The Crime Prevention Website

From my friends at Crime Reduction Partnership (CRP) News is the following story:

An independent watchdog, the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), which approves key official statistics, refuses to endorse the Scottish Government’s claims that crime is at a near 40-year low.

In the 2012-13 figures, which were used as part of the statistics, the Government reported that non-sexual crimes of violence were down by 21% and homicides by 25%. Attempted murder and serious assault were also recorded as falling by 22%.

These figures amongst others were presented against the backdrop of the lowest recorded crime stats since 1974. However, the UKSA has dealt a blow to the credibility of the Government figures.

The authority said the Government should obtain 'strong levels of assurance' about the quality of the figures, but warned: 'This report concludes that the Scottish Government lacks sufficient evidence to be able to provide such appropriate reassurance.'

Graeme Pearson, Scottish Labour's justice spokesman and a former senior police officer, said: 'The integrity of these statistics is an important confidence issue for the public. If we cannot trust these figures, our trust in wider policing issues evaporates. The steps by the UK Statistics Authority in that light is extremely worrying.'

For more on this story from The Herald Scotland click here.

TCPW Comment: I’ve reported several times about crime statistics and how they are not reliable and sometimes get manipulated for political ends and it’s quite telling when you read the rest of this newspaper report how on the one hand The ‘watchdog [UK Statistics Authority] concluded "The authority cannot, at present, confer the designation of Recorded Crime in Scotland as National Statistics and yet on the other hand A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The UKSA has not removed the National Statistics badge from recorded crime statistics in Scotland.”

I'm confused! 

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