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Online Briefing
Why has crime fallen since the mid-1990s? Has it fallen because of the Government’s
policies? What are the alternative policies? How much crime do we experience compared
with other countries? Is it going up or down at present?
Summary
• England and Wales have the fourth highest rate of recorded crime out of 39 European
countries – twice the European average – and the second highest rate of victimisation
according to the 17-country International Crime Victim Survey.
• Much press coverage focuses on whether crime has gone up or down during the last
year, but changes in counting rules for police-recorded crime in 1998/99 and 2002/03
have made comparison difficult.
• There is, however, a continuous series for recorded crime before 1998/99. Between
1950 and 1992 recorded crime increased by 12 times from 461,000 to 5,592,000. By
1998/99 it had fallen back to 4,482,000, still nearly ten times the rate in 1950. Even if
we assume the whole of the increase between 1998/99 and 2003/04 was due to
changes in the counting rules, the 2003/04 estimate is still around ten times the 1950
figure.
• It is distraction for public debate to focus on whether crime is 12 times the rate in 1950
or ten times that rate, particularly when we have the fourth highest rate of recorded
crime out of 39 European countries and the second highest rate of victimisation
according to the ICVS.
• The British Crime Survey first produced figures for 1981, when there were 11.1m crimes.
The number increased by 1995 to over 19m and has fallen back to 11.7m by 2003/04.
• Crime fell according to police records after 1992 and, according to the BCS, after 1995.
The Conservatives were in office until May 1997 and Labour subsequently and both
claim credit for falling crime while in power. One cause of the fall has been the
increased use of prison since 1993, when the prison population was 45,600. By 1997 the
Conservatives had increased it to 62,000. The Blair Government has added another
13,000, taking the total to about 75,000. The average prisoner is thought to have
committed 140 crimes in the year before capture. If so, the incarceration of 13,000
offenders saved over 1.8m crimes.
• The alternatives to prison introduced by both the Major and Blair Governments have
not reduced offending.
2
▪ Offending behaviour programmes (such as thinking skills and anger
management courses), costing at least £2,000 each, have been found not to
reduce crime. About 80% of participants had been reconvicted within two years.
▪ Drug Treatment and Testing Orders in the community did not reduce
offending. About 70% of offenders did not even complete their order and 80%
were reconvicted of a crime within two years.
▪ The Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme was found to be less
effective than ordinary probation at reducing offending. The reoffending rate
after 12 months for those on community ISSP was 84%, compared with 72% for
the control group. Over half of offenders (53%) did not even complete the six-
month programme.
• The Government has placed great emphasis on its Public Service Agreement (PSA)
targets. According to the Treasury, they are now supported by ‘rigorous performance
information’. However, in two cases, performance has got worse: fewer offenders are
being brought to justice and the number of robberies has gone up.
• Two of the most effective measures for reducing offending – providing prisoners with
literacy, numeracy and vocational qualifications and getting them off drugs – have not
been fully implemented.
PSA Targets
The Government has placed great emphasis on its Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets.
According to the Spending Review 2004, they are now supported by ‘rigorous performance
information’. However, in two cases, performance has got worse: fewer offenders are being
brought to justice and the number of robberies has gone up.
The baseline for robbery is police-recorded offences in 1999/2000: 68,782 crimes in
the ten street crime initiative areas. The target is a reduction in those areas of 14% to
59,153 crimes. The Autumn Performance Report 2004 shows that there were 76,776
robberies, an increase of 12% and still 30% adrift of the target. In addition, there is
evidence of a displacement effect from the ten street crime areas. Robberies increased 12%
in those areas, but rose 20% in the whole country.6
The original intention of the Home Office was to narrow the >justice gap= by
increasing the number of offenders brought to justice to 1.2 million by 2005-06. The target
was amended in July 2004 and the deadline extended to 1.25 million offenders by
2007/08. The most recent Autumn Performance Report (December 2004) shows that
1.084m offenders were brought to justice by June 2004, still 20,000 below the starting
point.
Figure 1
Total Recorded Crimes (Thousands)
England and Wales, 1950 - 2003/04
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
19 0
19 0
19 0
80
19 1
19 2
19 3
19 4
19 5
19 6
19 7
88
19 9
19 0
19 1
19 2
19 3
19 4
19 5
96
97
98 8
9
9 9
00 0
0 1
02 2
03 3
4
5
6
7
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
9
9
9
9
9
9
19 7/9
/9
19 /9
20 9/0
20 /0
20 1/0
20 /0
/0
19
19
19
19
98
9
19
19
Source: Crime in England and Wales 2003/04. Home Office, 2004.
Note: Figures for 2002/03 onwards affected by the NCRS.
Figure 2
Crime According to the British Crime Survey,
England and Wales, 1981-2003/04
20,000
18,000
16,000
Crimes (Thousands)
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
20 /02
03 3
4
81
83
85
87
89
91
93
95
97
99
20 /0
/0
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
01
02
20
1
Crime in England and Wales 2001/02, p. 21.
2
Crime in England and Wales 2002/03, p. 34.
3
Crime in England and Wales 2001/02, p. 21; and Povey, D. and Prime, J., Recorded Crime Statistics England and
Wales April 1998 to March 1999. Home Office Statistical Bulletin 18/99.
4
Home Office Research Study No. 206; Home Office Research Findings No. 161.
5
Home Office Research Findings 184.
6
Crime in England and Wales 2003/04, Table 2.04.
7
Edgar, K. and O'Donnell, I., Mandatory Drug Testing in Prison, Home Office Research Study 189, 1998.
8
Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts 2002-03.
9
Home Affairs Committee, Rehabilitation of Prisoners, January 2005, para 273.