Repeatedly stabbed: Violetta Vella

"CRIME U.K." blares the front-page headline of the red-top tabloid, before going on to declare: "We reveal true face of lawless, violent Britain."

Across four inside pages, the paper catalogues violent crimes from the four corners of the United Kingdom.

Among the most sadistic are:

• The case of an 82-year-old grandmother who died on Monday after being stabbed repeatedly at her flat in London
• The suspected murder of an Asian boy who had been beaten and then set on fire. His body was found at a park in London on Wednesday
• The killing of a teenager in Nottingham who was shot in the chest in a "car-jacking" on Tuesday
• The death of three people following an arson attack in Somerset

Such chilling stories come in the wake of several other attacks and murders which have hit the news stands since the New Year.

Levels in worry do not necessarily follow levels in recorded crime

British Crime Survey 2001

These include the killing of an estate agent in London, a shoot-out in a busy restaurant also in London, in which one man died, several violent "car-jackings" and the case of a young women shot in the head by a mobile phone thief.

So it will surprise some people that on average, we are less likely to be victims of crime than a few years ago. Crime levels in the UK are falling, and quite significantly.

According to last year's British Crime Survey, overall there was a 12% drop in crime between 1999 and 2000. Burglaries fell by 17%, vehicle related theft by 11%, household theft by 16% and violent crime by 19%.

Yet the full picture tells a different story.

Phone muggings

While violent crime of all types is down, street crime is actually on the rise, many of which involve mobile phones. Some 700,000 mobile phones were stolen last year, many in street muggings.

Mobile phone muggings have risen three-fold in five years

And the street crime situation is particularly bad in London - residents of the capital are more than twice as likely to be a victim of mugging than the second worst place in England, the North West.

Firearms crime is also on the increase - in London the number of shootings has almost doubled since 1995.

The "London factor" could be key to the debate about fear of crime. After all, any violent offence in London is on the doorstep of the national media and therefore likely to receive more coverage.

Middle class victims

Who is the victim could be another factor. As BBC News Online reader Matthew Wood suggested in a Talking Point debate last month, "crimes are now being committed in more affluent areas... making the crimes more visible".

Fear of crime

15% of population are 'very worried' about being mugged 26% are 'fairly worried'

So, given the statistics, are we getting things out of proportion? Shouldn't we find comfort in the fact that whatever our fears, crime is actually on a downward slide?

No, says Dr Bere Mahoney, a psychologist and "fear of crime" expert, who says simply fearing crime is enough to make you a victim of crime.

"In academic literature we try to distinguish between direct victims of crime - those who have experienced a crime - and indirect victims - those who know someone who has been a direct victim or by extension know of a crime because of media reports.

Facing fear

"If the media report even the small number of cases, readers may see themselves as being indirect victims."

Just fearing crime makes one a victim

"This may be totally irrational, but our fear of crime is driven by emotions."

The psychological effect on these "secondary" victims is, obviously, not as serious as frontline victims.

Nevertheless, they can affect one's wellbeing and cause heightened anxiety, she says.

"Humans are quite bad about making rational decisions based on facts and figures - we tend to let hearsay overshadow hard evidence. We often overlook or override such facts when we gauge the probability of something happening to us."