FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

How much crime is committed in England and Wales?
Is crime rising or falling?
What kinds or crime are decreasing, according to current evidence?
How many offenders are there?
Why do people fail to report crime to the police?
What is electronic monitoring ('Tagging')?
Who delivers electronic monitoring?
What are 'Approved Premises'?
Who do 'Approved Premises' accommodate?
How many drug offences are committed in England and Wales?
How do we sentence drug offenders?
What is an ASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order)?
How many ASBOs (Anti-Social Behaviour Orders) have been issued?
What do the public think of the criminal justice system?

How much crime is committed in England and Wales ?

That depends on how you measure it. According to Crime in England and Wales 2003/04, there were just under 1.4 million detected crimes in 2003/04. Some other crimes may have had a suspect identified, but did not meet definition of detected crime. The number of recorded detections in 2003/04 was up very slightly on 2002/03 figures (an increase of less than half a percentage point).

If we consider both statistics from the British Crime Survey (BCS) and the numbers of crimes recorded by the police we can arguably arrive at a relatively more accurate account of the patterns and trends in the main high volume crimes. The BCS includes offences against private households only. Police statistics demonstrate trends in well-reported crimes, but the BCS offers a fuller estimate of crime in England and Wales, with its focus on unreported (and unrecorded) crime. There will inevitably be a discrepancy between the number of crimes recorded by the police and the number that measured by the BCS.

According to BCS interviews conducted in 2003/04, there were approximately 11.7 million crimes against adults living in private households (a 5 per cent fall compared to 2002/03). The police recorded 5.9 million crimes recorded by the police in 2003/04 (a 1 percent increase of compared with 2002/03).

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Is crime rising or falling ?

While the number of crimes as measured by the British Crime Survey (BCS) increased progressively, broadly speaking, from 1981 to a peak in 1995, overall crime has fallen in each BCS survey since 1995.

In the last year, overall crime has fallen by 5 percent according to the BCS. However, there has been a 1 percent increase in the number of crimes recorded by the police in 2003/04 compared with 2002/03.

Chapter 2 of Crime in England and Wales 2003/04 has a summary of the numbers of crimes recorded by the BCS, and those crimes that are recorded by the police. When these two sets of statistics are combined they offer a fairly detailed picture of crime.

Since 1995, BCS crime as measured by the BCS has dropped by 39 per cent. The chance of being a victim of crime has fallen from 40 per cent in 1995 to 26 per cent interviews in 2003/04 (according to the BCS), the lowest level recorded since the BCS began in 1981.

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What kinds of crime are decreasing, according to current evidence ?

Property crime has fallen considerably since 1995. Overall acquisitive crime, as measured by the British Crime Survey (BCS), decreased by nearly half (46%) between 1995 and 2003/04.

The number of violent incidents has dropped by 36 per cent since a peak in 1995 according to the BCS. However, recorded crime statistics indicate that there has been a 12 per cent increase in violent crime in 2003/04 compared with 2002/03, although it is thought that this increase is to some extent a result of the continuing effect of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS).

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How many offenders are there?

That depends on how you define offenders. The total number of offenders sentenced at magistrates’ courts in 2003 was 1,413,764. The total number sentenced in the Crown Court was 76,063. However, if we consider the number of offenders who were sentenced in 2003, they totalled 1,489,827. This was the largest annual figure recorded in the last ten years, and a 5% increase since 2002. However, this figure appears to be mainly due to the increase in summary offences, especially summary motoring offences which increased by 11%. When we consider the total number sentenced for indictable offences, this fell by 0.8% to 333,930.

These figures come from the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 'Sentencing Statistics 2003 for England and Wales', published by the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate in February 2005.

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Why do people fail to report crime to the police?

The reason most frequently cited for not reporting crime is that victims themselves considered the crime to be too trivial, the victims consider that there has been no loss, or the victims believed that the police would be either unwilling or unable to take any significant action about the crime. On some occasions, victims have concluded that the incident was a personal matter that they had to be deal with without professional intervention.

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What is electronic monitoring ('tagging')?

Electronic monitoring is the use of technology to monitor how offenders comply with a licence or court order. It establishes whether a person is present or absent from a particular place at any given time by the use of electronic equipment. Electronic monitoring is mostly used in the form of ‘tagging’, to monitor an offender’s compliance with a legal requirement. It can either be imposed by a court as part of a community sentence, or as part of the licence conditions imposed on an offender following their release from prison.

Since electronic monitoring was introduced to the whole of England and Wales in 1999, over 175,000 offenders have been electronically monitored either as a sentence or on release from prison.

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Who delivers electronic monitoring?

Responsibility for the electronic monitoring of offenders in England and Wales was transferred to the National Probation Directorate in January 2003. Private sector contractors (such as Premier or Securicor) are responsible for electronically monitoring offenders. They install monitoring equipment in the offender’s home. This will include an electronic tag worn by the offender (usually worn on the ankle). Any attempt to remove or tamper with the tag triggers a signal is to the private sector contractor's monitoring centre. Appropriate action can then be taken on any infringements or breach of the offender’s curfew.

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What are 'Approved Premises'?

'Approved Premises' are hostels which provided accommodation for offenders which is supervised and supported. They have also been referred to bail and probation hostels. According to a survey by the National Probation Directorate (NPD) conducted in 2003, there is a total of 100 Approved Premises in England and Wales. The survey has provided what is in effect the first national picture of residents of Approved Premises. The Approved Premises provided a total of 2249 beds overall, with 9 beds in every 10 for male residents. The total number of beds in each hostel varied from 10 to 44.

