temp title page, don't use in main
presentation!!!
Statistics On Crime
Crime and statistics
Crime statistics are designed to:
• Give a general picture of crime in the UK
• Track changes in crime rate & types of crime
• Provide intel on which areas need Police attention
• Track performance of police & if crimes are put to justice
Crime, Lies and Statistics
• Crime statistics have a huge influence on public opinion
• People believe statistics as facts
• Most people don't know how to read statistics
• Creates a negative affect so is usually use to rally people to their
opinion
• Examples of manipulation:
o Politicians use it for personal agenda and elections
o Government use it when deciding budget use and
promote/ensure local safety
o Activists use it to explain hate crimes
Overhaul On UK Crime Statistics
• In 2000, the government admitted they give a false picture of the
true extent of criminal activity
• Old way of collecting and recording statistics left gaps
• Led to inaccurate findings and misled reports
• Changes were being drafted and report concluded in 2006
Crime & Political Agenda
• C
hris Grayling manipulate statistics to
suggest a rise of violent crime during
Labour's reign of power
• Compared British cities to TV series
The Wire set in Baltimore
“When The Wire comes to Britain’s streets, it is the
poor who suffer most. It is the poor who are the ones
who have borne the brunt of the surge in violence
under this Government”
• New system of recording crime figures introduced by Home Office in
2002
• Figures rose due to Police asked to record every complaint
• Violent crime figures rose more than a third in one year
Crime & Political Agenda continued....
• Labour Home Secretary Alan
Johnson said:
“they have continually misled the public about crime.
Up and down the country Conservative candidates are
using these dodgy statistics"
"Since 1997 crime has gone down by 36 per cent and
violent crime by 41 per cent.”
• Government using a different set of
data to show fall of crime - British
Crime Survey,
• Originally an academic exercise to
complement police figures now
regarded in the Home Office closer to
true figures.
• Suggest no one knows what the true
picture is which could be Labour’s
intention to avoid crime for their
policy
The Threat of Misused Crime Statistics
• T
he media is the biggest distribution of misled stats as they report
any story to make headlines
• Causes wide spread panic and prejudice in worst case scenario
• Prejudice include:
o crimes against sexuality
o crimes related to race
o crimes related to religion
References
The Independent:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lies-damn-lies-and-tory-crimestatistics-1889927.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/misleadingstatistics-on-crime-face-overhaul-707165.html
The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7621284/Lies-damned-lies-and-crimestatistics.html
Home Office Official Statistics:
http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1109chap3.pdf
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6157944.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1091350
Using Statistics in Crime
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CrimeJusticeAndTheLaw/Crimestatistics/index.htm