Robert Buckland Weblog

Today’s news has the UK economy finally, but only by the narrowest of margins, emerging from the longest recession on record.  Whether the figure of 0.1% growth, which is based upon an analysis of only 40% of the available economic data, is in fact the true figure is something that will not be revealed for some time.  Whatever the margin of error, it may well be the case that we are experiencing some form of recovery, but the fact remains that the economy has shrunk by nearly 5% over the last year or so.  In short,  we have a lot of ground to make up and are at risk of being left behind by our major competitors. 

There seem to be lots of crime stories in the Swindon Advertiser at the moment.  I often hear complaints that the local newspaper concentrates too much on crime and not enough on the positive aspects of life in Swindon.  It is a tough call, but the public needs to have information about local incidents because very often an investigation can be helped by an appeal in the local paper.  The problem with extensive crime coverage comes in the form of an increase in the fear of crime amongst readers.  It is very often the case that the most serious crimes occur for a specific reason, rather than being the result of random targeting.  The exceptions are house burglary and street robbery, which are oftent he product of opportunism and mischance.  

There is no doubt, however, that fear of crime has affected the lives of thousands of residents, which is why reassurance in the form of visible and responsive policing is essential.  Visible policing isn’t merely a question of making people feel safer – it is also about crime prevention, which to my mind is the best cure.   Crime prevention has to involve all of us too – it requires vigilance and an awareness that there is much we can do to protect ourselves and our property.   Swindon remains a relatively safe place to live, but it is everyone’s responsibility to help keep it that way.