Europe

The Wire in Britain

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A British opposition politician has criticized his government’s record on crime. And he did it by comparing some British cities to what you would see on the American TV drama, “The Wire.” Anchor Jeb Sharp has details.

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JEB SHARP: There was other news out of Britain that caught our attention today. An opposition politician criticized the government’s record on crime. Conservative party member, Chris Grayling, said crime has gone up under the Labour Party’s leadership and he drew this comparison between Britain and the United States.

CHRIS GRAYLING: The culture of violence that was a feature of US cities a generation ago has now become a feature of life in some British cities.

SHARP: Grayling didn’t stop there. This is how he underscored his point about the rise of crime in British cities.

GRAYLING: It’s the world of the award-winning US drama series “The Wire” that tracks the nightmare of drugs, gangs, and organized crime in inner city West Baltimore.

SHARP: An unflattering comparison to say the least. If you haven’t seen “The Wire” here’s a taste of what the HBO series is like.

[SOUND CLIP FROM “THE WIRE”]

And it goes on like that. In addition to citing “The Wire” Mr. Grayling cited some statistics. He said violent crime has jumped by almost 70% across Britain since 1997. That’s when the Labour Party came to power. The government rejected the opposition’s attack and mocked the pop culture reference. Home Secretary Alan Johnson accused Grayling of trying to sound cool with glib references to “The Wire” but as one of the TV shows character’s says:

CHARACTER FROM THE WIRE: All in the game, yo. All in the game.

[MUSIC]

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