Copping on

摘要

Ten years ago, the crime rate in England and Wales peaked. According to the British Crime Survey, which is the best indicator of long-term trends, an adult was less than half as likely to suffer a burglary or to have his car stolen last year than in 1995. Violent crimes fell by 43% in the same period. Oddly, though, this benign trend has gone largely unnoticed. A consistent majority of the very same people who now report so few crimes to surveyors continue to assert that crime is on the up.