The decline in crime and the rise of anti-social behaviour
| DOI | 10.1177/0264550506069364 |
| Author | Jock Young,Jayne Mooney |
| Date | 01 December 2006 |
| Published date | 01 December 2006 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
The decline in crime and the rise of anti-social
behaviour
Jayne Mooney, University of Kent
Jock Young, University of Kent
Abstract This article examines a phenomenon of our times: the decline in crime
and the rise in concern with anti-social behaviour. We will examine both the
evidence for and the causes of this shift, focusing on England and Wales and the
USA.
Keywords anti-social behaviour, crime drop, New Labour, NYPD, zero-tolerance
Introduction
According to the figures from the British Crime Survey (BCS), conducted in the 12
months ending June 2005, the number of crimes against adults living in private
households in England and Wales fell by 5 per cent compared with the preced-
ing 12 months (Povey et al., 2005). Such a fall was echoed in the figures of crimes
known to the police, which showed a 2 per cent reduction in the period from April
to June 2005 when compared to the same period for the previous year. This fall
continued in the next quarter and levelled out at an all time low in October–
December 2005 (Bangs and Kara, 2006). Such a drop has occurred across both
property and violent crime. Most significantly, the BCS indicates that there has
been a consistent fall in crime year by year since 1995, and that the present level
of crime is the lowest recorded since the survey began in 1981 (Kara and Upson,
2006). Similarly, crimes known to the police fell from 1992 until 1998/99, after
which new counting rules were introduced and comparison became obfuscated
and more difficult (see Simmons et al., 2003).
Let us put this in context: crime in England and Wales rose seemingly inex-
orably from the 1960s, reaching a peak in the mid-1990s – 1995 according to
the BCS, 1992 according to the figures of crimes reported to the police. The history
of criminology both in Britain and the USA has been dominated by explaining the
397
Probation Journal
The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice
Copyright © 2006 NAPO Vol 53(4): 397–407
DOI: 10.1177/0264550506069364
www.napo.org.uk
http://prb.sagepub.com
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