crime

Violence in London attracts headlines. After four people were murdered in separate incidents in London on 10th July 2008, BBC correspondent Andy Tighe said "To have four fatal stabbings in one day could be a statistical freak". But could it? And on July 28th thelondonpaper had the front-page headline: “London’s murder count reaches 90”. Of course every single murder is a tragedy for those whom it affects, and it is little comfort to them what patterns we may detect in the figures. But for the benefit of the police service and broader society we may wish to consider whether these ‘shocking’ numbers in the media are evidence that things are really getting worse.