Crime in Newcastle 'may go up' as recession bites

Nov 11 2008 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

THE credit crunch will result in more crime in the North East, Newcastle city leaders have been warned.

Police have been told there may be a rise in domestic violence, burglary and shoplifting as families struggle to cope with the downturn in the economy.

Newcastle Council’s executive board will this week meet to consider the impact of a recession on the city.

As well as expecting markets to continue collapsing well into 2009 and a sustained fall in house sales, a report to councillors will also predict the “worst case scenario” impact on crime in the North.

In the starkest warning yet on the harsh times looming, council officers have said the credit crunch “threatens to bring to an end the longest recorded period of falling crime in living memory in England and Wales”.

Councillors will be told to expect increases in “domestic violence, burglary, thefts of and from vehicles, shoplifting and other thefts” as jobs become harder to find.

And in a damning indictment of community relations in the city, officers say they expect serious tensions to emerge.

The report says: “Increased pressure felt by communities in an environment of decreasing resources can result in increased tensions regarding perceptions about the allocation of resources to ‘different groups’.”

Government adviser and former Durham chief superintendent Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate last night played down the worries. He said: “It has long been claimed that crime is linked to poverty, but I do not necessarily agree that people will always become more likely to commit crimes during a downturn.

“I think there are basically good and bad people and those who are likely to commit crimes will keep on doing so and those who would not normally will by and large avoid the temptations and do their best to deal with the pressure.

“In my experience most people are decent and do not want to cause trouble. Yes, we have to be realistic and say people will feel the pinch, and there should be some preparations for that, but there need to be few changes made ahead of that.

“As long as police levels are not reduced, then the crunch should not change things too much.” Crime in the North East has been among the least in the country for five years, but Northumberland has seen a slight increase recently.

Northumbria Police have said they are ready for any increase. Superintendent Frank Gallop, Newcastle Area Command, said: “There will always be socio-economic factors which have an impact on the increase or decrease in different types of crime, and as a police force we monitor these changing circumstances so that we can respond accordingly.

“As far as the economic downturn is concerned, past experience has shown that it can lead to an increase in acquisitive crime and we are prepared to respond should this become the case in Newcastle.”

Durham’s Deputy Chief Constable Garry Barnett said: “We don’t see it as inevitable that crime must rise if the policing is appropriate and the community supports crime prevention and detection.”

A spokesman for Newcastle City Council said members would debate the officers’ report on Wednesday.