Is Violence Really In Decline?
The respected study from Cardiff University on violence as reported on the BBC’s web site is saying that injuries due to violence is at a new low. This is the first two paragraphs.
The number of violence-related injuries in England and Wales is at its lowest level for at least 15 years, an annual study suggests.
Cardiff University’s survey of 117 hospital units showed about 211,000 victims of violence went to hospital in 2014 – 10% fewer than in 2013.
All sorts of explanations have been offered and they’re probably all a bit responsible.
Since I moved here to Dalston in 2010, one of the biggest differences, is that the streets just feel so much safer. It’s only a personal view and not backed by any statistics, but generally everything just seems a lot quieter.
Why?
I put it down to an long list of little factors, which have worked together to create the improvement. The Overground has opened, pavements, the built environment and buses have improved, there are busy cafes everywhere and generally you see more families and older people on the street.
I think it’s probably mainly down to the beneficial link between a better environment and improved behaviour, that has been suggested by Stephen Bayley and other commentators.
The Anonymous Widower 
We’ve lived in the area since 2000 (Dalston and de Beauvoir) and to be honest, I’m not sure I feel safer now than I did then. I’ve done a couple of early hours walks home from Stoke Newington around 7-8 years apart and while the first one saw a handful of kebab shops open the second walk saw a huge difference – clubs, bars, restaurants and takeaways open and the streets teeming with people. On the odd occasions I’m out late these days around E8 I (touch wood) don’t see trouble, although it is out there!
Comment by londonarchivist | April 30, 2015 |