‘We feel safer in the US than here’ says caller demanding a ‘more assertive police force’

29 November 2022, 11:11

This listener calls for stricter sentencing in the UK and a 'far more assertive' police force.

This caller complains of the “shocking” violent crimes “going up and up and up” and says he and his wife now feel safer in the US than here.

The UK needs a “far more assertive police force” to tackle violent crime, a caller to Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on LBC has said.

Nigel in Barnet told Nick: “You know that I used to work at the Evening Standard for nearly 30 years and I covered virtually every murder in London.”

He said: “I hear people saying, ‘Oh it’s to do with no youth clubs, there's nothing for the kids to do, it's to do with poverty’. I'm sorry - I don't agree with that.”

Nigel explained the rationale behind his difference of opinion.

He said: “If we look historically, the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s - after the First World War, the Second World War, the financial crash, there was not the murder rate that there is today from teenagers killing teenagers.

“One could argue that people were far worse off financially in those days than they are today.”

"But there was nothing to kill each other about - there were no trainers to nick or watches or mobile phones”, Nick countered.

“Well that’s not the point”, Nigel replied. “The point is there was no violent crime like there was.”

Nick responded: “I say again, but Nigel, the kids didn't have anything to rob from each other.”

Nigel replied: “This is not all about robbery Nick, it's about you’re in the ‘wrong postcode’, the ‘wrong area’, it’s not all about robbery.”

It was reported in the summer that crime in England and Wales hit its highest level in 20 years, while charges fell to a record low.

The caller said we need a “far more assertive police force, disciplined starts at home, there should be more discipline in schools”, adding “there's not enough sentencing”.

“We live in the US as well. When my wife and I go back to the US, we feel far safer there than on the streets than we do here and that’s really quite worrying.”

“These killings are shocking and they’re going up and up and up", he said.

He told Nick he lived in Las Vegas, to which Nick responded: “If you lived in Detroit, you might have a different view, in fairness.”