CRIME IN BRITAIN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 66, Issue 62, 22 December 1945, Page 5

CRIME IN BRITAIN

“FIGURES NOT REALLY DISTURBING”

POLICE CHIEF’S OPINION

(N.Z. Press Association— Copyright.) (Rec. 9.30 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. 20.

“The crime figures are not really disturbing, and most Londoners are still able to go about their daily business without bothering what they are going to encounter round the next corner,” declared the Commissioner of Police, Sir Harold Scott, to the Press.

Although he did not wish to belittle the figures which showed an increase of 2G per cent, in indictable crimes over the last yt-»r, he said there were considerations which should be borne in mind. They were: (1) All crimes were more accurately recorded than in 1938. The rise in values since that time had lifted many offences previously regarded as petty thefts into the category of larceny in dwellings. There admittedly was a large increase in robberies and assaults, but ,to put the matter in its real perspective the total cases in the last 11 months was only 299. It was not surprising that after six years of war, when affairs were settled by force and the law of the jungle, that the general atmosphere affected the behaviour of some people; (2) there was such a shortage of goods that they were easy to dispose of, which was a tremendous encouragement to crime; (3) there was a large number of British and Allied deserters who could live only by preying on the public. Figuresi quoted by Sir Harold showed that housebreaking had increased by 33 per cent over 1944 and 27 per cent over 1938; shopbreaking by 91 per cent and 137 per cent; robbery and assault by 40 per cent, and 106 per cent; larceny in dwellings by 48 per cent, and 155 per cent; offences against the person 32 per cent, and 23 per cent. There had been about 30 murders so far this year, which was the normal average.