The cost of living crisis is biting hard as those who still had savings are running out of cash reserves and what’s left becomes less valuable in real terms. Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands Police, Tom McNeil, said that “the cost of living will result in a crime spike” and he was not wrong. This view has been shared by many other police forces and crime experts across the country.
The rise in the cost of living has had a direct effect on crime, where people who previously would not have shoplifted or stolen money are now turning to these desperate measures to feed themselves and keep the lights on. Although the rate of prosecution is low (just 7% of crimes result in a charge being brought) the number of first time offenders in prison has risen from 9% to 13% in a decade. It is reasonable to think that the current cost of living crisis, coupled with financial hardships seen in the pandemic has forced some people into crime out of desperation.
Interestingly, the rate of online fraud and scams has increased more than traditional crimes over recent years. In the year to March 2022 traditional theft decreased by 20% while tech-based fraud rose 37%, a trend that started in the pandemic and was balancing itself out last year (shoplifting offences have risen since that statistic was published).
When online shopping became the new normal in 2020 (then became a habit after it was a necessity) organised criminals took advantage of this new way of shopping. They knew that consumers were finding it hard to keep up with what they’d ordered, and were therefore vulnerable to scams sent out via mobile about extra postage to pay, or redirects of parcels.
Scam texts and emails range from getting someone to hand over their bank details to more sophisticated criminals being able to hack your phone and take over your number, allowing them access to your online bank or other payment services. Some people have had huge loans taken out in their name as a result of a mobile phone text scam.
Although mobile and computer based scams are becoming more sophisticated, we are also seeing a local rise in shoplifting rates between 2021 and now, with March 2021 seeing 1,035 incidents compared to 2,133 in the same month this year – that’s double the rate in the space of two years. There may have been an overall reduction in traditional theft in 2021-22, but here in the West Midlands the rates are still high and increasing.
Looking at burglary rates in our area for the same months shows us that March 2021 had 1,405 incidents and March 2023 saw 1,810, an increase of 405 more crimes for comparable months in the space of two years. Vehicle crime rates have risen around 1,000 per month over the same period while theft from the person (including mugging and pickpocketing) has seen an exponential increase with 136 such incidents in March 2021 and 431 in March 2023 – that’s more than 200% in just two years.
These crimes are all ones that have a financial end-goal, which is a clear sign that the cost of living crisis is having a significant impact on these types of crime. P&R Alarms can help keep your property safe with top of the line security products and advice, but individuals need to remain vigilant to the risk posed by the rises in these types of crime.