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Anorak News | Silks & Purses

Silks & Purses

by | 20th, October 2006

THE arrival of little Madonna’s new orphan son, young David Banda Twist, in London has turned minds to those Dickensian days when boys got to eat by picking a pocket or two.

When caught in the act, the young rapscallions stood before the Beak and prepared for a new life in nature’s prison, Australia.

But before they went the defendant surely offered the excuse: “But, m’lud, the silk hankies were so very tempting. How could I resist?”

Sure the boys were guilty as charged. But some blame must be attached to the alleged victims who fail to see that all property is theft and that owning the latest hanky can attract both welcome and unwelcome attention.

It’s the same today. The Home Office has released its latest batch of statistics on crime. And the news is that more than 25,300 street crimes were committed on the streets of England and Wales between April and June this year.

The British Crime Survey for the year ending June 2006 reveals a rise of 64,000 incidents of “theft from the person”. This is a rise of 5 per cent on the previous year.

The Telegraph says “the level of street robbery is now almost back to where it was before Tony Blair ordered a crackdown in 2002”.

This will do little to assuage the fears that the streets are dangerous places. Especially for young males aged between 16 and 24 who are most likely to be the victims and perpetrators of a mugging.

But this rise in street crime is not just down to increased reporting – the Times’s leader notes the data still excludes data on under-16s.

Neither is it all down to too few police – the Telegraph concedes that Tony lair’s "street crime initiative" did reduce crime until the £80million pot dried up. And, as the Guardian notes, these Home Office figures show an overall 2% fall in recorded crime.
The stand-out contributing factor to the rise in street crime is that more of have nice silk hankies then before.

Ian Johnston, chief constable of the British transport police and spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers, tells the Guardian the rise has "a lot to do with the products that are available to be stolen these days. The mobile phone explosion is continuing. The iPod explosion is continuing. All of these gadgets that people carry around with them are very attractive to robbers, so that puts the opportunities up. We’ve obviously got to respond to that in a very positive way."

So there you have it. Gadgets are responsible – at least in part – for increased crime on the streets.
Indeed, as one felon, a certain Artful Dodger, raps: “Why should we break our backs, stupidly paying tax?

Better get some untaxed income: Better pick a pocket or two…



Posted: 20th, October 2006 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink