Thread: Europe immigrants fuel British crime surge: police

Europe immigrants fuel British crime surge: police
19 September 2007, 13:46 CET

(LONDON) - British police called Wednesday for more money to cope with an increase in crime and other problems fuelled by a huge influx of immigrants from central Europe since the European Union expanded.

Britain has seen a massive wave of immigrants, notably from Poland, since the EU's "big bang" expansion in May 2004, followed by the inclusion of poorer Romania and Bulgaria at the start of this year.

While politicians hail the newcomers' beneficial impact on the British economy, police have highlighted social consequences in terms of crime and other problems.

"The profile of the county has changed dramatically and this simply isn't taken into account when government allocates funding," said Chief Constable Julie Spence, a police chief in the eastern English county of Cambridgeshire.

Problems fuelled by the immigrant influx included a growth in prostitution -- driven by the arrival of lots of single men -- as well as traffic violations, often due to newcomers' lack of knowledge of British law.

"We can identify a significant rise in drink-drive, which was down to people thinking that what they did where they came from they could do here," she said. "Their attitudes to drink-drive are probably where we were 20 years ago."

In addition there were "a lot of people who... because they used to carry knives for protection, they think they can carry knives here," she told BBC radio.

Romanian immigrants were behind more than 1,000 crimes in the first six months of 2007, according to new police figures, compared with only 135 for the same period last year.

Senior London police officer Bernie Gravett told More4 News, which obtained the figures under freedom of information laws, that one of the worst crimes was trafficking young children.

The government said it took the concerns seriously.

"It's vital that we take the social impact of immigration into account when we make migration decisions," Home Office junior minister Liam Byrne said in a statement.

"It's also important that those we welcome into the UK to work and settle here understand our traditions, learn English and use our language," he added, noting that Britain is extending a requirement for immigrants to learn English.

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http://www.eubusiness.com/news_live/1190199721.35

While politicians hail the newcomers' beneficial impact on the British economy, police have highlighted social consequences in terms of crime and other problems.

"The profile of the county has changed dramatically and this simply isn't taken into account when government allocates funding," said Chief Constable Julie Spence, a police chief in the eastern English county of Cambridgeshire.

Problems fuelled by the immigrant influx included a growth in prostitution -- driven by the arrival of lots of single men -- as well as traffic violations, often due to newcomers' lack of knowledge of British law.

"We can identify a significant rise in drink-drive, which was down to people thinking that what they did where they came from they could do here," she said. "Their attitudes to drink-drive are probably where we were 20 years ago."

In addition there were "a lot of people who... because they used to carry knives for protection, they think they can carry knives here," she told BBC radio.

Amazing how interchangeable the scenarios are, proving once again that people cannot outrun themselves and their barbaric corrupt cultures, no matter what reasons they give for leaving their cesspool homelands.