It's a Crime

by Rab Bruce’s Spider

 

Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot

BlueSky: @RabBrucesSpider.Bsky.Social

 

 

I read an article on the STV newsfeed this morning which seemed to gleefully celebrate the fact that around one-third of Scots believe crime is increasing in their area. I wondered what could have caused this perception since crime has been decreasing over the past couple of decades, with the rate of solving crimes increasing.

 

Looking at the various statistics, it is true that there has been a slight increase in crime rates in Scotland but that is largely because crime fell during Lock Down when it was harder for people to go out to commit crimes. So, although there has been an increase, the levels of reported crime are still lower than they were before Lock down.

 

It is also true that some types of crime are on the increase. We all know that fraud, especially online fraud, is a growing danger, but that is a worldwide phenomenon, and it is difficult to see how Scotland could be an exception to that trend.

 

Shoplifting is also on the increase, but there is a reason for that; a lot of people are struggling with the cost of living, so are resorting to shoplifting because they cannot afford to pay for food. That is an indictment on the economic model the UK persists in following. Instead of clamping down on the poor and disabled, the UK Government would find that crime decreases if people have more money and feel able to cope. Higher wages and higher levels of support for the unemployed, low paid or disabled would have an impact on the crime statistics.

 

Then there is sexual assault. The news reports in Scotland carry plenty of reports of this sort of crime, but does that mean there is a real increase, or is it just that more women (who are almost always the victims of this sort of heinous crime) are reporting it more? I’m not sure anyone can answer that definitively, but I’d be happy to see an increase in the reporting of sexual assaults if it meant that more men (who are almost always the perpetrators) were caught and convicted. That’s a sad indictment of men’s behaviour, but there are, sadly, some out there who need to be locked away for the safety of women in public.

 

But if crime overall is generally decreasing, why do one-third of Scots believe the opposite? Well, no doubt there are some who live in areas where crime is endemic, but I’d say that the main reason is that our media, bereft of a desire to report on the wider, constitutional or political events unless they can be used to show Scotland in a bad light, simply love reporting crime. If people read about crimes each day, and it is usually the more violent crimes they will hear about, then their perception is bound to be negative. And if the media constantly run Scotland down in any area of public life they can latch onto, people’s general outlook is going to be less than positive about the state of Scottish society. With that outlook, many will instinctively believe that crime is a growing problem simply because they are conditioned to believe that everything in Scotland is a problem.

 

A crime-free society would be wonderful, but it’s very unlikely to ever happen thanks to human nature. Our Police will always want more resources because that’s also human nature, but I believe that the main problem is, as so often, the UK media in Scotland which promotes a negative view of our nation at every opportunity simply because they oppose the very concept of Scotland becoming a normal, self-governing country. If only there was some solution to that.