:00:14. > :00:17.just a few years he's also been Tonight on Newsnight Scotland: This
:00:18. > :00:21.week we learned crime has gone down here. But it's not just this year
:00:21. > :00:23.and it's not just the UK. Why are crime rates dropping right across
:00:23. > :00:27.the developed world even in the teeth of a recession?
:00:27. > :00:35.And, when smart casual looks dumb. Are awkward world leaders or scruffy
:00:35. > :00:39.doctors likely to make us wave It seems our society is getting more
:00:39. > :00:42.peaceful. Recorded crime is dropping right across the US and Western
:00:42. > :00:44.Europe and has been for around 20 years. The phenomenon is well
:00:44. > :00:54.recognised, but less well understood with theories running from the
:00:54. > :00:56.
:00:56. > :00:59.demise of lead piping to better car and home security. The other
:00:59. > :01:03.conundrum is why, if crime is falling, does the fear of it
:01:03. > :01:07.persist? In the year to the end of March about 273,000 crimes were
:01:07. > :01:13.recorded by police in Scotland, that's 41,000 fewer than the year
:01:13. > :01:19.before, a drop of 13%. That includes big falls in violent crime including
:01:19. > :01:24.murder, attempted murder, and serious assault, down 21%. And in
:01:24. > :01:30.incidents in handling offensive weapons, down 29%. Though the number
:01:30. > :01:35.of sexual offences recorded went up by 5%, statisticians say changes to
:01:35. > :01:40.how these are categorized might have affected the figures. Although I
:01:40. > :01:47.regret we have an increase in sexual offences, I take out of that that
:01:47. > :01:51.people are prepared to stand up and make sure those who perpetrated will
:01:51. > :01:54.be treated to justice and we will make sure that we turn it in a down
:01:54. > :01:58.wards direction. It is the lowest level of crime
:01:58. > :02:03.recorded for 39 years. And it is not a one off, the trend has been
:02:03. > :02:06.downward in Scotland for two decades. And that's mirrored in
:02:06. > :02:11.other developed countries from England and Wales to Western Europe
:02:11. > :02:20.and the United States. But why is it happening? Research in America
:02:20. > :02:24.suggested a link between less exposure to - another theory that
:02:24. > :02:29.more liberal abortion law in the United States led to fewer children
:02:29. > :02:33.who are unwanted and who could be more prone to criminal behaviour.
:02:33. > :02:40.Others suggest that it is down to better security in people's homes
:02:40. > :02:46.and vehicles. More CC CTV on the screts and could consumer goods
:02:46. > :02:52.becoming cheaper? The Scottish Government claims record numbers of
:02:52. > :03:02.police officers are helping in the fight against crime.
:03:02. > :03:11.
:03:11. > :03:21.violence reduction unit, Karyn ma clus bee and from Nottingham
:03:21. > :03:22.
:03:22. > :03:26.university by Professor Tseloni. With the research that was funned
:03:26. > :03:32.funned -- funded in England and Wales, we found that crime dropped
:03:33. > :03:37.across most of the world using some data, international data set. Car
:03:37. > :03:45.crime and burglary started falling first, since 1995 internationally
:03:45. > :03:51.and then from 2000 violence started dropping as well. So violence across
:03:51. > :03:55.the world that we have data dropped by 20%. Now, this is not across the
:03:55. > :04:05.entire world. For instance, in Switzerland, violence actually
:04:05. > :04:06.
:04:06. > :04:12.increased during that period because they deregulated the economy.
:04:12. > :04:16.Sorry, I don't have much time. You don't think things like led in
:04:16. > :04:20.petrol are responsible. -- lead in petrol are responsible. You think it
:04:20. > :04:24.is more to do with policing or opportunities for crime? I think it
:04:24. > :04:30.is more to do with opportunities for crime because this is how we can
:04:30. > :04:35.explain the international crime fall whereas policing or criminal justice
:04:35. > :04:41.responses are only restricted within a certain country and certainly
:04:41. > :04:44.abortion regulation or deregular laltion was -- deregulation was
:04:44. > :04:47.prevalent in the Netherlands, much before the US.
:04:47. > :04:52.Right, so it could be things like, for example, simple things like it
:04:52. > :04:59.is more difficult to break into a modern car than it was 20 years ago?
