2
May
2017
By Calvin at 15:15 GMT, 6 years ago
Here are the Main Points of this quarter’s crime data. I have highlighted a number of the points, including the fact that there does appear to be a small increase in burglary and robbery. Previously I had pointed out that falls in burglary in particular had begun to slow and flatten out. It seems like they have.
I strongly suggest you follow the link below and read the first few paragraphs of the bulletin as there are planned changes coming up to improve ‘the design, coverage and presentation of crime statistics in England and Wales over the next few years’.
Main Points
- Comparable figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) showed no statistically significant change compared with the previous year’s survey, with an estimated 6.1 million incidents of crime in the survey year ending December 2016.
- Including experimental statistics on fraud and computer misuse offences, there were an estimated 11.5 million incidents of crime in the survey year ending December 2016. As questions on fraud and computer misuse were not in the previous year’s survey, it is only possible to make year-on-year comparisons from the CSEW by excluding such offences.
- While it is too early to look at trends in fraud from the new CSEW Experimental Statistics, other data suggest it has risen over the last year. For example, fraud referred to the police showed an annual rise of 4% and industry data on financial fraud showed there were 1.8 million cases of frauds on UK-issued cards (an increase of 22% from the previous year).
- Most main offence groups covered by the CSEW showed no statistically significant change compared with the previous year’s survey. Theft offences were the only exception and these fell by 10%.
- The police recorded a total of 4.8 million offences in the year ending December 2016, an annual rise of 9%. However, the large volume increases driving this trend are thought to reflect changes in recording processes and practices rather than crime.
- However, there appeared to be smaller but genuine increases in some of the lower volume but higher harm categories of police recorded violence, including homicide and knife crime. There were also small increases in some offences where recording practices are less likely to have been a driving factor. For example, it is likely that recent rises in burglary and robbery reflect some genuine increases in crime. However, these recent increases should be seen in the context of substantial falls in such crime over the longer-term.
