Street Crime Defined

What is street crime?

Well the home office defines street crime as personal robbery. Which is where either force is used on somebody or a threat is made with force and their property is taken. It also would include where property is snatched from somebody and that's taking property in the street and that's home office definition. I guess most people would include, or think of street crime as involving assault and violence as well.

What are the main causes of street crime and assault?

Street crime falls into two broad categories and that is the taking of people's property and I think by some people's perception would be around violence. Violence generally starts as a disagreement, usually at night time in pubs or in clubs, which then escalates into threats of violence or acts of violence against somebody. And street crime relates to the taking of people's property and this generally falls into two categories. The first being young people of school age subjected potentially to bullying which escalates into antisocial behavior, and then potentially into situations where their property is taken from them by force. The second part of that is around people who have their property taken generally later at night in the early evenings.

How likely am I to be the victim of a violent crime while out on the stree?

In reality, you are probably not that likely to be a victim of violent crime. The perception of violence is often far greater than the reality. That said, it's important not to be complacent when you are out and about. By taking some sensible precautions you can minimize the chance of you becoming a victim of violent street crime.

When does most street crime occur?

Most street crime occurs within two periods of time. Street crime that relates to personal robbery of young people generally happens after school between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Other street crimes generally occur later in the evening, from 6:30 p.m. right through into the early hours of the morning. They're predominantly the times when personal robberies and street crime occur.

Which gender suffers from street crime the most?

In terms of street crime, young men are far more likely to be victims of both personal robbery and assault than females. In terms of personal robbery, a significant number of the young male victims are of school age. In terms of alcohol related violence late at night, it is young men - and it has been for the last 25 years that I've been a police officer - who go out late at night and can become a victim of assault, or the threat of assault. That is predominantly why young men are mainly the victims of assault and street crime.

What age group suffer from street crime the most?

The age that suffers mostly from street crime are people under the age of 21. Young people are victims of personal robbery particularly after school, and, in terms of violence later at night, in pubs and clubs, again, young people go out far more often than older people do, and so they're more likely to be in the places that violence will occur at times it will occur.

Which race suffers from street crime the most?

In terms of race actually there is no difference in terms of your likelihood of becoming a victim of street crime. Victimology actually is proportionate to races.

What is a hate crime?

In broad terms, a hate crime is commission of a crime against someone because they are different. A hate crime could be committed either because the victim is of a different race - due to race hatred - or it could be perpetrated because of sexual orientation or religious belief.

What constitutes physical assault?

Physical assault actually constitutes a whole range of things, from common assault, where there's an application of force made to somebody but there's no actual injury caused, and that could actually even constitute somebody just literally being touched. Through actual bodily harm, which could potentially mean shock; it would normally mean some form of actual injury to the victim. The scale then escalates up through to grievous bodily harm, where there are significant, serious injuries and then ultimately, to the offense of murder

What types of people commit violent street crime?

It's actually very difficult to say what type of people commit violent street crimes. If you look at personal robbery, at one end of the scale, it can be committed by school children on school children. However, if you're looking at violence late at night, that, to a large extent, is driven by alcohol. You couldn't actually characterise who the people would be committing street crime, and what background the people who would commit such violence came from. Street crime is generally a result of how much alcohol they've drunk rather than who they are.

Is violent crime increasing?

The perception is probably that it is, and obviously in the media there will always be a highlighting of specific incidents. Tragic incidents where people have been subject to serious violence or have been killed receive a lot of attention but, in reality, violent crime is down. Particularly in London, over the last year its down seven percent on last year and knife enabled crime is down by a very similar amount as well. So the reality is that crime is down. Though for may people the perception is that it's going up.