SUPERMARKETS CAN LEAD TO MORE CRIME

This should make interesting reading for those who oppose the ever-increasing influence of supermarkets in our towns.

Two American universities report that neighbourhoods suffer an increase in crime if a new supermarket is built nearby.

Cases of assault, theft and burglary are more frequent in the vicinity of large stores for years after, it is claimed.

Researchers found that even ten years after the supermarket was built, there were an extra 19 crimes per 10,000 people.

The study – published in the British Journal of Criminology – claims supermarkets may be linked to crime in a variety of ways.

It says their arrival may cause social disruption as small businesses are forced to shut, causing unemployment, poverty and a high turnover of local residents -all known precursors of crime.

They may also attract criminals because large numbers of people and products are concentrated in one area.

Researchers from South Carolina and Sam Houston State Universities looked at crime figures for areas where retail giant Wal-mart, the owner of Asda, opened new stores in the 1990s in the US – but warned their findings may also apply to Britain.

The study states: `Worthy of consideration by British policymakers is whether growth of big-box retailers corresponds with reductions in local businesses and whether such growth is in the best interest of the local economy.`

Something else that may be of concern was a comment on one of the current crop of television home-finding programmes.

According to the presenter recent statistics indicate that house values in areas where there is a thriving and vibrant independent high street command, on average, an extra