Crime statistics in the United Kingdom

==Police statistics==

==Police statistics==

The accuracy of police statistics is questionable.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/archive/assessment/assessment/assessment-reports/assessment-report-268—statistics-on-crime-in-england-and-wales.pdf|title=Assessment of compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics Assessment Report 268 Statistics on Crime in England and Wales|date=2014|website=Office for National Statistics|access-date=23 May 2018}}</ref> Crimes are under-reported, as victims may be reluctant to report them due to considering it too trivial, embarrassing, aversion to dealing with the police, or fear of repercussions by the perpetrators.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} The police also sometimes fail to record correctly all crimes reported to them.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10557155/Lord-Stevens-admits-police-have-been-fiddling-crime-figures-for-years.html |title=Lord Stevens admits police have been ‘fiddling’ crime figures for years |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> The police may not accept a person’s claim that they are a victim of crime, or sometimes deliberately do not record a crime to save time or manipulate performance figures.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Criminology|last=Tim|first=Newburn|publisher=Routledge|year=2017|isbn=9781138643130|edition= Third |location=London|pages=50–54|oclc=951613662}}</ref>

The accuracy of police statistics is questionable.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/archive/assessment/assessment/assessment-reports/assessment-report-268—statistics-on-crime-in-england-and-wales.pdf|title=Assessment of compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics Assessment Report 268 Statistics on Crime in England and Wales|date=2014|website=Office for National Statistics|access-date=23 May 2018}}</ref> Crimes are under-reported, as victims may be reluctant to report them due to considering it too trivial, embarrassing, aversion to dealing with the police, or fear of repercussions by the perpetrators.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} The police also sometimes fail to record correctly all crimes reported to them.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10557155/Lord-Stevens-admits-police-have-been-fiddling-crime-figures-for-years.html |title=Lord Stevens admits police have been ‘fiddling’ crime figures for years |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> The police may not accept a person’s claim that they are a victim of crime, or sometimes deliberately do not record a crime to save time or manipulate performance figures.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Criminology|last=Tim|first=Newburn|author-link = Tim Newburn|publisher=Routledge|year=2017|isbn=9781138643130|edition= Third |location=London|pages=50–54|oclc=951613662}}</ref>

In 2002, the Home Office introduced a [[National Crime Recording Standards in England and Wales|National Crime Recording Standard in England and Wales]], due to a lack of uniformity in how police forces recorded [[notifiable offence]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/2015-10-15#accuracy-of-the-statistics|title=Statistical Bulletin: Crime in England and Wales: Year ending June 2015|last=Office for National Statistics|date=2016|website=Office for National Statistics}}</ref> One issue identified was ”'{{visible anchor|no-criming}}”’, the practice of writing off reported notifiable offences from police force statistics. The National Crime Recording Standard was applied inconsistently across crimes and regions, frequently incorrectly,<ref name=”justice”>[http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/news/news-feed/victims-let-down-by-poor-crime-recording/ Victims let down by poor crime-recording]</ref> for instance, it varied significantly by area: in the year to March 2011, 2% of reported rapes in Gloucestershire were recorded as “no crime”, while 30% of reported rapes in Kent were so classified, making accurate comparison difficult.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14844985 Rape crime figure differences revealed]</ref> This was sometimes due to pressure from performance and other factors.<ref name=”justice” /> During the period November 2012 – October 2013, an average of 19% of crimes reported to the police are not recorded, with one quarter of sexual crimes and one-third of violent crimes not being recorded, with rape being particularly bad at 37% ‘no-criming’.<ref name=”justice” /><ref>[http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/publication/crime-recording-making-the-victim-count/ Crime Recording: Making the Victim Count]</ref> Reporting is inconsistent across local forces: “In a few forces, crime-recording is very good, and shows that it can be done well and the statistics can be trusted. In some other forces, it is unacceptably bad.” The failure to properly record crime was called “inexcusably poor” and “indefensible” by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor. Twenty percent of reviewed decisions to cancel a report were found to be incorrect, and in about a quarter of cases there was no record of victims being informed that their report had been cancelled.<ref name=”justice” />

In 2002, the Home Office introduced a [[National Crime Recording Standards in England and Wales|National Crime Recording Standard in England and Wales]], due to a lack of uniformity in how police forces recorded [[notifiable offence]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/2015-10-15#accuracy-of-the-statistics|title=Statistical Bulletin: Crime in England and Wales: Year ending June 2015|last=Office for National Statistics|date=2016|website=Office for National Statistics}}</ref> One issue identified was ”'{{visible anchor|no-criming}}”’, the practice of writing off reported notifiable offences from police force statistics. The National Crime Recording Standard was applied inconsistently across crimes and regions, frequently incorrectly,<ref name=”justice”>[http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/news/news-feed/victims-let-down-by-poor-crime-recording/ Victims let down by poor crime-recording]</ref> for instance, it varied significantly by area: in the year to March 2011, 2% of reported rapes in Gloucestershire were recorded as “no crime”, while 30% of reported rapes in Kent were so classified, making accurate comparison difficult.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14844985 Rape crime figure differences revealed]</ref> This was sometimes due to pressure from performance and other factors.<ref name=”justice” /> During the period November 2012 – October 2013, an average of 19% of crimes reported to the police are not recorded, with one quarter of sexual crimes and one-third of violent crimes not being recorded, with rape being particularly bad at 37% ‘no-criming’.<ref name=”justice” /><ref>[http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/publication/crime-recording-making-the-victim-count/ Crime Recording: Making the Victim Count]</ref> Reporting is inconsistent across local forces: “In a few forces, crime-recording is very good, and shows that it can be done well and the statistics can be trusted. In some other forces, it is unacceptably bad.” The failure to properly record crime was called “inexcusably poor” and “indefensible” by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor. Twenty percent of reviewed decisions to cancel a report were found to be incorrect, and in about a quarter of cases there was no record of victims being informed that their report had been cancelled.<ref name=”justice” />