More on Crime in the UK

In the UK they've got it all: cameras, ID cards, DNA Databases, and the strictest gun controls in Europe.

What did this give them?

One of the worst crime rates in Europe, apparently.

Britain has one of the worst crime rates in Europe, a report said yesterday.

It is the most burgled country in Europe, has the highest level of assaults and above average rates of car theft, robbery and pickpocketing. Only Ireland has a worse record.

Estonia, Holland and Denmark make up the rest of the EU's five ''high-crime" nations. All had rates more than 30 per cent higher than the average. Spain, Hungary, Portugal and Finland had the lowest rates.
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The report follows one of the most comprehensive law and order surveys in the EU. More than 40,000 people aged over 16 were questioned in 18 countries about their recent experiences of crime.

Factors associated with high levels of crime included urbanisation, a large number of young people in the population and a binge-drinking culture.

Risks of being assaulted were highest in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Denmark and lowest in Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Spain and France.