Public see drugs and drink as biggest causes of NI’S crime

Survey finds 68% of people think offending has increased in past two years

PEOPLE believe drugs, alcohol and a lack of parental discipline are the biggest causes of crime, a survey has found.

And just under 70% of people think offending has increased in the past two years.

The findings are outlined in the Department of Justice’s Perceptions of Crime bulletin, which was based on the Northern Ireland Safe Community Survey.

Some 80% of the 3,710 people questioned said drugs were the major cause of crime, while others felt alcohol (56%) and a lack of parental discipline (40%) were contributory factors.

The majority (71%) felt fear of crime had a minimal impact on their lives, while 24% said it had a moderate effect. The other 5% said it greatly affecting lives.

The number of people believing crime has risen in the past two years increased to 68% from 60% the year before.

The number of people feeling it had decreased fell from 8% the previous year to 6%. Some 26% felt it had not changed.

Respondents generally believed that offending was less prevalent in their area than in Northern Ireland as a whole.

The number of people expressing significant concern about violent crime fell from 12% to 10%.

At 7%, there was no change in the proportion who felt unsafe while walking alone in their area after dark.

The percentage of people who felt unsafe in their homes at night fell from 2% to 1%.

Just 9% believed that anti-social behaviour in their area was high, similar to the 10% reported last year.

People using or dealing drugs (31%) or littering (27%) were the most common acts of antisocial behaviour identified.

Victim Support NI CEO Geraldine Hanna said fear of crime could “influence how safe and secure we feel in our communities, which in turn can impact our mental health and wellbeing”.

“We need to make greater efforts to address these fears, not only so people feel safe, but also to ensure that Northern Ireland is regarded as a good place to live, work and visit,” she added.

“This isn’t just a matter for the Department of Justice, but for all of government. Resourcing of community policing and tackling antisocial behaviour is key. So too are efforts to create clean, well-lit and accessible neighbourhoods and tackle poverty and under-development.”

Alliance Party Policing Board member John Blair said it was “important we continue to analyse and take seriously public perception of the risk of crime and the associated fear”.

“It is no surprise that people identified drugs as a contributory factor to the risk of crime and all of us must work, with statutory and voluntary agencies to tackle this problem and bring to justice those responsible for supply,” the South Antrim MLA said.

PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton welcomed the results and said police “recognise how the fear of becoming a victim of crime can impact on an individual’s quality of life”.

“We will continue to take a prevention-first approach to crime, protect the vulnerable and bring those who commit crime before the courts,” he added.

“It is crucial that people continue to tell us about crime when they see it or experience it.

“We can only address issues when we know about them, so I encourage anyone who has been a victim of crime to take the important step of reporting it to us.”

‘It is crucial people tell the police about crime when they see it or experience it’