I have the current “Hinckley Times”, which also covers the local area including my town Earl Shilton, in front of me. One report states ‘Crime in the town has fallen’ and goes on to say:

“Overall crime in Hinckley (I suppose that means the district as well)is down 5.5%, equalling 135 fewer victims.

Figures show incidents of racially aggravated crime are down 42% (not surprising, there are very few immigrants in this area), incidents of criminal damage are down 20%, incidents of anti-social behaviour are down 14.6% (obviously the person who quoted this figure doesn’t live in Shilton!)are there were 27 less burglaries compared to a year ago”.

The italics are mine.

The front page headlines on this paper show a Senior Citizen covered in blood after a vicious attack by three youths who set upon him and stole the takeaway meal he had just bought. They stamped on his face and he finished up in hospital. The paper states:

“The law prevents these boys being named because they are under 18″.

However the three were given “referral orders”, (wrists slapped, and warned that if they do it again they will be told off again!) supervised by the ‘Youth Offending Service’. Yet another politically correct do-gooder organisation to help the little darlings get over the traumatic experience of beating up an old man and robbing him.

But I digress. Other news items in the same paper include:

‘Girl, 5, breaks leg after being hit by a car that failed to stop’
‘Store raid terror for workers at the Co-op’
‘Man punched after fracas outside takeway’
‘Police hunting three men after attempted abduction’
‘Man in cider theft’
‘E-fit released after vicious assault’
‘Appeal after an assault in Station Road’
‘Director’s council tax fraud’
‘Man stole from gran’
‘Man faces drugs rap’
‘Devastated at barn stock theft’
‘Man bailed on crack cocaine charge’
‘Sheds broken into and contents stolen’

These are all separate incidents, and this is all from one weeks local paper. Every week I have noticed that the number of crimes is increasing. Twenty years ago there were perhaps one of two crimes reported. Believe me there are a lot of “minor crimes” in our town which go unreported.

Twenty years ago I very rarely locked up at night; naughty I know, but I felt I could trust the people around me. Not now, I lock the front and back door at all times now and never leave a window open at night or when I’m out. I always put the safety chain on before answering the door because recently I  had “persons unknown” trying to open the back door on two occasions when I’ve been in the house!