I’m struck by the claim that “assault (albeit not specifically aggravated assault) is the worst-recalled crime in the survey”. Assault (unwanted physical contact) does seem like it might be difficult to recall. But aggravated assault (assault “usually accompanied by the use of a weapon or by other means likely to produce death or great bodily harm”) seems like it might be exceptionally easy to recall.
(Quoting from the definition of aggravated assault used in the FBI’s dataset, https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/aggravated-assault )
I suspect some people actually made this trade—for the reasons you mention—in London during World War II (end of world = end of London/UK economy). It’s a plot point in Francis Spufford’s latest novel, Nonesuch.