Letter: Close to home

Sir: I have been astonished at how one of the recently released crime statistics has been reported by the media. The news that the incidence of violent crime has increased by 10 per cent in the last year has invariably been followed by the implicit reassurance that the victim usually knows his or her attacker. How is this supposed to make us feel more secure? Are we encouraged to recall all our past and present acquaintances and pass judgement on their tendencies to violent crime?

SIMON WHITE

Aberdeen