Why crime has risen so much further and faster in Britain than in any other rich country over the past half-century (see chart) is anybody's guess. Maybe it's the result of near-American levels of relative poverty and family breakdown combined with a European reluctance to bang up quite such a large proportion of the population as America does. Anyway, the long-term causes are of less immediate interest to the government than a short-term fix. Popular concern about crime is rising: according to MORI'S polls, 23% of people rated it as one of the most important issues for the government at the beginning of this year; 34% do now. Faced with a problem, governments reach for the statute book. Since Labour came to power five years ago, it has passed nearly a dozen Criminal Justice Acts. This week, Tony Blair held out the prospect of more legislation. There was an urgent need, he said, to redress the balance of the law in favour of victims. Criminal justice had to be "dragged from the 19th to the 21st century". He described a White Paper to be published next month as the most radical shake-up of the criminal justice system in decades.
展开▼
