AC1.6 Evaluate methods of collecting statistics about crime
Purpose of being able to collect statistics about crime
An example of a trend in offending which allows the government and police to decide on
policing priorities is fraud. THE CSEW estimated a 15% increase in frua offences ( to
3,863,000 offences). The increase is driven mainly by rises by bank and credit account
fraud ( 17% to 2,666,000 offences). Another example is domestic abuse. According to
the CSEW, there was no change in the proportion of adult victims experiencing domestic
abuse in the year ending March 2019 (6.3%) compared with the previous year (6.1%). In
my local area between October 2018 and September 2019 there was a total of 136
sexual offences
It allows the government and police to evaluate if their current strategy to tackle certain
crime is working or not. St Helens: increase in young people carrying knives for
protection and gang activity. To prevent this NHS staff are visiting schools to talk about
the impact of knife crime and the damage it causes.
It provides information about which crimes are taking place in different parts of the
country so the police know which types of crimes to be aware of and create awareness
campaigns for possible victims. Some statistics of typical city crimes are burglaries (19),
theft (63), violent crime (76), rape (2) and sexual assult (7). There is a sharp rise in
countryside crimes, one being the theft of tractors and farm vehicles
Allows victims to voice their views so the police can try and focus on these areas.
Examples of questions on the CSEW are “What do you think your chance is of being a
victim of crime?” and “Do you think crime is on the increase nationally?”. I believe crime
is on the increase nationally especially with knife crime and gang violence.
Can highlight if new crimes are emerging and developing new policing strategies to deal
with these new areas. Examples of emerging crimes are cyber crime, identity theft,
online drug trade, piracy and hacking.
Two methods of measuring and tracking trends in crime
Police recorded crime: All police forces in the UK report crimes that have been
committed in their area to the Home Office.
Crime survey for England and Wales (CSEW): Victim survey (face to face) that asks a
sample of approximately 35,000 people from England and Wales about their personal
experience of crime. However, if a person is to confess to a crime, the confidentiality
agreement states they cannot report it to the police.
Reliability of PRC and CSEW statistics
Reliability refers to: Whether the results obtained are consistent. Will another person
get the same statistics for a crime ?
Police recorded crime statistics can be seen as reliable because: all police forces
should be categorising crime in the same way. Examples of police recorded crime is
child abduction, indecent assault on a male and kidnapping.
Purpose of being able to collect statistics about crime
An example of a trend in offending which allows the government and police to decide on
policing priorities is fraud. THE CSEW estimated a 15% increase in frua offences ( to
3,863,000 offences). The increase is driven mainly by rises by bank and credit account
fraud ( 17% to 2,666,000 offences). Another example is domestic abuse. According to
the CSEW, there was no change in the proportion of adult victims experiencing domestic
abuse in the year ending March 2019 (6.3%) compared with the previous year (6.1%). In
my local area between October 2018 and September 2019 there was a total of 136
sexual offences
It allows the government and police to evaluate if their current strategy to tackle certain
crime is working or not. St Helens: increase in young people carrying knives for
protection and gang activity. To prevent this NHS staff are visiting schools to talk about
the impact of knife crime and the damage it causes.
It provides information about which crimes are taking place in different parts of the
country so the police know which types of crimes to be aware of and create awareness
campaigns for possible victims. Some statistics of typical city crimes are burglaries (19),
theft (63), violent crime (76), rape (2) and sexual assult (7). There is a sharp rise in
countryside crimes, one being the theft of tractors and farm vehicles
Allows victims to voice their views so the police can try and focus on these areas.
Examples of questions on the CSEW are “What do you think your chance is of being a
victim of crime?” and “Do you think crime is on the increase nationally?”. I believe crime
is on the increase nationally especially with knife crime and gang violence.
Can highlight if new crimes are emerging and developing new policing strategies to deal
with these new areas. Examples of emerging crimes are cyber crime, identity theft,
online drug trade, piracy and hacking.
Two methods of measuring and tracking trends in crime
Police recorded crime: All police forces in the UK report crimes that have been
committed in their area to the Home Office.
Crime survey for England and Wales (CSEW): Victim survey (face to face) that asks a
sample of approximately 35,000 people from England and Wales about their personal
experience of crime. However, if a person is to confess to a crime, the confidentiality
agreement states they cannot report it to the police.
Reliability of PRC and CSEW statistics
Reliability refers to: Whether the results obtained are consistent. Will another person
get the same statistics for a crime ?
Police recorded crime statistics can be seen as reliable because: all police forces
should be categorising crime in the same way. Examples of police recorded crime is
child abduction, indecent assault on a male and kidnapping.
