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| It's Criminal The Sun [United Kingdom] April 27, 2007 http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,31-2007190459,00.html MORE than 70 policemen are physically attacked on average each day. Robberies are UP. Vandalism is UP. Drug offences are UP. But if you believe police records, the crime rate is DOWN. Reported offences have fallen over the last three months, with 4,000 fewer acts of violence. The figures have been welcomed by ministers. Interestingly, they usually prefer the British Crime Survey of householders which gives a softer impression of criminal activity. But the latest poll shows levels of violence unchanged — while vandalism is up by 11 per cent. The survey also reveals the chances of becoming a victim of crime have risen. So who do you believe? The answer is neither. The British Crime Survey is flawed because it excludes murder, sex attacks and crimes against shops. As for police records, thousands of punters no longer bother to report muggings or assaults. They rarely result in a charge, still less a courtroom conviction. So if your impression is that crime is rising, you are probably right. HOW can a bishop shrug off a revolting sex attack against a boy in his pastoral care? Especially when the pervert was a choirmaster in his diocese. Now in his 20s, the victim is still haunted by the nightmare. Yet thanks to the Bishop of Dorking, evil Peter Halliday was allowed to evade justice for 17 years. Instead of calling police, he let this self-confessed paedophile quietly resign — and go on to become a school governor. Bishop David Wilcox says that's how it was done in those days. What he means is that he didn't want any fuss. But the price the rest of us have had to pay for this scandalous complacency was not knowing this monster was in our midst. BINGE drinking is soaring among kids as young as 11. Girls are especially at risk, with alcohol consumption for under-13s up by 83 per cent in five years. They are catching up fast on boys, risking long-term mental and physical ill-health. Parents are so concerned about drugs they don't keep an eye on their drinks cupboard. If pre-teen youngsters are routinely blotto, what hope is there by the time they are old enough to drink legally? |
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