Gangs Raise Crime in the UK

Child murder rate goes up by a third - Telegraph OK, that headline is a bit over the top. (What do you expect from London newspapers?) But it does highlight the way crime is shaping up in Britain.

In 1958, there were 261 murders - by 1990 that had grown to 661.

The highest number recorded was 1,047 in 2002/03 - swelled by the serial killer Harold Shipman, a GP from Manchester believed to have murdered more than 200 patients over many years.

When Labour took office in 1997, there were 609 murders, representing 11.8 offences per million people.

Last year's total of 734 is 13.7 per million - twice the rate 40 years ago.

Violent crime stats are a bit funny, because the official UK stats don't count crimes where the victim is under 16, and as gangs become more prevalent both the perpetrators and their victims are often under 16.

Oh and despite both gun and knife control laws, shooting and stabbing deaths "have both risen dramatically over the last year."