In the aftermath of the TalkTalk hack there was speculation over the possible involvement of terrorists, vast financial loss, and an impending cybercrime tsunami from stolen personal data.

The dramatic 40 percent increase in the recently published crime statistics for England and Wales might appear an abrupt end to the year-on-year decline in crime rates over the past 20 years or so.

One way for police agencies to reassure the public is to engage people more fully in the work that they do.