:05:00. > :05:05.Exactly. Indeed. Our research has found that new and wide use of
:05:05. > :05:14.technology in car protection, car crime prevention has actually
:05:14. > :05:22.stopped car crime. At least car crime for joyriding. This as it used
:05:22. > :05:27.to be a way into a life of crime if you like for a young lad, has
:05:27. > :05:31.actually obstructed young people em embarking into a life of crime.
:05:31. > :05:36.Does that figure with what your experience is? Listen, it is really
:05:36. > :05:39.complex. It is an incredibly complex area and you have heard a range of
:05:39. > :05:44.explanations, lead in petrol and a range of other things. Prort crime
:05:44. > :05:47.has come down. Nobody wants to buy a second-hand DVD without a remote
:05:47. > :05:54.control and no plug because you can buy one from Asda.
:05:55. > :05:58.It is the change, part of the point there is that for example, lead in
:05:59. > :06:01.petrol, well that doesn't explain why there is more theft of mobile
:06:02. > :06:05.phones for example right so it doesn't work. Whereas things like
:06:05. > :06:11.what you have just said, why bother stealing modern electronics from a
:06:11. > :06:16.house? They are not worth anything. Listen, 21st century, we don't need
:06:16. > :06:20.to do that anymore. The thing that doesn't change so much and when you
:06:20. > :06:25.disaggregate the property crime from the personal violence crime, we see
:06:25. > :06:28.that sustaining in lots of countries. Domestic violence, he for
:06:28. > :06:31.example, we know only a small proportion of domestic violence is
:06:31. > :06:35.reported to us. Would you say that sexual offences
:06:35. > :06:38.went be up in the crime figures, but at the same time they are saying
:06:38. > :06:42.this is the Scottish crime figures, but they are saying that's to do
:06:43. > :06:45.with the way they are reported? That's a good thing. We need to make
:06:45. > :06:49.victims more comfortable to report crimes to the police.
:06:49. > :06:55.Right. OK. I want to come back to your point about the car crime
:06:55. > :06:58.because while this might be to do with opportunities, could it create
:06:58. > :07:03.a society less prone to commit crime. If, as you said, stealing a
:07:03. > :07:07.car is the first crime you commit that can lead on to a life of crime,
:07:07. > :07:12.if you don't steal the car, you might not go on to a life of crime
:07:12. > :07:18.and that could make society better? Yes, well, in addition, if there are
:07:18. > :07:28.less stolen cars in the society, there are less cars available to
:07:28. > :07:29.
:07:29. > :07:32.drive away from a burglary point and then if there is more stolen
:07:32. > :07:36.property in society, it is reduced markets for stolen goods.
:07:36. > :07:42.This could help explain why this generalised fall has happened?
:07:42. > :07:47.I believe so. Although, we have to be really careful not to generalise
:07:47. > :07:52.too much. Each country has their own circumstances and historic
:07:53. > :07:58.circumstances and also its crime type and has their own dynamics.
:07:58. > :08:02.The other side of this is that, I'm not an expert in crime figures, but
:08:02. > :08:06.I don't think internet crime and I'm including internet credit card crime
:08:06. > :08:11.is very well reflected in the crime statistics that we have at the
:08:11. > :08:13.moment, is it? No, it is not.That could be going up. This is your
:08:13. > :08:19.problem with people not reporting it and the financial institutions being
:08:19. > :08:23.reluctant to report it as well? These are just crimes of modernity,
:08:23. > :08:26.you get different types of crime as the internet increases. The violent
:08:26. > :08:32.figures showed an important trend. Really going down and bucking the
:08:33. > :08:38.trend and in fact, it was a steeper decline than in comparison to the
:08:38. > :08:44.rest of the UK. We have to sum-up. Someone advising
:08:44. > :08:48.police forces across Scotland or now the police force, does this range of
:08:48. > :08:52.explanations and this fall in crime mean you are advising people of
:08:52. > :08:55.different ways of policing? Presumably you don't have to be so
:08:55. > :09:05.worried if you are a police officer about car crime if there is little
:09:05. > :09:09.
:09:10. > :09:12.of it? It means parents have to do things, early years, health. Right,
:09:12. > :09:17.but the bottom line is that for once, this is actually quite good
:09:17. > :09:20.news. It's a great news story. Everyone who complains we never
:09:20. > :09:23.report good news can stop complaining for five minutes. Thank
:09:23. > :09:29.you both for joining us. We have to leave it there.
