Crime is diminishing the living standards of UK citizens and costing the country £250bn per year, a new study has found. Research from the Policy Exchange believes that “permissive” attitudes to crime cost the country as much as 10% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) every year as it lays out measures required to “shift the balance in policymaking back towards the interests of the law-abiding majority”.
Crimes such as shoplifting are up by 51% when compared to 2015 while robberies and knife crime offences are up 64% and 89% respectively over the same period. Shockingly, public order offences are up by 192%. Former Home Secretary Sir Sajid Javid wrote in the foreword of the report: “Criminals’ actions destroy trust in other people, trust in institutions and trust in government. And without trust, our police forces and the free market cannot function.
“A situation in which people believe that when they report a crime the police will not follow up and the perpetrator will not be brought to justice is not sustainable.
“Restoring that trust, and the rule of law on which prosperity relies, must be a priority for the Government. Without it, our society will suffer. Our prospects for economic growth will suffer. And the costs of that will fall squarely on the British people. We can, and must, do better.”
The report also recommends reform to the prison and probation service as well as a “wholesale” change to the structure and approach of police leadership.
As part of reform of the courts system, the Policy Exchange suggests fundamental change to the way in which foreign nationals convicted of crimes are dealt with. It said: “Any foreign national convicted of a criminal offence should be subject to immediate deportation at the end of their sentence.
“For those sentenced to a community order or suspended sentence, deportation should be effective immediately on sentencing.”
The report identifies direct costs that arise as a result of crime, which it estimates to be around £170bn per annum. These costs include things such as the price of increased security for businesses and taxi fares as a result of not feeling safe to walk for individuals.
The report recommends that the government should invest an additional £5 billion annually in the criminal justice system.
This includes £2.4 billion for prisons, £1.9 billion on additional police officers and staff, £200 million on technology research and investment to fight crime and £500 million on the courts.
Areas where knife crime is particularly prevalent should be considered for increased police focus with enhanced officer presence, the report concludes.
It said: “Where reasonable grounds exist, every opportunity to lawfully stop and search individuals should be taken alongside the widespread implementation of live facial recognition to better fight crime.
“There should also be greater legal protections for police officers undertaking actions on behalf of the state to reduce the incidence of vexatious allegations of misconduct and the risk of prosecution alongside a substantial scaling back of the powers and scope of the Independent Office for Police Conduct.”
