16
Jul
2015
By Calvin at 13:25 GMT, 10 years ago
The Office for National Statistics has just released their latest crime bulletin. The main points are listed below, however for speed I’ve lifted the main ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ below: (CSEW = Crime Survey England and Wales estimate)
- CSEW estimate for All Crime Down 7% on this time last year – ditto below:
- CSEW Theft Offences overall Down 8%
- CSEW Theft from person Down 21%
- CSEW Other Theft of personal property Down 22%
- CSEW Domestic Burglary No Change
- CSEW Vehicle related theft No Change
- POLICE recorded crime Up 3%
- POLICE recorded Violence against the person Up 23%
- CSEW Violence against the Person No Change
- POLICE recorded Offences involving knives Up 2%
- POLICE recorded Assaults Up 13%
- POLICE recorded Robberies Down 14%
- POLICE recorded Possession of Weapons Up 10%
- POLICE recorded Sexual Offences Up 37%
- ACTION FRAUD recorded Fraud offences Up 9%
Main points
- Latest figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) showed that, for the offences it covers, there were an estimated 6.8 million incidents of crime against households and resident adults (aged 16 and over). This is a 7% decrease compared with the previous year’s survey, and the lowest estimate since the CSEW began in 1981.
- The decrease in all CSEW crime was driven by a reduction in the all theft offences category (down 8%). Within this group there were falls in the sub-categories of theft from the person (down 21%) and other theft of personal property (down 22%). However, there was no significant change in other sub-categories such as domestic burglary and vehicle-related theft.
- In contrast to the CSEW, there was a 3% increase in police recorded crime compared with the previous year, with 3.8 million offences recorded in the year ending March 2015.
- The rise in the police figures was driven by increases in violence against the person offences (up by 23% compared with the previous year). However, this increase is thought to reflect changes in recording practices rather than a rise in violent crime. The CSEW estimate for violent crime showed no change compared with the previous year’s survey, following decreases over the past 4 years.
- Offences involving knives and sharp instruments increased by 2% in the year ending March 2015. This small rise masked more significant changes at offence level with an increase in assaults (up 13%, from 11,911 to 13,488) and a decrease in robberies (down 14%, from 11,927 to 10,270). In addition, the related category of weapon possession offences also rose by 10% (from 9,050 to 9,951). Such serious offences are not thought to be prone to changes in recording practice.
- Sexual offences recorded by the police rose by 37% with the numbers of rapes (29,265) and other sexual offences (58,954) being at the highest level since the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in 2002/03. As well as improvements in recording, this is also thought to reflect a greater willingness of victims to come forward to report such crimes. In contrast, the latest estimate from the CSEW showed no significant change in the proportion of adults aged 16-59 who reported being a victim of a sexual assault (including attempted assaults) in the last year (1.7%).
- While other acquisitive crimes recorded by the police continued to decline there was an increase in the volume of fraud offences recorded by Action Fraud (up 9%) largely driven by increases in non-investment fraud (up 15%) – a category which includes frauds related to online shopping and computer software services. This is the first time a year-on-year comparison can be made on a like for like basis. It is difficult to know whether this means actual levels of fraud rose or simply that a greater proportion of victims reported to Action Fraud. However, other sources also show year on year increases, including data supplied to the National Fraud Investigation Bureau from industry sources (up 17%).
Statistical Bulletin PDF: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_411032.pdf
