Criminology

Basic Facts

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Basic Facts

British Crime Survey:

In 2004/05 the total number of crimes in England and Wales was around 10,850,000.

Total crime peaked in 1995, and has since fallen by 44%

In 2004/05 nearly 24% of the population were the victim of some type of crime.

This has fallen from a high in 1995 of nearly 40% of the population.

In 2004/05 the number of incidents of criminal damage in England and Wales was around 2,564,000. More than half of these (1,564,000) were against vehicles. Criminal damage peaked in the mid 1990's and has decreased by 24% between 1995 and 2004/05.

Since 1995, criminal damage continues to fall gradually every year

In 2004/05, 7 in 100 households experienced some type of criminal damage.

In 2004/05 the total number of domestic burglaries in England and Wales was around 756,000.

Domestic burglary peaked in the mid 1990's and fell by 57% between 1995 and 2004/05.

In 2004/05, just over 3 in 100 households were burgled (this includes attempted burglaries where nothing was taken).

4 million 16- to 59-year-olds (or 12%) had taken an illicit drug in the last year. 1 million (or 3%) had taken a class A drug. Cannabis is the most frequently used drug, 11% of 16 to 59 year olds having used it in the last year. There was no change in the use of most Class A drugs compared with 2002/03. However, there has been a slight increase in the use of cocaine and hallucinogens.

In 2004/05 the number of robbery offences in England and Wales was for people aged 16 and over was around 255,000.

The BCS does not measure robbery offences among victims under 16 years.

2% of women aged 16-59 were subject to less serious sexual assault and 0.5 percent to serious sexual assault during the year prior to interview. 0.3% of women reported they had been raped in the last year. Among men, 0.2 per cent were subject to any form of sexual assault during the year prior to interview. Seven per cent of women had suffered a serious sexual assault at least once in their lifetime (including rape) since the age of 16. 1.5% of men had suffered a serious sexual assault since the age of 16, with 0.9% reporting rape.

In 2004/05 the total number of violent offences in England and Wales was 2,412,000.

These include:

401,000 incidents of domestic violence

828,000 incidents where the offender was an acquaintance

836,000 incidents where the offender was a stranger

347,000 incidents of mugging

Violent crime has fallen by 43% since its peak in 1995 and has remained relatively stable since 2000.

In 2004/05, 3.6% of people experienced a violent incident, half of which resulted in no injury.

Latest research on rape:

Investigating and detecting recorded offences of rape

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/rdsolr1807.pdf

Section 41: an evaluation of new legislation limiting sexual history evidence in rape trials