5) Crime down, fear of crime up, why, why, why?

When asked about the level of crime, people conflate a number of things, but primarily they think about how safe they feel, not the statistical chance of their car being stolen http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/may/19/fear.of.crime . This really isn’t hard to understand, but it seems to permanently evade ministers, senior police officers and many journalists who are apparently determined to remain puzzled by the problem; like those depositors of plastic wrapped flower tributes at sites of national grieving who’s banal notes blubber ‘why, why, why’ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/daniel_finkelstein/article4380637.ece
However, for those who still crave for a balance between perception of crime and crime statistics, I think I can see some good news coming your way. There are signs that recent rises in food and utility bills are already setting off a splurge of shop lifting. Have you noticed that Tesco are not only security tagging expensive cuts of meat; they have started tagging the chickens, well they have in Finsbury Park. When people start stealing battery farmed chickens you know that the financial pressure is on. As gas, electricity and food prices are now consuming the sum total of many low income families’ financial resources there will be nothing left for Christmas. My guess is that as the festive celebration looms, rises in retail theft will balloon; not just on inner city estates, it’s going to be a ‘knock off Christmas’. Consequently, statisticians, police officers and politicians will enter the New Year with the satisfaction that the numerical balance between the fear of crime and the actuality of crime statistics has begun to be restored.