The Impact of Crime
How does crime impact on people?
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The immediate impact – physical harm, loss
of / damage to property
The ‘aftermath’ (fear of crime) far exceeds
the immediate impact:
–
fewer than one per cent of victims said that their
physical injuries were the most upsetting aspect
of their experience (Hodgson 2005).
How crime impacts on society
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Encourages people to take expensive
security measures (e.g. alarms, taking taxis
and cars rather than public transport)
Discourages socialising – fear of ‘going out’
Fear of using public spaces
Not moving to / going into certain areas
Undermines social networks
The financial cost
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The cost of the penal system has to be met
from taxation – funding ‘diverted’ from other
public services (see ‘costs’ below)
Losses due to theft are passed on to
customers
Insurance premiums increased
Cost of treating victims of violence - NHS &
Victim Support services
Some examples – England and Wales
2009/10
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£34 billion - crimes against individuals and
households
£2 billion - treating victims
£4 billion - lost economic output
£700 million - property damage
Criminal justice costs - £6 billion
Victims Support survey
The unequal impact of crime - factors
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Income / social class
Area
Ethnicity
Age
Gender
Income / social class
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Repeat victimisation affects poor most - 4% of
victims experience 44% of crime (Farrel and Pease
1993)
People with incomes of less than £10,000 are:
1.6 times more likely to be mugged
– 1.3 times more likely to be burgled
– 4.2 times more likely to feel ‘very unsafe’ when walking
home alone in the dark
Than people with incomes of over £30,000
–
Income / social class (cont’d)
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Better off can afford to:
–
–
–
–
–
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Install security measures
Live in safer areas
Take private transport
Pay for insurance policies
Able to take other steps to avoid being victims
Poor hit hardest and are least likely to be
able to cope with the impact – e.g. no
insurance
Impact on Area
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Depopulation, particularly in urban areas
High levels of crime may damage community spirit
and result in less neighbourliness. People may
simply want to ‘keep themselves to themselves’ for
fear of harassment
High crime levels can contribute to ‘environmental
poverty’ – vandalism, graffiti
Once a region with a high level of crime is labelled
as a bad area, it might become a ghetto
Impact on Area (contd)
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Impacts most on people living in the most deprived
areas :
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–
–
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2.5 times more likely to be mugged
2.5 times more likely to be burgled
2.6 times more likely to be ‘very worried’ about being
attacked
People living in urban areas more likely to be victims
than people living in rural areas
People living in social housing more likely to be
victims than people living in private housing (often
more than double)
Impact on Area (contd)
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Biggest differences are between very local
areas – sometimes even adjacent streets
Deprived areas not always high crime areas
– e.g. Sedgefield: ex mining area with high %
of retired
Ethnicity and crime
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overlap between deprivation and ethnicity (crime
more common in deprived areas)
Minorities more likely to be victims of crime p- may
be because ethnic groups have higher % of young
When ‘age’ factor removed, rates are similar for
Asians
Mixed race most at risk of of assault, robbery, vehicle
theft, burglary and vandalism
although rates similar, types of crime vary – esp.
‘hate’ crime
National Stastics online
Ethnicity and crime – victims (%)
National Statistics Online
Age
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Young people most likely to be victims
35% children between 10 -15 were victims of
crime on 2003
19% experienced 5 or more incidents
59% of children from ‘On Track’ (deprived)
areas victims of crime in 2004
25% of boys and 10% of girls were attacked
Age (contd)
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Bullying – black children, ‘looked after’ children and
children excluded from school much more likely to
be victims
16 – 24 year olds twice as likely to be victims and
perpetrators
Risk of being victims of crime falls sharply with age
Fear of crime impacts more on elderly despite sharp
fall in crime experienced with age
Significant under reporting of crime against the
elderly