crime statistics - and the perception of crime

Again, the number of crimes committed in the UK have fallen:
Crime rate in England and Wales falls 15% to its lowest level in 33 years | UK news | The Guardian
Crime falls 15% in a year to the lowest level since records began in 1981, with big drops in violence and thefts | Mail Online
Crime is down – does the Government deserve any credit? | Conservative Home

As reported in a previous blog entry:
Jay Doubleyou: the media

There are different opinions as to what to do about criminals:
Jay Doubleyou: crime and punishment

And there are very different explanations as to why the number of crimes have fallen:
Six reasons for the fall in violent crime | UK news | The Guardian
Cost of alcohol credited for drop in serious violence in England and Wales | Society | The Guardian
The link between lead poisoning and violence | @guardianletters | UK news | The Guardian
Crime figures: is this the end of the age of violence? - Telegraph

But do we want to believe this?

Crime rate in England and Wales fell 15% in 2013, the largest annual drop on record, but will the public accept it?

But despite this sustained and historic fall in crime, the pollsters tell us that the public refuses to believe it has happened or that their chances of becoming a victim of crime are at a 33-year low.

This is partly because that with an estimated 7.5m crimes each year there are still plenty of victims of crime about, but that does not explain the persistent poll findings that nearly two-thirds of the public believe national crime rates in England and Wales are going up, despite the official figures. This may partly be due to large swathes of national media coverage of the crime figures that seem incapable of highlighting the simple story that crime is falling and instead seize on the most minor sub-set of offences to claim that the country remains in the grip of a massive crime wave. It certainly remains in the grip of a media which finds it impossible to live without a diet of murder, mayhem and soaring crime headlines.

Interestingly, the public gives a far more accurate account when asked about crime in their own neighbourhoods. Then only 28% report that it is going up. But the widespread public belief that national crime rates continue to soar means people often have a far more punitive attitude towards crime, and it is fuelled by their misinformed belief that their chances of becoming a victim of burglary, car crime or violent crime are far higher than the actual rates.

Does it matter? The last ONS national well-being survey showed that only 56% of women feel "fairly or very" safe walking alone after dark – the same proportion as five years ago – despite the fall in crime rate. New forms of crime – whether it is online fraud or official recognition of different kinds of domestic abuse – will continue to emerge that the official stats do not necessary capture but that does not negate the fundamental underlying trend.

Falling overall crime levels are no one-year wonder | UK news | The Guardian

On the other hand, there's been a rise in fraud - or 'white-collar crime'.
This is from the US:
Report: Local law enforcement struggle to keep up with cybercrime | 89.3 KPCC
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