Recorded crime figures show fall
 There were 5m recorded crimes last year |
Police-recorded crime in England and Wales fell 9% in the 12 months to March, latest figures suggest.
The first reliable figures for knife crime showed there were 22,000 offences last year.
The statistics also show that while the risk of being a victim is at its lowest ever level, people still think that the rate is going up.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she was "extremely pleased" with the overall reduction.
The annual crime report for 2007-2008 reveals the longest recorded period of falling crime - down 48% from 1995.
It shows there were five million recorded crimes. All the main categories were down, including violent crime and sex offences, but drug offences were up 18%, gun crime was up 2% and murder was up 3%.
Scotland compiles its statistics separately and its annual crime report is due to be published in September.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland published its 2007-2008 crime report in May.
It showed a 10.5% drop from the previous year, making it the lowest level of crime recorded since 1998.
Home Office experts say the latest figures show that offences are concentrated in hotspots - some of which have experienced localised increases in crime - and are not evenly spread around England and Wales.
They also say the figures mirror trends in falling crime seen throughout the developed world.
The annual report combines police-recorded crime and statistics from the British Crime Survey (BCS), a victimisation survey which asked 47,000 adults about their experience of crimes.
For the types it covers, the BCS can provide a better reflection of the true extent of crime because it includes ones that are not reported to the police and crimes which are not recorded by them.
The BCS showed the risk of being a victim of crime has fallen from 24 to 22%, the lowest level recorded since the survey began in 1981.
However, 65% of people said they thought rates had gone up nationally. But the same proportion again thought crime had fallen locally.
The overall picture from the survey was that crime was down 10% to 10.1 million crimes. It also showed that 947,000 violent offences were caused by alcohol.
Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said local communities and police should be "very encouraged" that their efforts to cut crime were paying off.
The home secretary, meanwhile, said the government had exceeded its reduction target, but was committed to doing more "so that everyone feels improvement".
She acknowledged that "knives are still being used in the most serious violent incidents" and said the Youth Crime Action plan published this week was part of a wider package of measures aimed at tackling the problem.
Serious violent crimes involving a blade have previously been bundled with other attacks, but since April last year officers have recorded them separately in light of growing public concern.
Police recorded 22,151 offences involving knives last year in England and Wales, including grievous bodily harm, attempted murder, woundings and robbery but not murder.
It amounts to an average of 60 knife offences every day.
The statistics include a force-by-force breakdown of knife crime, with the highest number of offences - 7,409 - recorded in London.
Gordon Brown said he wanted to make carrying a blade as "unacceptable" as having a gun on the streets.
"It is because we have identified the problem of knife crime, and particularly in some hotspots of the country, that we have stepped up our action dramatically," he said.
"We will do everything in our power to prevent people having knives."
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 | | Republican US presidential hopeful John McCain calls for improvements to the schools in black districts. |
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| | Republican US presidential hopeful John McCain calls for improvements to the schools in black districts. |
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Sparkling delight: Fireworks explode over the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during a rehearsal for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
NHA TRANG, Vietnam — Miss Venezuela was crowned Miss Universe 2008 on Monday in a contest marked by the spectacle of Miss USA falling during the evening gown competition for the second year in a row.
An elated Dayana Mendoza received the crown from her predecessor, Riyo Mori of Japan, then prepared to meet a gaggle of reporters. Miss Venezuela, 22, was once kidnapped in her homeland and says the experience taught her to remain poised under pressure.
Tension got under the skin of Crystle Steward of Texas, the second Miss USA in a row to fall during the Miss Universe pageant. She tripped on the train of her bejeweled evening gown as she made her entrance.
During the 2007 Miss Universe contest in Mexico City, Miss USA Rachel Smith also tumbled during the evening gown competition and became an unintended star on You Tube, where the video was shown over and over again.
Like Smith, Stewart quickly stood up after her fall and continued as if nothing had happened.
Stewart, 26, is a motivational speaker and former track and filed star who is working on a book called "Waiting to Win." The Houston native plans to open a character-development school for young children and has worked with children with autism in the Texas schools.
The final five contestants included four from Latin America: Miss Mexico, Miss Dominican Republic, Miss Colombia and Miss Venezuela. Rounding out the final five was Miss Russia.
Miss Colombia finished second.
Miss Thailand won the prize for best national costume and Miss El Salvador was chosen by her peers as Miss Congeniality.
During her interview with the judges, Mendoza was asked who she thought has it easier in life, women or men.
"God made us to share and have differences," she replied, then highlighted what she regards as the different thought processes of men and women.
"Men think that the faster way to go to a point is to go straight," she said. "Women know that the faster way to go to a point is to go to the curves."
The NBC show was hosted by talk show star Jerry Springer and Spice Girl Melanie Brown and broadcast live to hundreds of millions of viewers in 170 countries.
Eighty contestants gathered in the seaside city of Nha Trang, Vietnam, vying to succeed reigning Miss Universe Riyo Mori of Japan.
Sporting yellow, green and orange bikinis, the 15 semifinalists strutted across the stage during the swimsuit competition to the sounds of Lady Gaga, who belted out the pulsating "Just Dance" in a platinum blond wig. Miss Vietnam, Lam Thuy Nguyen, was greeted with a roar from the Vietnamese audience.
The final 10 then competed in the evening gown event.
They performed in front of a panel of judges that included international fashion experts and Donald Trump Jr., whose father, the real estate magnate and TV star, co-owns the pageant with NBC.
This year's contestants spanned a wide range of experiences and aspirations.
Miss Albania was a professional basketball player. Miss Argentina says she has paranormal experiences. Miss Antigua & Barbuda is fascinated by snakes. Miss Angola was in a plane crash while trying to escape a conflict during her country's civil war.
The show has been a publicity bonanza for Vietnam, where beauty contests are popular. The contest featured segments on many of the nation's most popular tourist destinations, such as Hue, Hoi An, Sapa and Ha Long Bay.
The program set has been dominated by iconic Vietnamese images, such as bamboo trees, conical hats and lotus flowers.
The tuxedoed Springer made a grand entrance on a motorbike -- the vehicle of choice in Vietnam, where the streets are teeming with millions of the speeding two-wheelers.
Where'd Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie get those baby names?
Not Isla Marcheline and Amelie Jane, as had been initially and erroneously reported a few weeks ago.
Instead, Angelina and Brad named their new son and daughter Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline.
Some readers have been wondering where they got those names. According to "The Baby Name Bible" author Linda Rosenkrantz, interviewed at People.com:
1. Shaking the Family Tree: Knox is a Scottish-English-Irish surname and the middle name of Brad's grandfather, Hal Knox Hillhouse. Léon is the name of Angelina's great-great grandfather.
2. The X-Factor: The Jolie-Pitts' two other sons, Maddox and Pax, have an x in their first names.
3. Mother Complex: Vivienne is the French form of Vivian, which may reflect her birthplace or heritage. Or it could be a name in Pitt's family, because their baby boy is named for people from both parents' families. Marcheline is the French name of Angelina Jolie's late mother, who was of French-Canadian and Native American ancestry.
