Thread: Crime wave set to hit Britian

Crime wave set to hit Britain: leaked report Sat Dec 23, 9:31 PM ET



LONDON (AFP) - Britain is set to witness a rise in crime rates and a big jump in the prison population, according to a confidential Downing Street memo leaked to The Sunday Times newspaper.

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The document, drawn up by Prime Minister Tony Blair's Strategy Unit, warned that a slowdown in economic growth was set to trigger a rise in crime rates for the first time in 12 years.

The report suggested the government should consider methods used abroad to combat crime, such as enforced heroin vaccinations, alcohol rationing, a ban on alcohol advertising, "chemical castration" for sex offenders, identity chip implants, the public shaming of offenders and the use of bounty hunters.

One chart in the document suggested that the prison population was expected to rise by 25 percent in the next five years from 80,000 to more than 100,000 -- far exceeding the prison places the government has planned for, suggesting that ministers will have to consider alternatives.

"Prison numbers are rising beyond capacity, yet evidence suggests that they are an expensive way to meet crime and punishment objectives," the report said.

It went on: "80 percent of (the) recent decrease in crime (is) due to economic factors... Unless action is taken, economic and social pressures are expected to put recent falls in crime under threat."

It said crime would rise "because the rate of economic growth is slowing".

The report said that nine out of 10 crimes were either not responded to or went unpunished, and half of all the crimes in England and Wales were committed by a hardcore of about 100,000 people.

It also made controversial observations about tensions between different ethnic groups in Britain.

Illegal immigration "presents the greatest challenge for cohesion... with clandestine entrants (e.g. on the back of a lorry) presenting greater challenges than overstayers."

It went on: "There is concern about particular groups, e.g. Afro-Caribbean boys. More recently, there has been concern about Pakistani youths, who suffer disproportionately high unemployment, feel increasingly discriminated against, and disconnect from their parents."

The report suggested that Muslim women teachers should be banned from wearing the niqab full face veil in the classroom -- an issue which has been a hot topic in Britain in recent months.

A spokesman for Blair's Downing Street office said they did not comment on leaked reports.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061224/wl ... 1224022806

Then we need to lock our doors too: many are predicting a slowdown or even recession due to the housing crash. People can't use their homes for ATM machines any more, there is an epidemic of foreclosures in many areas, etc. etc. This has already put a crimp in the home improvement business and construction jobs numbers.

But, we have a large number of people here expecting employment, who may become desperate. I remember seeing posts by people here on H-1bs in the last recession, whining about how they had to take Starbucks jobs to survive. Hey, they were supposed to leave the country within 10 days once they fell out of status.

We can also expect bitter competition for the remaining jobs, and lots of dirty tricks. Elsewhere on this board is a story of an American chambermaid and what the foreign competition did to her. Is there a website where these stories can be collected, as Zazona collects H-1b horror stories? This is a story that needs to be told.

Originally Posted by BetsyRoss

Then we need to lock our doors too: many are predicting a slowdown or even recession due to the housing crash. People can't use their homes for ATM machines any more, there is an epidemic of foreclosures in many areas, etc. etc. This has already put a crimp in the home improvement business and construction jobs numbers.

But, we have a large number of people here expecting employment, who may become desperate. I remember seeing posts by people here on H-1bs in the last recession, whining about how they had to take Starbucks jobs to survive. Hey, they were supposed to leave the country within 10 days once they fell out of status.

We can also expect bitter competition for the remaining jobs, and lots of dirty tricks. Elsewhere on this board is a story of an American chambermaid and what the foreign competition did to her. Is there a website where these stories can be collected, as Zazona collects H-1b horror stories? This is a story that needs to be told.

Yes, I know none of us would like to see this but it is something that may well happen and have to be considered? I have heard some say that a collapse in the economy although bad would have one positive effect an open the eyes of Americans as to what is going on in this country including illegals, and thereby Americans as a whole coming down on Washington. As we all know that adversity sometimes leads to unity of purpose and cause.

I think some good could come out of an adjustment. A fall in the dollar would make oil more expensive (but that's happening anyway) and would also spur us to stop talking and make adjustments. A fall of the dollar against the rupee would help stem the loss of white collar jobs to India, Inc. We could all use some time to sit down and make new priorities. I'm on a diet now (that's working) and my new clothes when I need them will come from a) thrift stores, b) outlets, c) ebay, in that order. I'm a label reader and love finding items made in America, which some still are even in the dollar store. I'm going to plant heirloom vegetables and fruit trees this spring. Part of our problem with Mexico is that around 20-25 years ago, they had a baby boom, but now the kinds of jobs they prize here (i.e. construction, landscaping) are starting to dry up, so I figure there will be trouble.

From my own personal life: I went through a bitter, prolonged bout of divorce litigation starting in '88 that left me destitute with 4 kids and no career. But I'm a manager now, though I don't earn anywhere near what I should. What I'm grateful for is the lessons I learned during the lean years. While it seemed like everyone else in America was whooping it up in a McMansion with a shiny new SUV and tropical vacations (Yes, I know that was far from true, that's just how it looked to me), I was learning some good habits that are helping me now that my nest is almost empty (only my elderly mother left at home). I'm not as scared as many people will be.

BetsyRoss, welcome to my world. Thrift store shopping is our survival.

As for the Mexican baby boom, it has not stopped. I see pregnant women who cannot speak a lick of English everywhere here in the NW.

I am concerned though, that here, a loss of our economy will bring about more than just change this time around, as it did in the 30's. If our economy collapsed, and all of these Americans who now cannot survive without their conveniences, will start starving, and this will bring the need for leadership, who will appear to have all of the "solutions", but it will come with a price. I hope I am not here for that.

You're right that we could be in danger from demagogues of various stripes. Some would say we already have been - after 9/11 we ended up getting breast exams in public at the airport there for a while, for example. We will see a LOT of instability, poor choices, and bad behavior from our own people as well as others. It will be a tough time to live through, and there will be innocent victims, but also opportunities for the right kind of leadership and social rethinking.