It has been reported in the Daily Telegraph that crime has hit a new high, this is now the highest since 1994 – in the last year nearly a quarter of all adults in the UK have been a victim of either pick pocketing, shoplifting or robbery according to the British Crime Survey. This is extremely disturbing News for the Home Office who have been accused already this year of ‘masking statistics’.

The report also states that according to official Police reports, serious violent or sexual knife offences were up to over 38,000 that amounts to over 100 every day. With the credit crunch hitting, more and more homes are getting burgled. Stats show that in England and Wales it is reported that a home is broken into every 2 minutes, that’s more than 280,000 last year.

The only bit of good news was that murder and manslaughter were down by nearly 17% on last years report. The new Home Secretary Alan Johnson says the figures are encouraging, but admitted that some crimes such as theft and burglary have to be looked at more closely. Some of the areas which saw an increase in burglary include Hampshire and Leicestershire up by as much as 10%, this has been put down to the current economic climate and opportunistic theft which is on the increase.

In today’s climate protecting your home and property has to one of your main priorities, this can be done relatively cheaply, fitting a proper burglar alarm will deter many opportunistic thieves from entering your property, UV marking pens are another way of identifying your property just in-case you are unfortunate to have thieves steal some of your possessions, just write your post code secretly on all your belongings, again protecting your property doesn’t have to cost thousands and it can save much grief and heartache.