:09:29. > :09:35.Now, policemen may have their uniform, but the days - and women -
:09:35. > :09:39.the days when men could rely on the uniform of suit and tie are gone.
:09:39. > :09:45.World leaders looked awkward in casual dress yesterday and doctors
:09:45. > :09:50.say the loss of the white coat and ties is undermining their authority.
:09:50. > :09:54.Joining us now is the ever dapper Andrew Black.
:09:54. > :09:59.Mr Dal ton, president of the board of trade says men are too
:09:59. > :10:04.conservative in their dress. Spats, collars, ties and so on, only use up
:10:04. > :10:08.valuable coupons and could very well be dispensed with. Back in the old
:10:08. > :10:13.days wartime ministers like Hugh Dalton had to look their best.
:10:13. > :10:18.Peeping into the future, we see the well dressed man in full kit, open
:10:18. > :10:25.necked shirt, no old school tie, no socks. Why, if we go on like this
:10:25. > :10:30.the V for victory sign will show up in all sorts of strange places.
:10:30. > :10:35.the one-time Chancellor was also a big fan of dressing down. To this
:10:35. > :10:39.day, the dress sense of politicians has provided a rich source for
:10:39. > :10:45.satire. Then this photo call this afternoon, 100 days of the new
:10:45. > :10:52.leader, got you a Paul Smith suit. I did think about Vivienne Westedwood,
:10:52. > :10:57.but it was too -- Westwood, but it was too expensive and a Ted Baker
:10:57. > :11:01.shirt. No tie, we're thinking open neck might be good. I'm already
:11:01. > :11:08.wearing a suit and controversially a tie. Yeah, absolutely, sure.
:11:08. > :11:18.Frankly, it all looks a bit 80s you know. We think this is better. It's
:11:18. > :11:23.
:11:23. > :11:27.modern. It's sharp. It's slimming. G8 summit in Northern Ireland, when
:11:27. > :11:30.every world leader who turned up was tieless.
:11:30. > :11:35.Chancellor, George Osborne, revealed the reason behind the dress code.
:11:35. > :11:39.Basically, I did what I was told to do, which was turn up in what they
:11:39. > :11:44.call smart casual wear. So, I followed to the letter. I got out my
:11:44. > :11:53.jacket and blue shirt. So, does this behaviour amount to a serious
:11:53. > :11:56.fashion faux pas or is it sometimes better to be more informal? If
:11:56. > :12:00.you're a regular viewer of Newsnight Scotland, you might have picked up
:12:00. > :12:05.on the fact that I'm probably not the world's biggest tie fan, but I
:12:05. > :12:15.have agreed to get into the spirit of this item, so I've borrowed one
:12:15. > :12:25.of Gordon's ties. Now I need to work out how to put it on. Right, let's
:12:25. > :12:36.
:12:36. > :12:40.That will do. Maybe it's time for some fashion advice. Andrew, so, you
:12:40. > :12:47.could choose something like this, which is a very conventional,
:12:47. > :12:51.classic, dark red. Clothes designer Marina says dressing smartly can
:12:51. > :12:56.send a powerful message. What did she make of the G8 open-neck shirt
:12:56. > :13:01.brigade? They're always trying to steal an edge on each other. It's a
:13:01. > :13:06.game of one upmanship. They're always up to something. I thought
:13:06. > :13:12.perhaps, I mean Blair did it a lot. He would have his sleeves rolled up.
:13:12. > :13:18.I think that it was, at best, trying to create a level playing field, so
:13:18. > :13:23.everybody felt equal. At worst, maybe trying to look like Cameron
:13:24. > :13:28.was getting really stuck in, really dug in. Sleeves rolled up. He looked
:13:28. > :13:34.like he'd done a bit of weeding perhaps. Does not dressing up at the
:13:34. > :13:39.office give the impression you might not be up to the job? Consultant
:13:39. > :13:43.microbiologist Stephanie Dancer has been lamenting Scotland's scruffy
:13:43. > :13:46.doctors and is calling for a return to white coats. There is a concern
:13:46. > :13:50.that the public perception has lost confidence in the fact that doctors
:13:50. > :13:55.are now not quite so smart. There's another way of putting that really.
:13:55. > :13:59.A person who cares about their appearance, a medic who cares about
:13:59. > :14:03.their appearance and takes the trouble to look neat and smart is
:14:03. > :14:08.going to take the trouble with your diagnosis and management. So, a
:14:08. > :14:12.person who cares about what they look like will care about you.
