"front doors and back doors and car doors are all left unlocked"I don't want to diminish the good memories of individuals or of the neighbourhoods in which they grew up in but crime really isn’t a recently discovered phenomenon. Crime has been around since man first realised that he could take advantage of another man. Yes, front and backdoors were left open in many neighbourhoods up and down the land. Then again this was probably in an era when a great many of our predecessors spent more time at home, raising their families and creating a home. Men formed the majority within the workforce and when opportunities for women in the workforce were much lower than they are today. When men were the predominate breadwinners and the aspirations of many women were just that, aspirations. A time when communities were stronger than they are today, when everyone knew everyone else, if not by name, by sight. A time when if you passed someone in the street you stopped and exchanged a “good morning” or a “good afternoon”. People felt that everyone looked out for everyone else. Neighbours borrowed a cup of sugar or an egg from each other, the man from the Pru called. Personal mobility was lower then too, far fewer cars were on the roads and of those who did have a car, they generally didn’t drive too far from their homes. Strangers in the neighbourhood would have stood out like the proverbial sore thumb. That was then and this is now. Our communities have changed as we and our world has developed. Today so many of us don’t even know what our neighbours look like, yet alone know their names. Many of us leave home early in the morning, arriving home later in the evening than many of our predecessors would have. The workforce is more balanced today, it’s not perfect and the glass ceiling does exist but many women play a much different role in the workforce of today than they would have years ago. More children are in after school care or are looked after by Childminders. Today we tend to travel further to get to work, not many of today’s jobs are down the lane at the local factory, pit or shipyard. Gone are the days of the ‘meer cat’ mentality when any unusual activity in the street brought everyone out, only to be replaced by Banham window grilles, Chubb locks and ADT intruder alarms.
Gareth Evans ● 7410d