That point around phone theft is really interesting and not one I’d considered before! Someone nicking your phone in 2008 was annoying but you’d still be able to get the bus/tube home if you had some cash on you, whereas now lots of us don’t even have a card on us…

I think there’s still a question about why it *feels* worse when objectively it is not?

Would need to look at the data but it could be that crime is coming down most in historically poorer areas and remaining static (or even rising) in more affluent areas, which affects the tenor of coverage.

This probably also plays a part. A whole bunch of low level illegality appears to be allowed to happen which affects perceptions of the prevalence of crime overall (e.g. illegal e-bikes).

i.e. there may be some conflation of the question of whether you think criminals are more likely to "get away" with it vs. how likely I am to fall victim to crime. Not tested this quantitatively but have heard this sentiment expressed in focus groups.

Beyond the point around social media boosting stories and misrepresentation of facts by the usual suspects, I do wonder whether the experiences of victims of crime with the justice system may be influencing responses (e.g. lack of investigation for things like bike theft, backlogs in courts, etc.)?