Yeah it is.

It’s so bad that the Home Office is issuing quotas for “High-priority” crime which is code for solve things that make the news headlines: large scale drug busts, charging murderers, seizing large sums of cash and assets.

But they’re completely deprioritising other crimes from bike theft to shoplifting to domestic violence and reducing the amount of community engagement activities.

Addressing smaller crimes and having officers engaged with the community is essential for fostering a safe environment. And here’s the kicker; the more these low-level crimes go unpunished, the more high-level crimes happen are more likely to happen when fuelled by economic downturn.