Indian student murdered in Salford street attack (in UK, unprovoked attack)

[spin]

6. Home invasions are common in the U.K.

An Englishman's home is his dungeon
By Mark Steyn

12:01AM GMT 07 Dec 2004

One of the key measures of a society's health is how easily you can insulate yourself from its underclass. In America, unless one resides in a very small number of problematic inner-city quarters or wishes to make a career in the drug trade, one will live a life blessedly untouched by crime. In Britain, alas, it's the peculiar genius of Home Office policy to have turned the entire country into one big, rundown, inner-city, no-go slum estate, extending from prosperous suburbs to leafy villages, even unto Upper Cheyne Row.

***snip***

But the trouble is that this kind of burglary - the kind most likely to go "wrong" - is now the norm in Britain. In America, it's called a "hot" burglary - a burglary that takes place when the homeowners are present - or a "home invasion", which is a much more accurate term. Just over 10 per cent of US burglaries are "hot" burglaries, and in my part of the world it's statistically insignificant: there is virtually zero chance of a New Hampshire home being broken into while the family are present. But in England and Wales it's more than 50 per cent and climbing. Which is hardly surprising given the police's petty, well-publicised pursuit of those citizens who have the impertinence to resist criminals.

These days, even as he or she is being clobbered, the more thoughtful British subject is usually keeping an eye (the one that hasn't been poked out) on potential liability. Four years ago, Shirley Best, proprietor of the Rolander Fashion emporium, whose clients include Zara Phillips, was ironing some clothes when the proverbial two youths showed up. They pressed the hot iron into her flesh, burning her badly, and then stole her watch. "I was frightened to defend myself," said Miss Best. "I thought if I did anything I would be arrested." There speaks the modern British crime victim.

***snip***

That this most basic right should be something for which he has to organise a campaign is disgraceful. In New Hampshire, there are few burglaries because there's a high rate of gun ownership. Getting your head blown off for a $70 TV set isn't worth it. Conversely, thanks to the British police, burning the flesh of a London dressmaker to get her watch is definitely worth it. In Chelsea the morning after Mr Monckton's murder, Her Majesty's Keystone Konstabulary with all their state-of-the-art toys had sealed off the street in an almost comical illustration of their lavishly funded uselessness....emphasis added
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3613417/An-Englishmans-home-is-his-dungeon.html

Britain is in the grip of an austerity crime-wave with two thirds rise in burglaries in parts of the country

Increase in burglaries and robberies
By Jack Doyle Last updated at 11:38 PM on 11th December 2011

Britain has been hit by an ‘austerity crimewave’, with burglary and robbery both on the rise, experts said last night.

Police figures reveal there were 9 per cent more burglaries in October this year than in December 2010.


Feeling the pinch: Among the worst figures nationwide were a 66 per cent rise in burglaries in Devon and Cornwall and a 55 per cent rise in Cleveland

***snip***

Last week Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe told a committee of the London assembly: ‘We’ve got a challenge at the moment around robbery, particularly street robbery.’

In the year to October muggings in the capital were up nearly 15 per cent compared to the same period last year.


On the rise: Statistics show an increase in knifepoint robberies, bicycle thefts and pickpocketing
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072841/Britain-grip-austerity-crime-wave-rise-thirds-burglaries-parts-country.html#ixzz1hgeWKeud

Meanwhile crime of all types is falling in the United States and has been for years.

FBI: U.S. violent crime down in 2011, fewer murders, rapes
WASHINGTON | Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:05am EST

Reuters) - Murders, rapes and other violent crimes dropped sharply in the United States in the first six months of 2011, continuing a downward trend that has lasted 4 1/2 years, the FBI reported on Monday.


The federal law enforcement agency said preliminary January-through-June figures showed the number of violent crimes declined 6.4 percent from the previous year, led by a 5.7 percent drop in murders and a 5.1 percent decrease in rapes.

In other violent crime categories, robberies declined 7.7 percent while aggravated assaults fell 5.9 percent.

The FBI's regular statistical report did not give any reasons for the lower crimes nationwide. But the latest numbers provided further evidence of no crime spike coinciding with the tough economic conditions and high unemployment.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/19/us-usa-crime-fbi-idUSTRE7BI0ZR20111219

Perhaps the U.K. is not quite the crime and violence free utopia that you believe it is.