Recorded violent crime rises by 12%

Recorded violent crime in England and Wales rose by 12% in the past year and crime overall rose by 1% - however, the government's preferred method of assessing crime, the British Crime Survey (BCS), found that overall crime levels fell by 5% - and violent crime also fell by 3%.

The disparity in the BCS and police figures is due, say the Home Office, to "more comprehensive police counting" methods. Over half of all crimes now counted as 'violent crimes' do not involve any injury to the victim, the Home Office said.

According to the BCS, the chance of being a victim of crime is at its lowest since the survey began in 1981. The risk of becoming a victim of crime has fallen from 40% in 1995 to 26% in 2003/2004, that is 5.3 million fewer people falling victim to crime.

The Home Office has said that its action on low-level thuggery, alcohol-related violence, and organised crime over the past year have "begun to make an impact".

Alcohol now fuels around half of all violent crime - at peak times 70% of A&E admissions are due to alcohol and one-in-five people say alcohol causes a problem in their area.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Home Office have launched a national blitz on alcohol-fuelled violence this summer. Since the blitz began on July 8, police, trading standards, the fire service and the drinks industry, have targeted "irresponsible bars, supermarkets and clubs who sell to under 18s and encourage binge drinking".

"We're also putting out a strong message to drunken louts - if you cause violence or anti-social behaviour in the streets, police will use the whole raft of their powers to deal with you," Mr Blunkett said.

The results from the first two weekends of the alcohol enforcement campaign show that in the 89 police areas taking part in the campaign; 696 fixed penalty notices were issued - 326 for causing harassment, 308 for being drunk and disorderly and 62 for other alcohol-related offences.

Both the BCS and police recorded crime figures registered falls in burglaries and robberies over the past year. The chance of being burgled is now the lowest for 20 years, the Home Office said.

And thefts of and from a vehicle continue to fall according to the police and BCS – by 9% and 10% respectively.

The Home Secretary, David Blunkett, said: "These are promising results which reinforce the major progress made in fighting crime since 1997. Crime overall is falling, as measured by the BCS, after a peak in 1995, and I am pleased that property crime, which makes up the vast majority of offences, is continuing to fall dramatically."

Tough new powers in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act are making sure that people's quality of life does not suffer through petty crimes such as vandalism and graffiti, Mr Blunkett said.

Responding to the figures, Tory Shadow Home Secretary David Davis accused Labour of "tough talk and no action".

Mr Davis said: "No amount of Home Office spin can hide the fact that violent crime has risen by a staggering 12% in the last year, breaking the one million barrier, and that overall crime is up yet again under Labour.

"Seven years of being tough on crime under this government has led to the figures increasing year after year. It's about time the Home Secretary stopped swamping us with initiatives and summits and got on with delivering the tough action he keeps promising."

(gmcg)