Murder

[Dick Moby]

I live in a very small town, but in the last twelve months there have been several murders. I actually know two of the alleged killers, one who liked his recreational substances, and to be honest I would have classed as a hippie/pacifist type. The other, was a very highly strung type with a very volatile nature. I won?t mention the circumstances since one has already been tried and found guilty but I remember when a murder in London was big news. It seems to be so commonplace nowadays and I?ll leave it to some of our more knowledgeable posters to explain why the death sentence was not a deterrent.

[David Johnson]

"It seems to be so commonplace nowadays"

The murder rate in 2009 was the lowest for over 20 years.

Cheers
D

[Dick Moby]

I'll tell you something David, twenty years ago there were very few murders in my area i.e not on the scale that we have now..Has my location suddenly been infected with a "must kill" virus?
There is also a high level of drugs abuse, but as some people will tell you ,alcohol is much more dangerous (I disagree). My area has always been associated with heavy drinking but funnily enough when drink was the main substance of abuse there were less murders.
Come on David, I beginning to think you're an accountant, as you seem to massage figures to suit your point of view.

[David Johnson]

"Come on David, I beginning to think you're an accountant, as you seem to massage figures to suit your point of view."

Massaging figures? How so? You say that murders appear commonplace nowadays. Surely, one way of deciding whether this is correct or not is to see what the murder rate is. Is it going up, down or staying as is etc?

I merely state statistically, the murder rate last year was the lowest in 20 years. It is you who uses emotive, emotional language such as "Has my location suddenly been infected with a "must kill" virus?"


Cheers
D

[Dick Moby]

Point me to the figures, and if possible one that does not support the Labour Party.

[Alex L]

Some government stats:




Well here is an interesting fact from page 5/6


4. Crime: The number of homicides in England and Wales has
more than doubled since the mid-1960s. Recorded crime has
fallen significantly in the 1990s for the first time this century.

[David Johnson]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/cr ... 48627.html

Cheers
D

[Dick Moby]

Just a little problem here
"The murder rate in England and Wales is the lowest it has been for 20 years"
I live in the promised land which is Scotland.
I give you your next project !happy!

[David Johnson]

It would be a good idea if you read your own posts.

Did you or did you not write

"I won?t mention the circumstances since one has already been tried and found guilty but I remember when a murder in London was big news. It seems to be so commonplace nowadays"

I will leave you to find the murder rate for the Isle of Skye, Knochaburra, your street or wherever.

CHeers
D

[David Johnson]

I am sure we can trade statistics all night long e.g. 871 AD, the golden age of a crime free countryside. Oh no, look at these figures for 23BC, crime was non-existent almost then.

However I was responding to the context of Dick's post which was - "I can remember when a murder in London made news, now it is commonplace, can someone explain why a murder sentence would not be a deterrent etc etc"

And the facts are that the 2009 figures in England and Wales are the lowest for 20 years even though there has been no change in the status of the death penalty and there has obviously been an increase in the adult population during that period. This tells me that there are obviously a lot of factors involved in reducing the murder rate.

Cheers
D