January 2019
It’s not correct that violent crime is at a record high. Several reliable sources indicate that violent crime is far lower now than it was in the 1990s in England and Wales.
Louise Haigh’s claims are based on the number of violent crimes recorded by the police. It’s true that police figures show the highest ever recorded levels of violent crime and knife crime specifically, but it’s almost impossible to derive any trustworthy trend from this data, as police recording practices have changed significantly over time.
This isn’t to say violent crime isn’t rising – the evidence indicates some types of violent crime have begun to increase in recent years. But saying v...
Want to see the rest of this article?
Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?
- Useful related articles
- Video and multimedia references
- Statistical information and reference material
- Glossary of terms
- Key Facts and figures
- Related assignments
- Resource material and websites
