290 MUGGINGS EVERY DAY IN BRITAIN

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: “These figures betray the Government’s continuing failure to tackle the menace of street crime in this country.

“They also show widespread concern about drug use and an increase in drug crime.

“The Government cannot ignore the link between these two factors. Drugs not only destroy communities, they undermine our efforts to combat other crime, particularly street robbery which is fuelled by drugs.” Lib Dem spokesman Nick Clegg said: “If tough talk, Government gimmicks and endless legislation could cut crime, Britain would be the safest country in the world.

“But these figures show that is very far from being the case, with robberies and vandalism rising month by month.”

There were 26,600 robberies recorded in England and Wales in the final three months of last year.

That was an eight per cent rise on the same period in 2005 and the highest figure since the third quarter of 2003.

It means around 290 muggings are committed on our streets every day. But anti-knife campaigners warned that the true figure could be four times higher.

Clive Elliott, operational director of Victims of Crime Trust, said recorded muggings were just the tip of the iceberg.
He said: “We believe that three out of four robberies are not reported, so the true figure could be as high as 400,000 robberies every year.

“That is how out of control robbery has become on the streets of Britain.”

In an e-mail to Labour activists earlier this month, however, Mr Blair insisted: “We have made communities more secure.”

Yesterday’s figures from the Home Office show that drug offences rose by three per cent to 48,200 in the three months to December last year.

Fatal shootings during 2006 were up eight per cent to 57 compared with the previous year although overall gun crime fell by 16 per cent to 9,513 incidents.

While overall recorded crime fell by two per cent in the last quarter of 2006, separate figures from the British Crime Survey, based on interviews with almost 50,000 people, show that overall crime rose by two per cent during the year.

The survey also showed that vandalism has shot up by 11 per cent during 2006 to 2.9million incidents.

It revealed the chances of being a victim of any crime have risen more than one per cent to 24.5 per cent.

The Home Office stressed the figure was still substantially lower than its peak of 40 per cent in 1995.

In a further blow to ministers, the survey revealed growing alarm over anti-social behaviour coupled with tumbling faith in the courts and criminal justice.

There were increases in the proportion of the public who are concerned about anti-social antics, noisy neighbours, drunkenness, drug dealing and teenage yobs.

Similarly there was a fall in the per­centage of people who believe that the criminal justice system is effective, that it helps cut crime or that it meets the needs of the victim.

On a positive note, total recorded violent crime was down one per cent, burglary was down three per cent and violence against the person fell by two per cent.

Home Office Minister Tony Mc­Nulty said: “We have cut robbery by a fifth over the past five years but any rise, however slight, reminds us there is still work to do. Mobile phones are involved in over 50 per cent of street robberies, which is why we have established regional robbery action plans to address a problem concentrated in specific areas.”

He added: “Crime has fallen steadily over the past 10 years. The British Crime Survey indicates that it has fallen by 35 per cent since 1997. This country is becoming an increasingly difficult place for criminals to operate.

“But while I am encouraged by today’s figures – particularly the reduction in recorded violent crime and the 10 per cent reduction of violent offences with injury and the 16 per cent fall in firearms offences – I am also determined to guard against complacency.”

British Transport Police Chief Constable Ian Johnston, spokes­man for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said:

“We acknowledge that robbery went up in this period. However, overall, robbery figures have been cut by a fifth in the last five years. Our determination is to continue that trend.”

LibDem spokesman Mr Clegg added: “If we really want to cut crime, we don’t need to get tougher, we need to get smarter.

“We need to tackle repeat crime by making education and training compulsory in prisons. More prisoners should work and pay into a compensation fund for victims, and we should extend treatment for drug and mental health problems.

“It’s time to focus on what works, instead of what sounds good.”

●The number of legally held fire­arms rose by 10,000 last year to 368,600, Home Office figures show.

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