Tough on Crime Statistics

John Denham, the Labour minister was on BBC News 24 this morning facing questions on crime statistics. When pushed and told that the Labour government's mantra had been 'tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime' all he could keep repeating was the fact that overall crime figures had gone down since Labour had come to power. Of course we've been hearing for years how the keeping of statistics has been changing on a regular basis, which confuses the figures. Is that why the number of street robberies in Britain involving knives has more than doubled in the past two years. That's what a report by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College, London says. Successful muggings involving a knife have soared from 25,500 in 2005 to more than 64,000 in the year to April 2007. Makes you wonder doesn't it?

Bring Back the Birch, But Don't Stop There

There's a letter in the Scotsman today which beggars belief. The writer suggests 'euthanasia for eliminating criminals' and finishes with this statement.

Taking everything into account, keeping and encouraging a criminal population, including terrorists, almost certainly costs billions every year. The advice of the Scottish jurist - "hang a thief when he is young and he'll no steal when old" - is as valid today as when it was first uttered.

In the 21st Century it's staggering that this is how someone thinks.