Abstract
This paper aims to improve public understanding of crime statistics. It is based on the experience of the author as Chief Statistician at the Home Office. It takes a historical perspective, looking back over the last 60 years and forward for a further generation. It takes a technological perspective as crime is constantly changing with the development of new technologies, goods and services. It also takes a crime prevention perspective as some recent reductions in crime have followed improvements in crime prevention.
The paper concludes that the recent published falls in crime statistics are real but that the current measures are inadequate to cope with a changing trend in criminal activity, away from ‘conventional’ crimes such as robbery, theft and burglary, towards a greater concentration on Internet crime, frauds of all kinds and the various kinds of corruption associated with the global economy and the growth in electronic commerce.
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