HND Social Science

Official Criminal Statistics

Between 1971 & 1993 there was a dramatic rise in the volume of recorded crime in the UK. All major categories of crime experienced substantial increases, e.g violent crime increased fourfold in this period, although the proportion of crimes that were recorded as violent never exceeded 12% of all crime. Most crime was, and indeed still remains property crime.

Since 1993, the crime rate has significantly fallen, despite the fact that the general public, encouraged by the media, believe it to be rising. Recorded crime in England & Wales continued to fall in the 12 months to September 2000 although there was an 8% rise in violent crime – which now makes up 13% of all crime. In particular, street mugging (robbery) rose by 21% and violence against the person rose by 7%.

The social distribution of crime by age

The peak age for known offenders for both males and females was 14 in 1958 and 18 in 1997. The official statistics show that juvenile crime has declined in recent years after having reached a peak in 1984-85. In 1958, 56% of all offenders found guilty were aged 20 years or under compared with 38% in 1997. However, the OCS do indicate that burglary, robbery, violence and criminal damage are likely to be juvenile rather than adult offences.

Examination of the employment status of convicted offenders suggests that over 80% are from the manual classes. Hagell and Newburn’s study of persistent young offenders found that only 8% came from middle class backgrounds. Offences are also distinguishable by social class. Middle-class offenders tend to be associated with white-collar crime, fraud & tax evasion, whilst working-class offenders are found guilty of burglary & street crime

The statistics show an over-representations of ethnic-minority men & women, and particularly Afro-Caribbean’s, in prison. One-tenth of male prisoners and one-fifth of female prisoners are Afro-Caribbean yet this ethnic-minority group only makes up 2.3% of the population. Smith (1997) notes that black youth are more likely to cautioned than other ethnic-minority group.

The number of female offenders has risen faster than the number of male offenders since 1958 but approximately 85%-90% of offenders found guilty or cautioned are male. Male crime generally outnumbers female crime by a ration of 5 to 1. men and women are generally convicted for different types of offences, e.g men dominate all offences and when females are convicted is is likely to be for theft(shoplifting).

The Social distribution of crime by Region

Urban areas, especially inner city council estates, have higher rates of crime than suburbs or rural areas. Official surveys on crime indicate that members of young households living in inner cities (students?) are ten times more likely to be burgled than older people living in rural areas.

Sociologists point out that the official statistics do not comprise the total volume of crime. There is a ‘dark figure’ of unrecorded crime a phenomenon which is now more widely acknowledged. Andy Pilkington (1995) notes the following:

1. The OCS do not comprise a complete record of criminal offences known to the authorities, for example, they don’t cover ‘summary offences’ and offences dealt with by the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise.
2. The number of recorded offences depends on official counting procedures which frequently changes.
3. Over 80% of all recorded crimes result from reports by the public but crime may not be reported to the police because:

• People may not be aware a crime has taken place (fraud)
• The victim may be afraid or unable (child abuse)
• The offence may seem too trivial (vandalism)
• The victim may fear embarrassment or humiliation at the hands of the police or courts (rape)
• The victim or the community may distrust the police ( ethnic minority communities may feel the police do not take racial attacks seriously as shown by the Stephen Lawrence

• Around 40% of crimes reported to the police are not recorded by them and therefore do not end up in official statistics.
• Barclay (1995) argues that the net sum of all these processes is that only 2% of offences committed lead to a conviction in the criminal courts.

Home office research suggests that the rise in crime is an artificial phenomenon a rise in reporting rather than a real increase because of the following:

• Living standards have risen rapidly since the 1950’s and modern society is more materialistic. This has resulted in more consumer items ( e.g. cars, videos, mobile phones etc) to steal and a greater public intolerance of property crime. People are therefore more likely to report it. The popularity of insurance has given people more incentive to report theft whilst increased ownership of mobile phones may have made it easier to report crime.
• Public attitudes towards violence have changed the greater stress on women’s rights has produced a less tolerant attitude towards domestic violence.
• Changes in legislation and police practices may result in more crimes being reported.
• The OCS on soft drug use, prostitution and homosexual importuning cannot be regarded as reliable because some forces elect to crack down on these offences regularly whilst others may ignore or neglect them.
• The increase in the number of police officers ( 15,000 extra since 1979) and the use of modern technology ( especially computers and surveillance cameras in city centres & football stadiums) has led to more efficient monitoring and recording of crime.

Review questions:

1. What agency is responsible for the collection of official statistics on Crime?
2. What percentage of all crime was violent crime in 2000?
3. What is the peak age for committing a criminal act? Why ?
4. What is the ‘dark figure’ of crime, how significant do you think this is?
5. What is the ratio of male to female crime? Why is this the case?
6. Why is the Home Office sceptical that there has been a rise in crime? What do you think?