FEAR OF CRIME "ON THE DECLINE"

15-02-2008

West Midlands Police Authority claims that fear of crime is plummeting - with just one one five people now worried about becoming victims compared to almost one in three in 2004.

The Authority – which oversees the local Police Force – commissions an annual, independent survey of 21,000 people.

Three years ago, they found that 29% of residents were fearful that they’d be on the receiving end of a criminal act, but in 2007 the figure was just 20.1%.

Last month it was revealed that December 2007 was the lowest month of recorded crime in the West Midlands since September 1989.

With so much of the media obsessed with notions of "feral youth" and "binge drinking", it begs the question of whether our press and radio stations are out of touch with reality - or whether the statistics are.