Tick, Tock, Boom! A Critical Forecast on Violence in Post-Pandemic UK.

<p>This article offers a critical forecast on violent crime as the UK, and other parts of the world, begin to emerge from the global Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictive measures imposed in response. The introductory section provides a contextual discussion to frame the following three thematic sections that separately address key issues related to the issue of violence contemporarily. Following this, the article firstly places into context the rise in serious forms of violent crime across England and Wales that occurred in the years preceding the arrival of Covid19. Secondly, it considers, briefly, the pandemic’s impact upon violence, specifically the effect of lockdown upon patterns of violence. Thirdly, and finally, the article provides a critical forecast, which draws together some of the points identified in the initial introductory discussion and the preceding two sections. This final section suggest that serious violence may become a more significant issue in the UK’s post-pandemic context of inequality, austerity legacy, the harms of lockdown to vulnerable groups, and the cost-of-living crisis.</p>