Crime fiction
A note to support what Chris Marshall said on crime statistics (3 December); they must be read carefully. It would appear that the definitions of what a crime is are changing; evidence exists of moving crimes around and placing them under different headings. Select Committee hearings heard of outright cheating in London; some items are excluded altogether.
I was staggered on hearing a radio report stating that computer fraud is not included at all. Experience shows that there is no point in reporting minor crime now, as the police are too short-staffed to do anything.
Also, the police chief in Glasgow, some years ago, stated that much violent crime in that city goes unreported. North and south of the Border, sadly, crime statistics must now come under the heading of fiction.
WILLIAM BALLANTINE
Dean Road
Bo’ess