I remember when I lived in London there was a time when it seemed like there were more and more police sirens everywhere, this made me feel like there had been a big increase in bad people doing bad stuff.
But, it turns out, what had actually happened was they had changed the standard for sirens on emergency vehicles. As vehicles were modernised they all started to sound like police cars. At the same time a new system for medical emergencies was introduced that involved a first response by motorbike paramedic followed by backup a bit later from an ambulance if necessary, again all with sirens blaring. Suddenly it sounded like the police where rushing everywhere all the time. Whereas before you could tell the difference between a fire engine, an ambulance and a police car from the sound so you could tell what kind of incident was going on.
I'm sure that contributed to a sense that there was a big crime problem in the 90's when in actual fact it was starting to tail off.
But, it turns out, what had actually happened was they had changed the standard for sirens on emergency vehicles. As vehicles were modernised they all started to sound like police cars. At the same time a new system for medical emergencies was introduced that involved a first response by motorbike paramedic followed by backup a bit later from an ambulance if necessary, again all with sirens blaring. Suddenly it sounded like the police where rushing everywhere all the time. Whereas before you could tell the difference between a fire engine, an ambulance and a police car from the sound so you could tell what kind of incident was going on.
I'm sure that contributed to a sense that there was a big crime problem in the 90's when in actual fact it was starting to tail off.