New research by Ipsos MORI shows nearly half of UK adults believe
crime levels in the UK will go up over the next 12 months (46%).
This increases to 56% among those aged 55-75 compared to only 36%
of 18-24-year olds and 25% of 25-35- year olds. Overall, only 5%
expect to see crime go down while 3 in 10 (30%) believe it will
stay the same.
Considering specific crimes, UK adults are most likely to expect
anti-social behaviour (56%), fraud (52%), drug use (51%) and
knife crime (50%) to increase over the next 12 months. Again,
around half think robbery/theft (49%) and burglaries (46%) will
rise, while similar proportions expect to see an increase in
domestic abuse (46%) and sexual offences (42%).
Four in 10 (39%) say the amount of murders and manslaughter will
stay the same while only 31% believe it will increase. More UK
adults expect gun crime to remain the same than go up (36% vs.
33% respectively.
How to reduce crime in the UK
When thinking about how to tackle crime in the UK, the public are
most likely to see more police on the beat as the most effective
measure (38%), followed by better parenting (26%) and capital
punishment (22%). Around 2 in 10 say more effective programmes to
change behaviour/rehabilitation, more constructive activities for
young people and less social inequality would do most to reduce
crime (21%).
Handling of crime in the UK
Despite fears that crime will go up over the next 12 months, only
3 in 10 of UK adults are confident in the Government’s handling
of crime in the UK (29%). Younger people have more faith; with
40% of 16-24s and 38% of 25-34s feeling confident in the
Government’s handling of crime, falling to 22% of 55-75-year
olds. Conservative voters are also more likely to be confident,
37% have faith in their Government compared to a quarter (26%) of
Labour voters.
White ethnic groups are also significantly less likely to be
confident in the Government’s handling of crime and justice. Less
than 3 in 10 (28%) say they are confident while two-thirds (65%)
say they are not confident. Among ethnic minority groups, 43%
have faith in the way crime has been handled by the Government,
while 47% do not.
The public do however have more confidence in the police to
protect them from crime. Four in 10 (41%) say they have faith in
the police to protect them from crime, just over half do not
(52%). This again differs by age, with 44% of 16-24s and 48% of
25-34s saying they have confidence in the police, while only 37%
of 55-75s feel the same. White ethnic groups are significantly
more likely to feel less confident in the police compared to
ethnic minority groups (53% confident vs. 43% among ethnic
minority groups).
Risk of fraud and cybercrime
Considering fraud and cyber-crime specifically, just under 4 in
10 (38%) are confident in the ability of the Government and its
law enforcement agencies of protecting them, 52% are not. Yet the
public feel at risk from a range of fraud and cybercrimes in the
UK.
Nearly 3 in 5 personally feel at risk of someone accessing their
online accounts without permission (e.g. social media, bank
accounts, etc.) (57%)., A majority also feel at risk of their
devices being infected with a computer virus or other malware
(55%) and of someone accessing their personal devices without
permission (51%).
Just under half say they feel at risk of both money being stolen
from their bank account and buying goods online that turn out to
be fake or counterfeit (both 46%) while a third (35%) are worried
about being tricked or deceived out of giving or donating money
or goods to an organisation or person.
Hannah Shrimpton, Associate Director at Ipsos MORI,
said:
“Although the overall rate of crime has been falling for over
two decades, the COVID-19 pandemic had a massive impact on crime
patterns in the UK. According to ONS statistics, there were drops
in particular types of crime (such as theft and violent crime),
yet leaps in fraud and cybercrime, as more people stayed home and
turned online. Now, as we move to a new era of the pandemic,
there is a risk that patterns will once again shift and we will
see a rise in certain types of crime. This is reflected in
concerns of nearly half of UK adults – with people most likely to
expect anti-social behaviour, fraud, drug use and knife crime to
increase. This raises questions for the Government on how best to
reassure the public, as these fears are offset by a lack of faith
in the Government’s handling of crime, as well as the police’s
ability to protect them from some of these issues.”
