The trend for gangs of youths to use Halloween as an excuse to reign terror on neighbourhoods is predicted to rise in 2017. The survey carried out by CCTV.co.uk as part of their Fear of Crime Survey suggests that many people worry about Halloween.
Damage to homes and cars
Vanessa from Sheffield says: “It’s not all cute kids in fancy dress with buckets asking for sweets round here, some are nasty and we’ve seen eggs and flour being thrown on cars and at house windows especially after 9pm.”
Martin from Wolverhampton says: “The knock on the door does get your heart racing, we try and ignore it these days but you just don’t know who or what it might be.”
A study of claims data from the last 10 years from insurer Aviva suggests that damage to homes rises 150% and damage to cars rises 50% on Halloween.
Halloween crime rates
Crime rates do spike on the 31st October generally; in the USA, who have been enjoying Halloween on a huge scale for years, a 50% rise in crime was reported. Some states have banned over 16s from wearing masks for example to clamp down on gangs and crime.
However, the frightening effects of Halloween may not be as scary for some, with the majority of people (63%) saying they were not worried about Halloween.
Terry from Portsmouth says: “If we have any trouble it’s a few over excited kids - no gangs round here that I know of - I don’t worry too much about Halloween, but I’ll maybe park the car in the garage just in case.”
How to stay safe
Jonathan Ratcliffe from CCTV.co.uk who carried out the survey comments, “We have found with our survey that fear of crime is not usually based on fact. People worry but in fact the statistics don’t back up their fear - the UK is actually safer than ever - just be extra vigilant on Halloween night.”
He added: “The biggest thing people can do to protect themselves is to check they locked their front door. This seems obvious but 5,000 people were burgled because they left their door unlocked last year. Crime prevention is usually just common sense.”
