The truth behind the stats

When the government says “tough on crime” what does it mean ?When we’re told more arrests are being made so we’re “winning the fight against crime”, what does that mean ?


David Keane, aged 6, imprisoned for throwing cucumber sandwiches

It’s one thing to lie about stats, quite another to socially engineer them. The Times has this to say ;

“What police describe as a target-driven criminal justice culture will come under attack today as Lord Falconer of Thoroton, QC, who was appointed Secretary of State a week ago, faces a debate at the annual conference of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers in England and Wales.

The leaders of 130,000 police officers have drawn up a dossier of “lunacy” on Britain’s streets. They say that children are being arrested for throwing cream buns and bits of cucumber and adults are getting criminal records for offences that merit nothing more than a ticking-off.

The pressure to get results is so bad, they say, that officers are criminalising and alienating their traditional supporters in Middle England and many are so disillusioned that they are considering quitting.”