The British Crime Survey is published today and the Home Office had prepared for the
worst. For months now, figures close to Theresa May have been expressing their fear that the combination of Ken Clarke’s liberal prisons policy and economic hardship would cause a rise in
crime for which the Home Office, graveyard for so many political careers, would be blamed.
Today’s figures will have eased their disquiet somewhat, insulating them from Labour’s critique that police cuts are endangering society. The headline is that crime in England and Wales has remained stable over the last year, except for a 14 per cent spike in domestic burglaries according to the British Crime Survey and an alarming 35 per cent increase in domestic violence. The government is cautious, recognising that crime is always too high and reform must continue; but today’s survey is being spun as an early vindication of its nascent reform programme.
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