12:19pm Thursday 31st July 2003
WHENEVER crime is discussed, in Parliament, council chamber, or public bar, the debate inevitably turns to whether things are as bad as some people believe, and whether the fear of crime causes more distress than lawlessness itself.
The focus is nearly always on major crime, and while it is right that the police and politicians should give priority to tackling serious law-breaking, it is not murder, rape, arson, armed robbery and mugging which worries most ordinary citizens. These crimes may be far too common for the good of a civilised society, but they are, thankfully, still very rare, which is why they are reported so prominently by the press and broadcast media.
What affects most of those who suffer the effects of lawlessness is "low-level crime" or "anti-social behaviour".
Few of us lay awake in terror of being murdered in our beds, but many are woken night after night by noisy drinkers staggering home from the pub, gangs of rowdy children hanging around the streets, the thumping beat of industrial-scale stereo systems fitted into cars by moronic motorists, or parties given by selfish neighbours who like to share their choice of music with people living for hundreds of yards around.
It is petty vandalism, flyposting, ignorant drivers blocking and destroying pavements, and (dare we say it?) self-righteous cyclists treating pedestrians as skittles, which do most to spoil our quality of life and make us feel that society is disintegrating.
So the news that Harrow Council and the police are going to work together to tackle this low-level criminality is good news. It will be wonderful news if the initiative actually changes things on the streets, rather than merely resulting in meetings, reports and fine words.
That it will work is not inevitable, for the authorities have previously shown very little enthusiasm for dealing with problems which affect the lives of thousands but are rarely seen as important. Anyone who has begged the police or council to silence a noisy party, or asked the municipal traffic wardens to do something about a lorry that has been illegally parked, causing an obstruction, for weeks on end will know that.
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