Criminal Damage
Facts and Figures
Criminal damage accounts for over a quarter of all British Crime Survey (BCS) offences, and just over a fifth of recorded crime. The current Public Service Agreement (PSA) target for the Home Office is to reduce crime by 15%, and further in high crime areas, by 2007/08. Reductions in criminal damage will be required to contribute to meeting this target.
Characteristics of criminal damage
Progress in tackling criminal damage
Definition
- Criminal damage refers to crimes where a person intentionally or recklessly destroys or causes permanent damage to another person's property. It includes arson, graffiti, and damage to vehicles and houses. It affects households, vehicles, commercial premises and public areas. Back to top
Size of the Problem
- The level of criminal damage is measured through the British Crime Survey (BCS) which surveys over 45,000 private householders to measure experience of crime, and through police recorded crime which includes householders, commercial property and public space.
- There were 2,993,000 offences of vandalism against private property as measured by the BCS in 2006/07. This represents 27 per cent of all BCS offences (17% damage to vehicles and 10% to other private property).
- Recorded crime figures show no change in total criminal damage between 2005/06 and 2006/07. A total of 1,185,111 offences were recorded.
- Reporting rates based on 2006/07 BCS interviews estimate that just under a third (32%) of incidents of vandalism are reported. BCS and recorded crime figures do not show the full extent of criminal damage, particularly damage to public and commercial property. Back to top
Cost of criminal damage
- It is estimated that the economic and social cost of criminal damage in England and Wales for 2003/04 was £2.2 billion. The estimated average cost to an individual who has been a victim of criminal damage is thought to be approximately £850 (The Economic and Social Costs of Crime against Individuals and Households - Home Office On-Line Report 30/05). This includes an estimated cost of emotional impact.
- The 2005 Offending Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS) found that the majority of offenders’ estimated the value of items damaged was under £50. The British Crime Survey found that the median cost of criminal damage was £100 (2004/05). Back to top
Characteristics of criminal damage
- Most police-recorded criminal damage is to either a vehicle (41%) or dwelling (24%) (2006/07).
- The BCS data for 2005/06 shows that most damage to private vehicles involved scratched body work (40%) other damage to body work (22%) and damage to wing mirrors (22%).
- The main damage to residential properties involved broken walls, fences or other garden items (33%) and broken windows (16%), (BCS 2005/06).
POLICE RECORDED CRIMINAL DAMAGE BY OFFENCE TYPE: 2006/07
(Religious and racially aggravated criminal damage make up less than 1% of the total offences and so have been absorbed into the relative offence type.)
The OCJS (2005) indicates that peak times of day for committing criminal damage are in the evening, between 6pm and 10pm, and at night time, between 10pm and 6am. Although the OCJS has a small sample, this is supported by BCS findings (2005/06) which suggest that around three quarters of reported vandalism occurred in the evening or night. Nearly six in ten cases of criminal damage took place in the week (BCS 2005/06). Back to top
Victims
- The risk of being a victim of criminal damage was higher for households living in urban areas compared to those in rural areas and for housholds living in an area where there was a high perceived level of physical disorder compared with a low level (BCS 2006/07).
- BCS interviews for 2006/07 indicated that 32 per cent of victims of vandalism suffered repeat victimisation and 14 per cent of those victims experienced vandalism three or more times in a year. Repeat incidents account for 58 per cent (1,740,000) of all vandalism (BCS 2006/07).
- Of those interviewed for BCS 2006/07 28 per cent perceived vandalism, graffiti and other deliberate damage to property as a problem in the area.
- The most recent Commercial Victimisation Survey (2002) showed that 23 per cent of retailers and 16 per cent of manufacturers are victims of criminal damage. Back to top
Offenders
- The Offending Crime and Justice Survey surveys people under 25 in the general population about whether they have been victimised or offended. The peak age for committing criminal damage is mid-teens for males and for females, with males much more likely to offend (OCJS 2005).
- In the majority of cases, offenders reported that they committed criminal damage with at least one other person (60%). Co-offenders were most frequently a friend of the offender (85%) (OCJS 2005).
- The biggest motivation for committing criminal damage was boredom. Other frequent responses were ‘for the buzz’, ‘was drunk’, ‘revenge’ and ‘annoyed/upset by someone’ (OCJS 2005).
- Nearly a third (32%) of criminal damage offenders reported that they were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the offence, higher than the proportion of offenders who reported alcohol use at the time of committing offences of violence (OCJS 2005).
- 80% of respondents who had committed criminal damage felt they were unlikely to be caught (OCJS 2005).
- For further detail, view the summary of OCJS findings relevant to criminal damage Back to top
- For a qualitative study on young people's motivations for committing criminal damage, see 'Daring to Damage'. This report was commissioned by the Lancashire Strategic Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and produced by Lancashire University.
Progress in dealing with criminal damage
- According to the BCS, nationally the number of incidents of vandalism fell by 11 per cent between 1995 and 2006/07. However the BCS shows a 10 per cent increase between 2005/06 and 2006/07.
- At the local level most Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) have shown a decrease in the recorded level of criminal damage between 2003/04 and 2006/07. The average change is a reduction of 3 per cent. Back to top
Sources
- Crime in England and Wales 2005/06
- Offending Crime and Justice Survey 2005
- Commercial Victimisation Survey 2002
- The Economic and Social Costs of Crime Against Individuals and Households 2003/04. Online report 30/05.
Last update: Wednesday, September 05, 2007