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LON DON
Where Violence Runs Rampant
t
NDON,
t h e
ca pi ta l of
vio le n t
crime?
Y o u m u st be
joking! Why only a
very few years ago
one cou Id wa l k
these historie city
s treets in relative
safety. Bu t no
more. London is
begi nn ing to look
more and more like
H o u ston, T exas,
and New Y or k
City eve ry sing le
day.
"The Capital of
Crime," screamed
out the headlines of
the
Evening
Daily.
" London suffered its
worst crime wave
last year and there
was a staggering 20
percenl increase in
robberies and mug–
gings," followed the
bold subtitle.
Bul why is this famous old Brit–
ish cily caught up in such an
unprecedented vio lent crime
wave?
Not Only Brixton
It
exploded first in unprecedented
racial turmoil in the Brixton district
of south London. The intensity of lhis
racial disturbance was unprecedentcd
in Br itain in this century. Bul else–
where, too, brutal thugs increasingly
prey on the aged all over the ci ly. And
then there is the mounting violence
September, 19 81
by
John Ross Schroeder
within the once friendly confines of
the British home. Cases of child bat–
tering by frustrated parents rose by
almost a third last year. Serious socie–
ties have sprung up to try lo help pro–
tect unfortunate wives whose hus–
bands beat them up on a regular
basis.
Schools are another case in
point. Senseless vandals regularly
rip up school property for no appar–
ent reason. Add to lhis the vicious
student assaults on leachers that
are far from uncommon in inner
London districts. And all that is not
lo speak of the ugly
problem of bullying
on the typical Br itish
playgrou nd today.
fn looking over lhe
enti re crime scenario
in Britain, numbers by
themselves are
not
the
most important factor.
lt
is the character of
the crimes committed
that should cause us
the most concern.
London has long had a
reputation as a haven
for professional pick–
pockets with, perhaps,
many of these cr imes
going unreported.
However, any harm to
the person of the vic–
lim happened only on
rare occasions.
Near ly all authori–
§
t ies now agree, how–
~
ever, that the lrend
1
toward
violence
~
against the person
l
(often accompanying
~
robberies) has in–
o
creased significantly
in Britain. For instance, medica)
doclors have noticed that horrify–
ing stab wounds are on the increase
just in the last two or three years.
Juveniles now tend to arm them–
selves with anything from a kitchen
knife lo a screwdriver.
But
W hy?
The big question nearly always cen–
ters upon that little three letter
word
why.
Most press reports inevitably
center on environmental causes.
Unemployment is perhaps most
17