Law and order spending fails to reduce crime

Britain spends more of its national wealth on law and order than any other industrialised country yet still has a higher crime rate than most, new figures show.

The statistic was unearthed during a policy review ordered by Tony Blair which took a long-term look at public services and whether they had delivered value for money.

A paper prepared by the Downing Street Strategy Unit shows that Britain spends 2.5 per cent of GDP — about £5 billion a year — on public order and safety.

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This is more than any other country in the OECD group of advanced countries. Among the rest, only America spends above two per cent of GDP and France spends just over one per cent.

Yet, according to the latest edition of the European Sourcebook of Crime, Britain has 4,200 offenders for every 100,000 people compared to a European average of 1,600. Only Finland has a higher rate and it spends far less than Britain on law and order.

Measured by the number of offences per 100,000, Britain again comes out close to the bottom with 11,200 — a figure surpassed only by Sweden.

Out of the 37 countries, which include Russia, we have more chance of having a car stolen than every country except Sweden and more chance of being burgled than all 36 other countries.

The poor return for the British taxpayers’ investment in anti-crime measures has been conceded by the No 10 strategy unit, which has warned of rising lawlessness and overcrowded prisons in a leaked report.

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Law and order spending fails to reduce crime
Telegraph