Official police figures show Britain is facing a surge in crime including murder, robbery and knife attacks with deadly incidents soaring by five percent compared to 2009-2010...
Jan 21, 2012
Official police figures show Britain is facing a surge in crime including murder, robbery and knife attacks with deadly incidents soaring by five percent compared to 2009-2010.
Based on crime statistics by the Home Office, 636 murders took place in England and Wales in the year to September 2011.
The number of robberies at knifepoint also rose by 10 percent from 13,971 to 15,313 that is nearly one attack in every 30 minutes.
A related crime, rape at knifepoint, also rose by 11 percent during the period with shocking reports tellling of a 79-year-old woman falling victim to indecent assault.
This is while, a separate study by British Crime Survey found 3,200 people suffered injuries in violent attacks.
The BCS found that overall crime rose by 9 percent in 2011 with what the government termed the wave of crime during August unrest having a “small” impact on the results.
The figures have raised fears that the police cuts in line with the government's austerity measures could even worsen the situation.
“It's really worrying. We've got to get on top of them really quickly or you could run out of control,” former Metropolitan Police chief Lord Stevens said describing the findings as “alarming.
Meanwhile, Labour's Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the released statistics should serve as a wake-up call for the government to review its attack on police budgets.
“These figures are deeply worrying and show this is the wrong time to cut 16,000 police officers. Personal crime - which includes robbery, theft and violence against other people - has gone up by a shocking 11%,” she said.
“This is the biggest annual increase in personal crime for over a decade and follows a 40% drop during the Labour government,” she added.
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