Results of a survey commissioned by the crime fighting charity, Crimestoppers Trust.
Some 75 per cent of Britons believe that the UK has become a more dangerous place in the last ten years, according to a new survey commissioned by the crime fighting charity, Crimestoppers Trust and released to mark National Crimestoppers Week in September 2001. When respondents were asked which crimes they are most afraid of in their own neighbourhoods, burglary (56pc) and car crime (35pc) are the most feared, while three out of 10 people (30pc) say they are concerned about threatening or antisocial behaviour in their neighbourhoods. Other key findings of the survey include: more than 1 in 5 (22pc) say they would not go to the police, if they had information about a crime; one in eight (12pc) would not get involved if they knew a crime was being committed in their own neighbourhood – amongst council tenants, the figure was 23pc. Some 44pc of Britons say fear of a revenge attack might prevent them from reporting a crime. Half of council tenants say that fear of a reprisal attack might prevent them from reporting a crime. Some 42pc of 16-24 year olds say that knowing the perpetrator would make it less likely they would report a crime. More than a third (34pc) of 16-24 year olds would not report someone they new to be a drug dealer. An overwhelming 77pc say they would be prepared to use an anonymous phoneline to report crime, compared with 61pc who say they would go to the police. The research was commissioned by Crimestoppers Trust, the charity which helps to solve crime by providing a freephone number (0800 555 111) for members of the public to anonymously report crime, if they are unwilling or afraid to go to the police. Lord Ashcroft KCMG, chairman of the board of trustees and founder of Crimestoppers, says of the research: ‘The results bear out much of what we have long suspected ‘ that those who are most vulnerable to crime are often the same people who most fear reporting it. It is my hope that, as a result of publishing this research, victims of crime, who may be unwilling to report it for fear of reprisals, will realise they can anonymously call the Crimestoppers number (0800 555 111), without risk to themselves, their families or their property, and that the information they provide could enable them to help rid their community of the menace of crime.’ Explaining how Crimestoppers works in practice, the charity’s director and former Deputy Assistant Commissioner at New Scotland Yard, Roy Clark, says: ‘Crimestoppers is a means of transferring fear from individuals and communities to those who plague society. Criminals fear being identified to the police and rely upon the understandable doubts some of the general public has about becoming directly involved. The 0800 555 111 number ensures the safety of the caller, but often leads to the arrest and charge of the criminal.’