:14:12. > :14:17.Doctor dancer says -- Dr Dancer says there's a serious side to her
:14:17. > :14:20.campaign. I didn't write the article to be a champion of white coats. I
:14:20. > :14:23.wrote it to remind everybody what clean is all about. And there's a
:14:23. > :14:28.reason for that. It's because we're having trouble with infection.
:14:28. > :14:33.in the world of o politics, George Osborne startened up for this
:14:33. > :14:36.evening's annual Mansion House address. What might the word's --
:14:36. > :14:40.world's leaders be wearing in future. London Fashion Week has
:14:40. > :14:45.closed yesterday. There were a huge amount of formal shorts for men.
:14:45. > :14:49.Imagine a suit, but schoolboy shorts, very Boris Johnson. So
:14:49. > :14:57.perhaps at the next G8 summit we might see shorts, which is even
:14:57. > :15:07.scarier than the no tie! Well, maybe not. But it certainly seems like the
:15:07. > :15:08.
:15:08. > :15:13.smart casual politician look is here to stay. I'm joined now by the style
:15:13. > :15:18.commentator John Davidson, who's wearing a tie. I like ties.? I like
:15:18. > :15:23.ties. But what do you think it says to the viewers watching you there?
:15:23. > :15:28.Probably that I'm an appropriate person to comment on the dress-down
:15:28. > :15:31.scruffy politicians. I don't know. What did you make of the G8 lot?
:15:31. > :15:35.curious thing is that they actually looked the same. You would think
:15:35. > :15:40.that if you encouraged people to step out of the confines of a suit
:15:40. > :15:44.and try something a bit more smart casual whatever that means to you,
:15:44. > :15:53.you might end unwith greater variety, but actually, exactly the
:15:53. > :15:57.reverse, apart from John Merrick everyone looked the same. -- Angela
:15:57. > :16:02.Merkle that is. The shirts all looked the same. And nobody had
:16:02. > :16:06.individuality on how they interpreted the code at all. They
:16:06. > :16:11.looked uniform, curious. What do you think they're trying to show? Is it
:16:11. > :16:15.an attempt to show like, hey, man, we're with the ordinary people?
:16:15. > :16:19.Well, it's certainly the case that for quite some time now we've seen a
:16:19. > :16:26.drift out of conventions in terms of how people dress and present
:16:26. > :16:31.themselves. Doctors, as mentioned in the clip, and all sorts of other
:16:31. > :16:35.professions are less likely to wear formal suits a lot of the time these
:16:35. > :16:42.days. It's inevitable that politicians would follow the same
:16:42. > :16:47.drift. But it's a curious thing because it's such an unusual thing
:16:47. > :16:50.to see a line up of world leaders looking so uncomfortable. Yes. So
:16:50. > :16:59.they'd better learn to like it, in other words? Well, I don't think
:16:59. > :17:02.it's for real. I think that the lass people in the world - I should say
:17:02. > :17:08.Angela Merkel looks fine. Point made. She was wearing what she
:17:08. > :17:15.normally wears. The rest looked a bit silly really. Now I don't expect
:17:15. > :17:19.you to adjudicate on the question of disease prevention in hospitals, but
:17:20. > :17:26.on the broader aspect of this thing about doctors, don't the critics
:17:26. > :17:32.have a point that somehow we, it reassures us when we see a doctor in
:17:32. > :17:36.a white coat and a tie and a steth scope and it gives -- stethoscope
:17:36. > :17:39.and it makes us respect their authority. Whereas if you have
:17:39. > :17:44.people wandering around hospitals in any old thing or a casual uniform,
:17:44. > :17:52.it doesn't do that? Yes and no. I think it's certainly the case that
:17:52. > :17:58.some people find the white coat and the stethoscope idea of a doctor
:17:58. > :18:01.quite intimidating. It might be a good thing? Somebody looks more user
:18:01. > :18:06.friend friendly, but I think most people actually prefer their doctors
:18:06. > :18:09.to look neat and tidy. I think if somebody is telling you there's
:18:09. > :18:14.something very, very wrong with you and here are your options, you want
:18:14. > :18:17.to feel that perhaps they've taken the trouble to put on a freshly
:18:17. > :18:24.ironed shirt and make themselves reasonably tidy. Have to leave it
:18:24. > :18:31.there. We will take this interview as a triumph of formality. The front