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  3. Perusing the Times in 1844, Friedrich Engels was horrified to note that, in a single day, London suffered a theft, an attack on

Perusing the Times in 1844, Friedrich Engels was horrified to note that, in a single day, London suffered a theft, an attack on

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问题     Perusing the Times in 1844, Friedrich Engels was horrified to note that, in a single day, London suffered a theft, an attack on the police, an abandonment and a poisoning. "Social war is under full headway", commented Engels, who blamed the crime wave on the growing proletariat. It is hard to imagine what the gloomy social scientist would have made of the fact that, 160 years later, London’s police would be recording 2,500 crimes per day.
    Most striking is the rise of mugging. In 1993 there were 323,000 robberies in England and Wales, according to the British Crime Survey-the highest since the survey began in 1981. That is not so surprising: There was a recession on. But the muggers carded on during the late-1990s boom, even as their house- and car-breaking colleagues hung up their sacks. Despite a buoyant economy, close attention from police and politicians and a shrinking proletariat, there were 347,000 muggings last year. The national numbers have dropped since 1999 but London still suffers: In September, robberies in London were up 21% on the same month in 2004.
    Why? One reason, says Simon Pountain, who polices the London borough of Hackney, is that "there are more desirable items walking around on the street". Technology and prosperity means more mobile phones, and, recently, more MP3 players. Meanwhile, many of the things people keep in their houses and cars have become less valuable. Why break into a house to steal a DVD player when you can snatch an iPod worth two or three times as much?
    As a criminal enterprise, mugging has unusually low barriers to entry. It requires less skill than burglary or car theft, and fewer connections and less financial savvy than drug dealing.
    A recent study of the capital’s robbers found that ethnic patterns depended mainly on social and environmental factors. Black men are still over-represented among muggers, but that seems to be because they are poor, and, more important, because many of them live in neighbourhoods that have gentrified. Robbery thrives where wealth and poverty mix.
    Today’s muggers are more discerning in their choice of victims and goods. Three-quarters of their victims are men, which is novel: A large study of street robbery in 1987 found that 57% of victims were women. Young muggers look down on drug-addled practitioners, generally in their early 20s, who go after softer targets and will steal anything. Simon Holdaway, who has interviewed young robbers in Sheffield, finds that they occasionally beat up their elders.
    "Many of these robbers are funding a lifestyle, not a drug habit", says Mr. Pountain. Although poor, they are driven not by need but by aspiration find desire—for the latest gadget, or for something that can be used to finance its purchase. Engels might have regarded that as a sign of progress.
选项 A、because Britain was suffering from a recession.
B、because there was a growing under class.
C、because of lack of attention from police.
D、because of problems caused by social deprivation.
答案A
解析
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