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Drug feuds and domestic abuse reach 10-year peak

by Fiona Hamilton, Crime and Security Editor | Rosa Ellis, Data and Interactive Journalist The Times, posted 19 09 2020

Violent crime has hit its highest level in a decade with a surge in drug feuds, domestic violence and hate crime attacks, analysis by The Times shows.

Police said drug rivalries had become increasingly vicious as gangs fought to retain their turf after the first phase of the pandemic.

There has also been a surge in violence outside licensed venues due to the release of “pent-up” fury when lockdown restrictions were eased, while charities warned that domestic abuse had become more violent, more intense and more frequent.

Violence offences in July were at their highest in nearly a decade in two thirds of forces in England and Wales. In 31 of the 39 forces who have published their statistics, violent crime was higher last month compared with July 2019. Gloucestershire and Durham had the largest increases of 39 and 35 per cent respectively, according to an analysis of the police data on ukcrimestats.com.

In London, which saw five murders in five days this week, violent offences surged to 20,353 in July and 20,611 in August, the highest in a decade.

There were 10,849 violent offences across the West Midlands in July, a 27 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.

David Jamieson, the area’s elected police and crime commissioner, said that last weekend there was a significant outbreak of violence in the town centres of Birmingham and Coventry and areas of the Black Country. He said it resulted from the “unlocking of a lot of pent-up frustrations” related to the pandemic.

He warned that Covid-19 had disrupted the drugs market, resulting in a “sudden explosion of violence as the drugs gangs fight for territory”. There had been a series of stabbings.

Mr Jamieson said he feared that the situation would get worse as youth unemployment increased and called on the government to provide better engagement programmes: “I think we’re just sitting on a timebomb here.”

Daniel Harrington, chief operating officer of Intelligence Fusion, which analyses police data to deliver enhanced threat intelligence, said that routine gang conflict had been compounded by the inability of drug gangs to sell to clients in traditional venues such as bars and nightclubs.

He said that some of London’s illegal block parties and raves in residential areas were thought to have been organised by criminal groups in order to distribute their products.

Charities said that worsening domestic violence, with perpetrators and their victims cooped up in their homes, and soaring rates of hate crime had also contributed. Rachel Almeida, the assistant director of Victim Support, said violence had been “more intense, of high severity, and more frequent. During lockdown perpetrators have increased their control and violence, and victims were unable to get away.”

There had also been a “huge increase” in hate crimes. Since lockdown the number of people who accessed Victim Support Services leapt by 31 per cent. It came after increased community tensions when some ethnic minorities were perceived to be behind increased Covid-19 infections.

As the pandemic hit and the public were forced indoors, the number of criminal offences dropped virtually across the board.

There was much rhetoric from police forces about using the relative quiet to bear down on violent crime. Today’s figures will raise concerns that its suppression was only temporary.

The sharp increase can, in part, be attributed to a lag in reporting of crimes such as domestic violence because victims were unable to access support services or report to police. However, there appears to be a real increase in violence as well, from drug turf wars to fights outside licensed venues. Sharp increases of hate crime underline rising community tensions. With unemployment rising and further restrictions looming, police are braced for a difficult period.