Friday, July 18, 2008

Hallelujah! Cassilis to the Rescue: Crime Figures


The ever-reliable Liam tells Dale and Dizzy to grow up and stop spreading their fibs about crime and disorder. Something like that anyway. Society is not broken. And while we may disagree over whether Call Me Dave Cameron should have the opportunity to pretend to fix what isn't broken it really is refreshing to get perspective from someone who can count.

8 comments:

Liam Murray said...

Thanks Chris.

Not sure Cameron is 'pretending to fix what isn't broken' so much as overstating quite how 'broken' it is. That's still a valid thing to criticise of course but you need only cast your mind back to Blair's appalling use of the Bulger murder in a speech to realise how ready politicians of any stripe are to misuse things for their own ends.

Chris Paul said...

Indeed. But it was future tense I was meaning. If he gets in he'll have to pretend to fix what he now says is utterly broken but arguably has already been fairly well repaired, including by the Labour governments of the last 11 years.

These improving safety and security figures really are encouraging and it is very unfortunate that the mass media and Dale and the like run down real success and responsibly produced statistics with real anecdotes which say little of the overall position.

Even BBC News Channel did the old "Crime Figures are down but Dale and the Mail and their readers still don't believe".

Liam Murray said...

I wouldn't make too much of the idea that these figures are the consequence of a Labour government Chris - the figures are repeated across most of western Europe regardless of which political parties are in power....

Chris Paul said...

I understand that. But there certainly are no grounds to attack these Labour governments for crime going up!! Dale's continued along the same lines today.

jailhouselawyer said...

No wonder the crime stats are down, child neglect and/or child abandonment, let alone the disappearing act, have become acceptable to the middle classes...

Chris Paul said...

What's that John? One example you mean in Portugal? Have you paid your share of damages over yet?

Anonymous said...

Another report that seems to have evaded your dimming omniscience, Chris.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7515042.stm

Whar were you saying about Iain Dale and statistics?

Chris Paul said...

I don't claim 'omniscience' dearest yellow anon. And nor omnibloggience.

Are you saying the BBC have also got some statistics wrong?