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Who do 'Approved Premises' accommodate?

Approximately two thirds of all Approved Premises beds were allocated as male-only. Of the 100 Approved Premises, no less than 88 were run by the probation service; the remaining 12 were run by voluntary agencies. Approximately 9 percent of male residents, and 17 percent of female residents, have been identified as ‘Mentally Disordered Offenders’.
Most residents of Approved Premises were white – though 13 percent were members of the minority ethnic communities. About a half of the resident population of Approved Premises was made up of those released from prison on licence. If we define ‘sex offenders’ as those with a current/previous charge or conviction for a sexual offence, then no less than 42 percent of male residents of Approved Premises were sex offenders. However only 1.5 percent of female residents (that is, only two individuals) were sex offenders.

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How many drug offences are committed in England and Wales?

In 2003, the total number of drug offences dealt with in England and Wales by the police, courts and HM Customs and Excise was133,970. This was a 5% rise on the previous year's level. Over the last 10 years, the number of known Class A offences has risen. There were 35,610 Class A offences in 2003. However, Class B drug offences constituted the majority of all drugs offences in 2003: 94,520 Class B offences were committed in 2003. A comparatively low number of Class C drug offences were committed in 2003 - only 1,660 (a 2% fall on the previous year).

In terms of the total of offenders, 110,640 people were found convicted or cautioned for drug offences in 2003 in England and Wales. The vast majority of these offenders (around 90%) committed possession offences. A substantial majority of these possession offences were for cannabis possession. Only 7% were for possession if heroin and 5% for possession of cocaine . Approximately 10% of all drug offenders in 2003 had committed dealing offences.

The figures come from 'Drug offenders in England and Wales 2003' by Lungowe Mwenda and Kavita Kumari, published by the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate in March 2005.

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How do we sentence drug offenders?

The most common disposals used for known possession offenders (that simple possession, not possession with intent to supply) in 2003 in England and Waleswere cautions (45% of disposals), fines (26%) and absolute or conditional discharges (11%). If we break these figures down in terms of gender, fewer female than male offenders were either cautioned or convicted for drug offences. Drug offenders are also more likely to be younger; Among those found guilty or cautioned for drug offences, possession offences tend to be committed by younger people (63% of those convicted or cautioned were aged under 25); offences relating to dealing are committed by slightly older people (71% of those convicted or cautioned were over 25)

The most serious drug offences, relating to the production, import and export of drugs are committed by offenders who are older still. Almost two thirds of those offences are committed by people aged 30+ years.

The figures come from 'Drug offenders in England and Wales 2003' by Lungowe Mwenda and Kavita Kumari, published by the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate in March 2005.

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What is an ASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order)?

An anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) is a civil order which protects the community from behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress. ASBOs were introduced in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and have been available since April 1999. They impose restrictions on the behaviour of individuals who have behaved in an anti-social way and protect communities from often longstanding and intimidating activity.

ASBOs are effective for a minimum of two years. The majority of ASBOs (54%) have been issued for a duration of 2-3 years. 14% of all ASBOs have been issued for 5 years or more and only 8% have been issued until further notice. (These figures are up to date as of June, 2005).

As they are civil orders, a person who receives an ASBO does not have a criminal record. Although ASBOs are civil orders, the court must be satisfied to a criminal burden of proof – beyond reasonable doubt – before making an order. The use of hearsay and third party evidence is permitted in order to protect witnesses and victims. ASBO statistics for the period from April 1999 to December 2004 can be downloaded from the Government's Crime Reduction website .

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How many ASBOs (Anti-Social Behaviour Orders) have been issued?

The total number of ASBOs issued up to December 2004 stands at 4649. Courts have refused only 1% of all ASBO applications.

786 ASBOs were issued in the quarter October to December 2004. This represents 17% of the total number of all ASBOs issued (and is an increase of 116% cent on the same quarter last year). The percentage of ASBOs issued on juveniles is 44%.

Data on breach is updated annually. At the end of 2003 the overall breach rate for all ages was 42% - (40% for juveniles and 47%.for adults).

The majority of those who receive custody for breach of an ASBO are persistent offenders with figures showing that those sentenced to custody are also being dealt with for other offences. In terms of the overall numbers of ASBOs issued up to the end of 2003, nearly one in four received custody, but only 7% of the total was for breach of an ASBO where no other offence was dealt with.

What do the public think of the criminal justice system?

According to Home Office research by Allen, Lovbakke and El Komy published in 2005, three-quarters of people in 2003/4 were very or fairly confident that the criminal justice system respects the rights of people accused of committing a crime and treats them fairly. Confidence in the criminal justice system was slightly higher in 2003/04 than it had been the previous year.

Half of all respondents felt that bringing offenders to justice should be the highest priority for the criminal justice system. However, three-quarters of all respondents felt that court sentences were too lenient.

Ratings of the criminal justice system agencies were higher in 2003/04 than in the previous year in respect of all the agencies with the exception of the police. Ratings of the police in general remained the same as in 2002/03. The most highly rated criminal justice agency was the police.

For all ethnic groups, there were statistically significant increases in proportions saying that the Crown Prosecution Service and the Youth Courts were doing a good or excellent job compared to 2002/03.