The gross domestic product was soaring. That wouldn't have mattered to the GDP calculation. Because the GDP simply tots up all the activities which can be measured in money, it is equally happy about crime, crumpets and Christmas trees.
Crime generates prison construction, expands police forces, improves sales of security equipment.
In addition, the GDP doesn't include unpaid work. If your kid mows the lawn for nothing, the GDP ignores it. If you pay the kid next door to mow it, the GDP includes it. The work of housewives and community volunteers literally counts for nothing. A forest enters into the GDP calculation only when it is cut down and sold, a fish only when it is caught and processed.