Street crime in America very different
Having lived in the States for 10 years, I noticed a significant difference in (street) crime from that in the UK, well, London to be more specific.
a) In the US, a phone being stolen from your pocket, coffee shop table etc does not happen as often because a thief is more likely to suffer the consequences right away if he or she is caught. Crime is often limited to ghettos, armed robberies and temporary loss of sanity/planned murder in the case of (school etc) massacres and the like.
b) Here in the UK, we are, alas, so timid, a street thug will think nothing of 'nicking' your phone, whether it be at knife point or off the coffee shop table because if you catch him, what are you going to do Mr. well toned Englishman? And if one of New Labor's Community Officers witnesses or hears about such a 'minor' offense, we all know terrified the thug will be don't we?
A heart symbol because I love the tough "three strikes and you are out" policy implemented in (some) American jurisdictions. It works in New York, and it should be made to work here. Because if you catch / step them early, they won't move onto bigger things later.
Anyone else share this analysis?