this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2026

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Britons greatly overestimate number of sex crimes committed by foreign nationals (www.independent.co.uk)

submitted 3 days ago by Armand1@lemmy.world to c/unitedkingdom@feddit.uk

23 comments fedilink hide all child comments

New research on public perception of crime found the public guessed foreign nationals make up twice the number of sexual offenders than official statistics show (30 per cent compared to 15 per cent). They also estimated foreign nationals make up 25 per cent of the prison population, when in reality they make up just 15 per cent.

Rates of mobile phone theft, domestic burglary, vehicle theft, and murder have all fallen, despite perceptions that all have risen, the study found. In fact, researchers at King’s College London found, the general public were wrong about crime on nearly every measure

Based on two surveys of 1,797 and 2,164 UK adults, the research suggested Reform UK supporters stand out as consistently the most wrong

Color me surprised!

top 23 comments

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[–] rayyy@piefed.social 14 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The rich control the news and they tell the masses what to fear and hate.

[–] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 days ago

Yeah this is about 2% on the gullible masses and 98% on the media for over/under reporting to fit a narrative.

[–] MonsterMonster@lemmy.world 15 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Whilst they blame immigrants this is happening.

And this

Let's not forget the pedos amongst them

[–] Armand1@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

Yeah I'm way more afraid of far-right racists than foreign nationals.

[–] HerbGrower@slrpnk.net 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They overestimate crimes in general.

[–] Paddzr@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

And I'd argue reporting of crime has also plummeted because police doesn't give a fuck anymore and no one will even come out... or so I'm told.

My one encounter with police in the past 5 years was positive.

[–] Quacksalber@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 days ago

Don't be surprised, right wing agitators are deliberately poisoning the informationsphere to achieve this. While the state having a tighter grip on public speech has well known issues, in my opinion, the free speech the right wing agitators are using has failed as well. Many people are just not willing enough to question a narrative when it affirms their beliefs. So in my mind, the only other way to keep people from being misled is keeping those narratives away from them.

[–] MrSulu@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 days ago

That and who is most likely to kill women every week. Shock news, it's us locals. Not immigrants. Further shock news, many of the Right wing agitators are convicted wife beaters, or have other domestic abuse offences.

[+] username_1@discuss.tchncs.de -20 points 3 days ago (4 children)

And what percentage do those "foreign nationals" make in total? Because if they are about, lets say, 5% of the whole population and are responsible for 15% of crimes (only sex crimes type!) then it shows that immigration laws are not good enough.

[–] Denjin@feddit.uk 13 points 3 days ago

The most recent published figures we have for foreign born UK population is from the 2011 census where it's at 16%. Given the very high levels of immigration we've had over the last 15 years coupled with the historically low British born people having children in the same period, it's certainly going to be higher than that today but without reliable figures it's impossible to give a firm percentage.

The prison population is about 15% foreign born, which is already below the gross average of the general population, there's also the issue that there's a higher proportion of immigration among younger males who are disproportionate more likely to commit crimes.

The fact that the foreign born prison population is so low is actually proof of how foreign born individuals actually commit crimes at a significantly lower rate than their British born equivalents.

But don't let a few things like that get in the way of your righteous anger though...

[–] Quacksalber@sh.itjust.works 8 points 3 days ago

Treat a man like an animal and they'll behave like an animal. You are correct, immigration laws aren't good enough. But probably not in the way you think. Greater efforts must be undertaken to integrate immigrants into the society. They must be given job opporrunities and support.

[–] Diddlydee@feddit.uk 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It's 16 to 19%

[+] username_1@discuss.tchncs.de -17 points 3 days ago (4 children)

So, parity then? Still, it shows that immigration laws are not good enough. Local are locals. Total random. But with functional immigration rules one can expect nicer people to be let in and bad people are forbidden to enter. No? So with normally working laws percentage of crimes committed by foreigners should be noticeably lower.

[–] SnoopSqueak@lemmy.today 6 points 3 days ago

with functional immigration rules one can expect nicer people to be let in and bad people are forbidden to enter.

How do you propose we determine who will commit a crime before letting them in? Why do locals get a pass to you for committing the same crimes at similar rates as foreigners?

I think someone is misdirecting your anger to the wrong targets. Most immigrants do not want to harm you. Billionaires, on the other hand, love it when we harm each other instead of them. They don't want to lose their wealth, their power; they want to widen the gap even more. They want to control us through fearmongering and deception.

[–] huey_m@piefed.social 2 points 3 days ago

Worthy of criticism and suggestions to improve, perhaps, but certainly this means the hyperventilating and pearl clutching is entirely unwarranted and misguided at best, right? Purposefully misleading and spreading xenophobia at worst?

[–] SarahValentine@pawb.social 1 points 3 days ago

And are they taking this approach to all such criminals in the country, or does it only matter this much when talking about immigrants?

[–] Denjin@feddit.uk 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

So with normally working laws percentage of crimes committed by foreigners should be noticeably lower.

We already have mechanisms to prevent those convicted of crimes from being allowed to remain in the country. How do you propose preventing those who might commit a crime in the future from entering the country? It's impossible.

[–] username_1@discuss.tchncs.de -5 points 3 days ago (3 children)

It is possible. It is quite trivial, actually. Just intellect/erudition test. Clever people tend to be less criminally active. Especially primitive crime-wise like robberies, sex-related crimes, etc. I'm sure an a year or so that test might be tuned to be very effective and absolutely not restrictive.

[–] lemdeggity@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 days ago

You have a clear bias and are working backwards from there in order to justify it.

[–] Denjin@feddit.uk 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Clever people tend to be less criminally active.

So in just a couple of hours, you've gone from "foreigners are all criminals" to "only stupid people commit crime".

I'm not even going to engage with the ridiculousness of your statement only to say that you must be a career criminal..

[–] username_1@discuss.tchncs.de -1 points 3 days ago

So in just a couple of hours, you’ve gone from “foreigners are all criminals” to “only stupid people commit crime”.

I never claimed anything like that. I said that in most countries immigration laws are not good enough.

[–] zedcell@lemmygrad.ml -1 points 3 days ago

discuss.tchncs.de nazi posting? Colour me surprised

[–] SarahValentine@pawb.social 2 points 3 days ago

Better deport the rest of the nation's population to be sure.