While Trump brings in new tariffs that reshape global commerce, Britain's own transformation began decades earlier. In the 1960s, as the Beatles conquered America and miniskirts shocked traditionalists, something else was quietly changing: criminals were getting better at staying criminal.

The numbers tell a story nobody talks about. In 1945, as Britain rebuilt from war, 18 out of every 100 convicted criminals went on to reoffend. By 1964, that figure had rocketed to 31 per 100. A 72% surge in just two decades. (Source: Ministry of Justice, Proven Reoffending -- proven-reoffending_jan24_mar24_3_monthly -- A7b_(3_monthly))

This wasn't gradual drift. This was a fundamental shift in how crime worked in Britain. The post-war consensus that shaped everything from the NHS to council housing was cracking, and the cracks showed up first in reoffending rates.

Think about what Britain looked like in 1945. Rationing was still in force. National Service was compulsory. Social structures were rigid, communities tight-knit, and shame still carried weight. When someone committed a crime and got caught, the system and society conspired to make sure it didn't happen again.

But by 1964, that world was disappearing. Harold Wilson was promising a white heat of technological revolution. Traditional authority was crumbling. Young people had money in their pockets and privacy in their bedrooms. The social glue that had kept reoffending low was dissolving.

The timing wasn't coincidental. The late 1950s and early 1960s saw Britain's first taste of mass prosperity. Unemployment fell to historic lows. Consumer goods flooded the market. For the first time in generations, ordinary people had things worth stealing.

More importantly, they had mobility. The old world where everyone knew everyone else's business was giving way to anonymous suburbs and city centres where you could disappear into the crowd. Perfect conditions for repeat offending.

This 1960s surge set the template for modern British crime. Before then, most criminals were one-time offenders, caught up in desperate circumstances or momentary madness. After 1964, criminality became a career choice for a growing minority.

The data captures a pivotal moment when Britain crossed a line it's never crossed back. We went from a society where crime was largely opportunistic to one where it became systematic. That shift, begun in the swinging sixties, created the reoffending patterns that define British justice today.

While politicians debate sentencing guidelines and rehabilitation programmes, they're dealing with consequences of a transformation that started when their grandparents were young. The explosion in repeat offending wasn't inevitable. It was the price of prosperity, mobility, and the breakdown of social control.