Hello americana27
Thanks for your question. I've chosen to use England as the specific
example you request and divide my answer into two main sections.
First, I'll describe how the police crime data is gathered and then go
on to crime data collection from non-police sources.
POLICE DATA
Data is collected initially by area police forces. There are 43
regional police forces in England and Wales and they all follow
procedures established by the Home Office, the government department
responsible for law enforcement. The Home Office also collects data
from specialist forces belonging to the British Transport Police, the
Ministry of Defence and the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
English police log crime in three stages: reporting, recording and
detecting.
Reporting - Reports usually come from the public (e.g. burglary),
but may come from the police themselves in a 'victimless' crime like
speeding or drugs possession.
Recording - Decisions have to be taken on how many crimes to record
when a number of different offences have been committed in one
incident. Wherever possible the rule is 'one crime per victim'. In
one incident with multiple breaches of the law, the most serous crime
is the one 'counted'.
Detecting - A crime is counted as 'cleared up' when someone has been
charged with it or cautioned. A crime is also 'cleared up' when a
decision has been taken not to proceed because of, say, a
perpetrator's death or serious illness.
The Research Development and Statistics Directorate oversees the
collection and publication of crime statistics. They are part of the
Home Office and the National Statistics service. Their reports for
2000 are online as pdf documents. There are huge amounts of
information in them but you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read
them. If this is not already on your computer, download it free from:
The Adobe Website
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html#505
This document is full of relevant material, especially Appendix 2
(page 244, towards the end) which discusses the recording of crime.
Criminal Statistics: England and Wales 2000
http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm53/5312/crimestats.pdf
You'll find data arranged by police force and also for England, for
Wales and for England & Wales together:
Home Office: Criminal Statistics England and Wales 2000 vol 3
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/crimstatvol3.pdf
The statistics are also arranged according to the kind of court
hearing the trial:
Magistrates' Courts
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/crimstatvol1.pdf
Crown Courts
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/crimstatvol2.pdf
NON-POLICE DATA
To gather information that is not included in the police data, the
Home Office organises the British Crime Survey:
"The recorded crime figures represent those offences recorded by the
police. Not all offences are reported to the police and not all
reported offences are recorded. For that reason, the Home Office
conducts the British Crime Survey.
The British Crime Survey (BCS) is a very important source of
information about levels of crime and public attitudes to crime. The
BCS measures the amount of crime in England and Wales by asking people
about crimes they have experienced in the previous year and therefore
includes crimes which are not reported to the police."
British Crime Survey
http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/toolkits/sc020102.htm
In the last few years there's been a requirement for local communities
to gather data on crime and safety within their own area, by
conducting "crime and disorder audits".
This is the webpage with general information on these audits
http://ww2.audit-commission.gov.uk/comsafe/3_2.html
"The 1998 Crime and Disorder Act requires Local Authorities and the
Police to present a measure and analysis of criminal and anti-social
behaviour across their local area."
Here's an example of the way it was done in one part of London:
http://www.crime-mapping.com/CrimeDisorder.htm
The Home Office RDS Directorate encourages the collection of data from
sources which will help cross-check the police data, for example:
"# Probation – offender profiles/ motivation; details/assessment of
current robbery reduction initiatives
# Local Authorities/ YOT – offender profiles. Motivation; details/
assessment of current robbery reduction initiatives
# Surveys/ community consultation –fear of crime, unreported crime,
perceptions of hotspots
# Drug Action Team/ Drug Reference Group/ Arrest Referral Scheme –
extent of drug misuse/ links between drugs misuse and robbery"
Crime Reduction: an outline approach
http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/toolkits/sc030101.htm
You'll find the UK Crime Reduction advice on "Collecting Data" here:
http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/toolkits/ui0311.htm
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
"Crime Statistics: the Data Explosion and its Implications", by Mike
Maguire
http://www.oup.co.uk/pdf/bt/maguire/ch11.pdf
Discussion of the purpose of collecting crime statistics:
Review of Crime Statistics: A Discussion Document
http://ww2.audit-commission.gov.uk/comsafe/3_2.html
Government initiative for crime reduction:
Gathering and Managing Data
http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/toolkits/p0307.htm
Introduction to crime statistics in Scotland:
Scottish Executive: Recorded Crime in Scotland 2001
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00157-00.asp
Review of police forces' crime recording practices
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/hors204.pdf
Outline of the structure of the police in England and Wales:
http://www.cjsonline.org/access/working/homeoffice/police.html
Note: in England and Wales police are organised the same way; Scotland
has a separate system.
I hope this is helpful. If you need further explanation or help with
any malfunctioning links, please feel free to 'request clarification'
and I'll be happy to assist you.
Regards - Leli
search terms: crime data statistics collection gathering "home office"
"british crime survey" |
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