VOL2/01

27/04/2021

How the impact of crime has increased in its severity during the pandemic

From the gathered information, it is estimated that external crime statistics have risen since the start of the pandemic, more specifically anti-social behaviour, cybercrime and especially car thefts have risen by 60% in parts of the UK since last year, according to some newspapers (source - Daily Mail), criminals are viewing this as an opportunity to adapt to the ‘new’ situation.

However, internal crime has been estimated a significant 32% reduction in total crime excluding fraud and cybercrime in the period of April and May 2020. Though this makes us wonder…what is internal crime? Research from a government-backed website claims that police recorded crime data showed a 3% increase in violence against a person, which makes you wonder how there is a 32% reduction rate as domestic abuse is a contributing factor, especially when the UK first went into lockdown as being inside your home is where you are meant to feel safe, sadly that is not the case for everyone. 

 With this, the call for more security on commercial and domestic properties has been in demand to protect people, their homes, and businesses. Doorstep crime is quite common to see videos of on social media pages, these are scammers who can pose as tradespeople, police officers, claim they are from the council or say they are looking for a lost child/pet to target elderly and vulnerable people to try to convince them to enter their property. Another contributing factor to crime is scammers through text messages, posing as Royal Mail, Banks, NHS, Internet providers, to try and convince the public to access their bank account details, as only in March 2021, the mirror reports fraud warnings have been issued to online banking customers after the rise in scam text messages.

 Noticeably, focusing on the statistics above, cars are being stolen or damaged around the UK, meaning a lot more households are wanting CCTV installations for surveillance to keep watch on driveways and, of course, to keep their cars safe. There have been videos circulating on Facebook pages, of who to watch out for in local areas as the public share posts about stolen cars and stolen catalytic converters, some of CCTV footage caught the thieves even in broad daylight!

 For some closing thoughts, these are some of the main reasons why the security industry is continuing to thrive (check out our first blog post below on this!) as manufacturers are developing new technologies to help protect the public, for example, Dahua TioC and HikVision ColorVu cameras which have 24/7 colourful imaging to help to view finer details in the dark, which businesses and domestic properties are now taking on board for extra protection to ensure public safety.

 We know that these are unprecedented times, however, it is important to keep positive and to look out for loved ones to help keep them safe. With non-essential retail now open there has been an uplifting feeling across the UK, which is giving hope to new businesses.️