Comment: Crime on the decline - but why?

Friday 12 August 2016

Crime is down nationally and it is also down in Jersey. Quite significantly so.

Statistics revealed by Express from States of Jersey Police show that overall crime is down 7%. And it is across the board - from theft in shops, to malicious damage, drunken night time violence to car crime.

There must be reasons for this and they are probably very complex, but here is an anecdotal thought from a former police officer who served with the West Midlands force for many years. 

“Criminals are no longer putting on a balaclava, climbing up a wall and breaking into homes to steal a video or some jewellery. It is simply not cost-effective and the chances of getting caught are too high. To fence gear on the black market without getting caught is difficult and with the improvements in DNA research you only have to leave a trace of material and as long as your DNA, or that of a relative is on the national database, you will be caught.

“All of these are reasons why crime is going down and is being replaced by cyber crime.”

True enough. Cyber crime now accounts for easily the majority of crime committed in Britain today. It’s almost impossible to put a figure on the subject and many have tried, but the best guesswork is that it is responsible for around 80% of all crime committed.

Think about it. It is clean, the chances of getting your collar felt are slim to zero and the potential revenue is vast. No wonder criminals are no longer opting for traditional crimes like shinning up a lamppost to climb into a factory in the dead of night. 

In Jersey the figures for crime are down in all eight sectors: theft from shops, malicious damage, car crime, sexual offences, domestic violence, cycle theft, burglary and night time economy violence, or violence committed after closing hours and often triggered by alcohol.

OK, so we can see why crime is going down in traditional pursuits like burglary, but aren’t kids these days supposed to be binge-drinking loonies, especially at the weekend. The evidence suggests not, as alcohol-related crime is also on the shape decline. 

Lesley Harrison, chairman of ‘Prison - Me No Way’ - a registered charity designed to educate and keep youngsters out of HMP La Moye, should know the latest trends. 

“Basically crime is low in the Island and thankfully getting lower but there are reasons for that,” she said. “Low crime rates come about not by accident, but by design.

“We are lucky in Jersey in that we are small enough to be able to react very quickly to the latest fads. For instance, a while ago so-called legal highs were becoming more and more popular. But with the educational tools we have - and we visit schools and colleges with kids aged from 10-18 years - we have managed to see some good results. 

“The crime figures are due to a combination of different organisations all pulling together in the same direction and all focussed on the same overall goal, to make Jersey a better and safer place to live.”

It is clearly working as crime is going down. Mrs Harrison works primarily with youngsters and Bill Millar, Governor at La Moye Prison spoke recently about how few young offenders are being sent to serve time. 

Education appears to have made a big difference as youngsters are now so much more aware of the pitfalls. 

Perhaps the tough sentences handed out by Jersey’s judiciary has also helped as alcohol and drug-fuelled violence, if committed by regular offenders, will result in jail time. That is not often the case on the mainland. 

The message that crime does not pay appears to be getting through. 

One Judge on the mainland was recently berated by a defendant standing in the dock. The accused called him an “idiot.”

As the Judge handed down his sentence he said: “I’m off to play golf, have a long shower afterwards, sit in a jacuzzi and wind down with a nice glass of Chablis. Which one of us is the idiot?”