Robbery rising faster than any other Western country

Police cutbacks and rise in smartphone thefts blamed for 33pc leap in incidents across England and Wales

ROBBERY is rising at a faster rate in England and Wales than in any other Western country, according to analysis, with thefts of smartphones and cuts in police numbers being blamed.

A study of global crime statistics found that between 2010 and 2014, England and Wales enjoyed a steady decline in the number of robbery offences, in line with most comparable countries. The number or robberies during that period fell by almost a quarter.

But since 2014, while most other Western countries have continued to experience a downward trend, England and Wales have seen an exponential rise, with robbery offences up by 33 per cent and robberies with knives up 45 per cent.

Researchers are unclear as to the exact reasons. However, one theory is that the spike in crime is being driven by the theft of smartphones, with the UK having a slightly higher percentage of ownership than other similar countries.

But perhaps more significantly, during the same period, policing numbers in England and Wales have fallen by almost 12 per cent, according to the analysis – a much larger decline than in most other European and Western countries.

In the Netherlands, where robberies have fallen by 14 per cent during the past four years, policing numbers have increased by more than 20 per cent.

France has witnessed a 24 per cent drop in robberies since 2014, at a time when its police numbers have gone up by more than 13 per cent.

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics last month showed that there had been an 11 per cent increase in robberies in the last year alone, with the police recording 85,700 offences.

Many robberies can turn into more serious crimes, particularly when the victim refuses to hand over their items or attempts to fight back.

In some cases, street robberies have resulted in violent assaults or even homicides, and in London the Metropolitan Police has made efforts to tackle the scourge of moped-enabled robberies.

But the link between rising crime and falling police numbers has now been acknowledged by the Government, which earlier this month launched a drive to recruit an additional 20,000 police officers.

Harvey Redgrave, the managing director of Crest Advisory, an independent policing and justice consultancy, said the link between the rise in the number of robberies in recent years and the reduction in the number of police officers could not be denied. He added: “Criminals respond to incentives and if they feel they’re not being effectively policed – often these are opportunistic crimes – we’re likely to see an increase in these types of offences.”

He also suggested that the increase in robberies was indicative of an increase in street violence generally.

He said: “It [robbery] acts as a bit of a gateway offence into more serious violence, whether that’s because young people are being asked to carry out robberies as an initiation into gangs [or] whether it’s because they’re paying off debts.”