The latest annual update on crime statistics shows that crime continues to fall under Labour.

Since Labour came to power in 1997 all crime (as measured by the British Crime Survey) has fallen by nearly two-fifths. Annual BCS statistics (from 1997 to the year ending March 2008) reveal that:

o       Overall crime is down 39 per cent.

o       Domestic burglary down 55 per cent

o       All vehicle-related thefts down 57 per cent

o       All household crime down 39 per cent

o       All BCS violence down 40 per cent

o       All personal crime down 39 per cent

The risk of being a victim of crime has fallen to 22 per cent, the lowest level ever recorded since the BCS began in 1981.

Three years ago Labour set the tough challenge to reduce all crime by 15 per cent by 2007/08. Today’s figures show this has been exceeded – with an overall crime reduction of 18 per cent since the 2002/03 baseline for the target.

IN OUR REGION

Police figures and results from the British Crime Survey show that in the East of England recorded crime has fallen by 8% over the last year.  Our region remains the safest region in England and Wales.  

The figures for the East of England show that:

• Between 2006/07 and 2007/08 total recorded crime fell by 8 per cent and decreased in all of the police force areas in the East of England region.
• Recorded crime fell by 11 per cent in Norfolk
• In 2007/08 the total recorded crime rate in the East of England region (at 75 offences per 1,000 population) was the lowest rate in all the English regions, and lower than the overall England and Wales rate (at 91 offences per 1,000 population).

Further Details

These latest statistics present the most recent crime statistics from two different sources: the British Crime Survey (BCS) and police recorded crime. Both data sets represent the most up-to-date information, but they cover different time periods.

The BCS is a victimisation survey in which adults living in private households are asked about their experiences of crimes. For the crime types it covers, the BCS can provide a better reflection of the true extent of crime because it includes crimes that are not reported to the police and crimes which are not recorded by them. The BCS also gives a better indication of trends in crime over time because it is unaffected by changes in levels of reporting to the police, and in police recording practices. The methodology of the BCS has remained the same since the survey began in 1981.

Police recorded crime statistics provide a measure of trends in well-reported crimes, are an important indicator of police workload, and can be used for local crime pattern analysis.  Recorded crime statistics provide the only measure of homicide and also the only reliable measure of relatively rare crimes such as robbery.  However they do not include crimes that have not been reported to the police or incidents that the police decide not to record.  Police recording practice is governed by Home Office Counting Rules for Recorded Crime and the National Crime Recording Standard. More detailed information is available at: http://www.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk/rds/countrules.html.

 “Crime in England and Wales 2007/08” is available online on the UK Statistics Authority website as well as the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/