Statistical Bulletin
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Statistical Bulletin Crime in England and Wales, Year Ending June 2014 Coverage: England and Wales Date: 16 October 2014 Geographical Area: Local Authority and County Theme: Crime and Justice Key points • Latest figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) show that, for the offences it covers, there were an estimated 7.1 million incidents of crime against households and resident adults (aged 16 and over) in England and Wales for the year ending June 2014. This represents a 16% decrease compared with the previous year’s survey, and is the lowest estimate since the survey began in 1981. • The CSEW covers a broad range of victim based crimes and includes crimes which do not come to the attention of the police. Decreases were evident for all major crime types compared with the previous year; violence saw a 23% fall, criminal damage fell by 20%, and theft offences decreased by 12%. • In contrast, police recorded crime shows no overall change from the previous year, with 3.7 million offences recorded in the year ending June 2014. Prior to this, police recorded crime figures have shown year on year reductions since 2003/04. • The renewed focus on the quality of crime recording is likely to have prompted improved compliance with national standards in some police forces, leading to more crimes being recorded. This is thought to have particularly affected the police recorded figures for violence against the person (up 11%) and public order offences (up 6%). • The number of police recorded shoplifting offences showed a 5% increase compared with the previous year. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this rise is more likely to be a result of a genuine increase in crime rather than any change in recording practice. • There was also an increase in the volume of fraud recorded (8% year on year), though it is difficult to judge to what extent that reflected an improvement in recording practices, an increase in public reports or a rise in actual criminality. It is thought that levels of fraud are thought to be Office for National Statistics | 1 Crime in England and Wales, Year Ending June 2014 | 16 October 2014 substantially under-reported and thus these figures simply provide a measure of such offences brought to the attention of the authorities. • Sexual offences recorded by the police saw a 21% rise from the previous year and continues the pattern seen in recent publications. Current, rather than historic, offences account for the majority of the increase in sexual offences (73% within the last 12 months). Despite these recent increases, it is known that sexual offences are subject to a high degree of under-reporting. Understanding Crime Statistics This quarterly release presents the most recent crime statistics from two main sources: the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW; previously known as the British Crime Survey), and police recorded crime. Neither of these sources can provide a picture of total crime. Crime Survey for England and Wales The CSEW is a face-to-face victimisation survey in which people resident in households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of a selected number of offences in the 12 months prior to the interview. It covers both children aged 10-15 and adults aged 16 and over, but does not cover those living in group residences (such as care homes, student halls of residence and prisons), or crimes against commercial or public sector bodies. For the population and offence types it covers, the CSEW is a valuable source for providing robust estimates on a consistent basis over time. It is able to capture all offences experienced by those interviewed, not just those that have been reported to, and recorded by, the police. It covers a broad range of victim-based crimes experienced by the resident household population. However, there are some serious but relatively low volume offences, such as homicide and sexual offences that are not included in its main estimates. The survey also currently excludes fraud and cyber crime though there is ongoing development work to address this gap – see the methodological note 'Work to extend the Crime Survey for England and Wales to include fraud and cyber crime'. This infographic sets out what is and is not covered by the CSEW. Police recorded crime Police recorded crime figures cover selected offences that have been reported to and recorded by the police. They are supplied by the 43 territorial police forces of England and Wales, plus the British Transport Police, via the Home Office to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The coverage of police recorded crime statistics is defined by the Notifiable Offence List (NOL)1, which includes a broad range of offences, from murder to minor criminal damage, theft and public order offences. The NOL excludes less serious offences that are dealt with exclusively at magistrates courts. Police recorded crime is the primary source of sub-national crime statistics and for relatively low volume crimes. It covers people (including, for example, residents of institutions and tourists) and sectors (for example commercial crime) excluded from the CSEW sample. While the police recorded crime series covers a wider population and a broader set of offences than the CSEW, it does not include crimes which do not come to the attention of the police or that are not recorded by them. Office for National Statistics | 2 Crime in England and Wales, Year Ending June 2014 | 16 October 2014 Statistics based on police recorded crime data have been assessed against the Code of Practice for Official Statistics and found not to currently meet the required standard for designation as National Statistics (see Recent assessments of crime statistics and accuracy later on in this section). This bulletin also draws on data from other sources to provide a more comprehensive picture of crime and disorder, including incidents of anti-social behaviour recorded by the police and other transgressions of the law that are dealt with by the courts but are not covered in the recorded crime collection. Further information on the datasets is available in the Data Sources – coverage and coherence section of this Statistical Bulletin and the CSEW Technical report (957.7 Kb Pdf). The User Guide (1.61 Mb Pdf) to Crime Statistics for England and Wales provides information for those wanting to obtain more detail on crime statistics. This includes information on the datasets used to compile the statistics and is a useful reference guide with explanatory notes regarding updates, issues and classifications which are crucial to the production and presentation of the crime statistics. For the expert user, the Quality and Methodology report sets out information about the quality of crime statistics and the roles and responsibilities of the different departments involved in the production and publication of crime statistics. A more interactive guide is available to provide new users with information on crime statistics. A short video is available to give users an introduction to crime statistics, by giving an overview of the main data sources used to produce the statistics. Recent assessments of crime statistics and accuracy Following an assessment of ONS crime statistics by the UK Statistics Authority, published in January 2014, the statistics based on police recorded crime data have been found not to meet the required standard for designation as National Statistics. The full assessment report can be found on the UK Statistics Authority website. Data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales continue to be badged as National Statistics. In their assessment report the UK Statistics Authority set out 16 requirements to be addressed in order for the statistics to meet National Statistics standards. ONS are working in collaboration with the Home Office Statistics Unit and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to address these requirements. A summary of progress so far is available on the Crime statistics methodology page. Furthermore, in November 2014 ONS will launch a user engagement exercise to help expand our knowledge of users’ needs in light of concerns raised about the quality of police recorded crime. Any users of the statistics who would like to take part should e-mail [email protected] and will then be notified when the exercise is launched. As part of a recent inquiry by the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) into crime statistics, allegations of under-recording of crime by the police have been made. In this PASC inquiry the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Tom Winsor, outlined how HMIC would be undertaking an inspection of the integrity of police recorded crime during 2014. Findings of the ongoing inspections Office for National Statistics | 3 Crime in England and Wales, Year Ending June 2014 | 16 October 2014 of crime recording processes and practices will help provide further information on the level of compliance across England and Wales. An interim report on progress and emerging findings was published in May 2014 based on results from the first 13 forces inspected and Crime Data Integrity Force Reports for 21 police forces were published in August 2014, detailing the findings of each force’s inspection and recommendations for improving the accuracy of the data. A final HMIC report is expected to be published later this year. Further information on the accuracy of the statistics is also available in the Accuracy of the statistics section of this Statistical Bulletin. Time periods covered The latest CSEW figures presented in this release are based on interviews conducted between July 2013 and June 2014, measuring each respondent’s experiences of crime in the 12 months before the interview. It therefore covers a rolling reference period with, for example, respondents interviewed in July 2013 reporting on crimes experienced between July 2012 and June 2013 and those interviewed in June 2014 reporting on crimes taking place between June 2013 and May 2014.