goverment cuts

[Dedworth]

Although it was not a factor 22 years ago but the very low level of crime and practically nil level of violent crime is a bonus. No 90 year olds being killed for a few quid and a bus pass pass. No teenager being murdered almost every week..[/FONT][/COLOR]

John - drawing on your experience of years in law enforcement would you like to comment on why there is this huge disparity between Spain and the UK ?

Has there been no decline in moral standards in Spain ? Is there less of a drug problem throughout society ? Are the would be criminals more fearful of the police and the likely punishment they would receive if caught ? How about the jails - are LCD TV's, Playstations and Legal Aid for inmates the norm ?

There are some apologists on this forum who would have us believe that crime and disorder in the UK is no worse than it was 40 years ago but the only thing that has changed is that it is widely reported todays multimedia society.

Maybe the situation is that Spain has become a dungheap and crime is rife but it just doesn't get the news coverage so therefore you don't know about it.

[johncar54]

John - drawing on your experience of years in law enforcement would you like to comment on why there is this huge disparity between Spain and the UK ?

Has there been no decline in moral standards in Spain ? Is there less of a drug problem throughout society ? Are the would be criminals more fearful of the police and the likely punishment they would receive if caught ? How about the jails - are LCD TV's, Playstations and Legal Aid for inmates the norm ?

There are some apologists on this forum who would have us believe that crime and disorder in the UK is no worse than it was 40 years ago but the only thing that has changed is that it is widely reported todays multimedia society.

Maybe the situation is that Spain has become a dungheap and crime is rife but it just doesn't get the news coverage so therefore you don't know about it.

Some good questions there.

I don't really know why there is such a difference between Spain and UK.

It may be that there is still 'respect' for people in Spain. Children, until now anyway, have traditionally been brought up in family environments. There is no government subsidy to encourage young women to get pregnant (unlike UK where a single woman's baby is the key to an alibaba's cave of hand outs, accommodation, etc). If an unmarried woman get pregnant the family are the only source of support.

As far as I know the prisons are not more sever that UK and certainly there does not seem to be a greater likelihood that an offender will be imprisoned.

As for crime levels in UK, in my wildest dreams I cannot image that it is not many times worse than it was when I retired from the police in 1988, let alone 40 years ago. But 'statistic' are a wonderful thing which can be woven to prove just about anything, especially if those on the receiving end are sufficiently gullible.

Quote: Maybe the situation is that Spain has become a dung heap and crime is rife but it just doesn't get the news coverage so therefore you don't know about it


In the 22 years I have lived here I have one wing mirror stolen from my motorcycle. That is the only time )so far) I have been a victim of crime. My wife had a purse stolen from her backpack (I had told her not to put it there). She often is out and about alone, shopping, markets etc., and in the winter walks around after dark. The loss of the purse is her only loss in over 4 years here. For 15 years, I have been a voluntary translator with the police here and thus have probably a better perspective on crime levels than most. It is really very low compared with UK