Crime in England and Wales year ending March 2017

The latest crime statistics were released today, which includes the estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and the police recorded crime.

Here are the main points:

• Excluding the new Experimental Statistics on fraud and computer misuse, latest estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) showed there were 5.9 million incidents of crime covered by the survey, a 7% reduction compared with the previous year’s survey.
• Including fraud and computer misuse offences, there were an estimated 11 million incidents of crime covered by the CSEW.
• The police recorded nearly 5 million offences in the year ending March 2017, which represented an annual rise of 10%; this increase is likely to reflect a range of factors, which vary by crime type, including continuing improvements to recording processes and practices, expanded offence coverage and also genuine increases in some crime types.
• The differing trends between the two data sources can be explained by methodological differences between them, such as crime and population coverage and variations in police recording practices over time.

So, the CSEW is down and Police recorded crime is up. Which set of figures do you find most reassuring? If in doubt I suggest you read the report to help you make up your mind.

Here’s the link to the bulletin https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingmar2017