Violent crime by women rises 81%
Violent crime by women has risen by 81 per cent in last decade, official figures show
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By Adam Leveridge
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Thursday, 22, Oct 2009 09:20
Violent crime by women has risen by 81 per cent since Labour came to power, official figures have shown.
Women found guilty of murder, vicious assault and other attacks rose by 81 per cent since 1998, from 6,937 convictions, to 12,573 convictions in 2007.
While murders almost doubled, woundings were up a fifth and common assault rose a huge 151 per cent. The figures were shown in response to a Parliamentary question by the Conservatives.
The figures showed the number of women found guilty of common assault rose from 3,209 in 1998, to 8,068 in 2007.
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: "These figures are very alarming and it's pretty clear that they are at least in part a consequence of the binge drinking culture that has grown up around the country.
"It's now clear that Labour's licensing reforms were a big mistake and we will take major steps to reform the system to tax super-strength alcohol and to stop supermarkets selling booze at a low cost price."
The rise has been heavily blamed on the increase in 'binge drinking', but the government has said the figures are misleading.
Police minister David Hanson said: "To suggest that a rise in convictions means an increase in overall violent crime is simply misleading.
"We know less than 25 per cent of violent offences are committed by women. But we are not complacent about any form of violence."