It’s the second week of Reform’s six-week ‘Lawless Britain’ campaign and there has been some back and forth about whether crime rates in the UK are getting better or worse. New polling out today reveals, however, what the public think about the tackling of crime in this country – and the results are rather damning.
A YouGov poll, conducted between 23-24 June, found that few British adults believe that criminals who commit minor crimes are likely to face justice. Less than 10 per cent of Brits think that those who steal bicycles, snatch phones, scam people online or dodge fares will face punitive action. This is in stark contrast to the nine in ten people who believe that murderers will face justice, while 67 per cent of adults believe those who commit knife crime will be dealt with.
More than that, few people think the police are all that bothered about minor crime. Only 9 per cent think coppers will chase down fare dodgers, just 11 per cent believe forces will investigate bike thefts and 14 per cent think that police will pursue phone thieves. While almost all respondents believed that forces would properly investigate murder cases, less than four in ten people believed police would fully probe minor assault. Crikey!
Men and female tend to have similar beliefs about the likelihood of criminals facing justice – although women are less likely than men to think that sex crimes like rape and sexual assault will result in a conviction. Rather interestingly there is a generational gap too, with older Brits more confident that sexual predators will be punished – while younger people expect that dangerous drivers and thieves are more likely to be convicted.
On Monday, Nigel Farage introduced ex-detective Colin Sutton as the latest member of the Reform outfit. Sutton will stand for the party in the next general election and, in the meantime, advise the party on crime and policing. The ex-copper told attendees: ‘We need to refocus what police are doing onto homes and streets – not posts and tweets.’ Clearly the British public feel the same…
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