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Crime in Essex costs us £232 each, says taxpayer survey
CRIME cost each person in Essex £232 over the past year, according to figures from the Taxpayers Alliance.
The study focuses on reported crime and the cost for police forces to investigate crimes and prosecute offenders.
Essex came 14th for the highest cost of crime, out of 39 police forces.
Nottinghamshire topped the poll and North Yorkshire came in last.
James Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East, believes the figure is a massive under-estimate.
He said: "A large number of lower level crime goes unreported, such as criminal damage, because people feel it is a waste of police time.
"It seems incredibly low and how do you put a cost on crime?
"If a murder happens, there is a knock-on effect to the community, psychological effects and so on.
"There is a lot of bureaucracy in the police, such as stop and searches which are ridiculous.
"There seems to be more forms than police officers at a police station."
The statistics were reached by dividing the cost of crime in Essex for 2007-08 with the number of people living in Essex.
The cost was worked out by adding up security expenditure, insurance, administration, loss of property, the emotional and physical impact on victims, victims' services, health services and the cost of prosecuting, including the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
The report from the Taxpayers Alliance recommends police forces should be brought under local control instead of national control, and the amount of paperwork should be cut in half, to free up an extra 14,050 officers to police the country.
The Government set aside a budget of £32.5billion for public order and safety spending, for 2007 to 2008.
Angela Smith, MP for Basildon and East Thurrock, was surprised by the figures and said the cost of crime is "enormous".
Jeanette Banfield, 74, of Olivia Drive in Leigh, was mugged in April this year, as she was walking home after an evening out.
The robber grabbed her handbag and pushed her, leaving her lying on the pavement with a cut eye and a broken wrist, which she is still having physiotherapy on.
She said: "The overall figure seems quite high, but when you say it costs £6.80 per person to investigate a robbery it seems incredibly low.
"I claimed more money on my insurance and it has cost me a bob or two to get up to Southend Hospital for appointments."
6:00am Friday 4th July 2008
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CommentPosted by: Les, Basildon on 10:36am Fri 4 Jul 08
£232 each for solving and punishing crime? Not bad. BUT that's not reality. Reality is it costs us £232 for nothing, no solved crimes and no punishment. The money pays the boys in blue to look the other way, ignore our desperate phone calls for help, and walk away from protecting those who pay the wages. That's a crime in itself.
£232 each for solving and punishing crime? Not bad. BUT that's not reality. Reality is it costs us £232 for nothing, no solved crimes and no punishment. The money pays the boys in blue to look the other way, ignore our desperate phone calls for help, and walk away from protecting those who pay the wages. That's a crime in itself.
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