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British Crime Survey 2006/07

Figures published in the British Crime Survey (BCS) 2006-07 show that overall crime rates held steady in England and Wales over the past year. This is part of a long-term trend - crime rates peaked in 1995, then fell by 42% over the subsequent 10 years. The decline reduced the risk of the average person becoming a victim of crime by 41%, although that risk increased by one percentage point last year. Police recorded crime rates showed violent crime rates fell by 1% over the last year - the first fall in that category in eight years. The number of police recorded crimes involving firearms declined by 13% during the same time period. Some crime categories did show increases, but vandalism was the only category to show a statistically significant change over the year - vandalism reports increased by 10%. However, even with that increase, reports of vandalism are still 11% lower now than they were in 1995.

Title: British Crime Survey 2006/07
Authors: Sian Nicholas, Chris Kershaw and Alison Walker
Series: Home Office Statistical Bulletin 11/07
Number of pages: 192
Date published: July 2007
Availability: View full report PDF file PDF 1.85Mb

INTERVIEWS IN YEAR ENDING MARCH 2007 COMPARED TO YEAR ENDING MARCH 2006

  • Overall levels of crime stable at 11.3 million crimes.
  • ­Risk of crime up by 1 percentage point (statistically significant).
  • Violence stable (5% increase but this was not statistically significant).
  • All personal crime stable (2% increase but this was not statistically significant).
  • All household crime stable (5% increase but this was not statistically significant).
  • ­Vandalism up by 10% (statistically significant).
  • Domestic burglary stable (1% decrease but this was not statistically significant).
  • Vehicle thefts stable (2% decrease but this was not statistically significant).
  • Theft from the person stable (no change).

FEAR OF CRIME STATISTICS

  • Percentage of adults with high levels of worry about burglary was stable at 13% for the year ending March 2007 compared with a year earlier.
  • Percentage of adults (in car owning households) with high levels of worry about car crime was stable at 13% in the year ending March 2007, compared with the previous year (1 percentage point decrease was not statistically significant).
  • Percentage of adults with high levels of worry about violent crime remained stable at 17% for the year ending March 2007 compared with the previous year.

ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR STATISTICS

  • The percentage of respondents perceiving a high level of anti-social behaviour in their local area was stable at 18% for the year ending March 2007 compared with the previous 12 months (increase from 17% was not statistically significant).
  • ­There were significant increases in the proportion of people considering noisy neighbours or loud parties, and people being drunk or rowdy in public places to be a very or a fairly big problem compared to the previous year.
  • There was a significant decrease in the proportion of people considering abandoned or burnt out cars to be a very or a fairly big problem compared with the previous year (from 10% to 9%).
  • The most frequently mentioned problem was teenagers hanging around on the streets with 33% of respondents saying this was a very or fairly big problem in their area. This compares with a figure of 32% for the previous year (increase was not statistically significant).

CONFIDENCE IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM (CJS) STATISTICS

  • There were significant decreases in levels of confidence in six out of seven aspects of the CJS compared to the previous year (respecting the rights of people accused of committing a crime and treats them fairly; effective in bringing people who commit crimes to justice; deals with cases promptly and efficiently; effective at reducing crime; meets the needs of victims of crime; and dealing with young people accused of crime).
  • Levels of confidence in the aspect ‘treats people who come forward as witnesses well’ remained stable for the year to March 2007 compared with the previous 12 months (1 percentage point decrease was not statistically significant).
  • The proportion of people who thought that the police in their area did an excellent or good job compared with a year earlier remained stable at 51% for the year ending March 2007 (1 percentage point increase was not statistically significant).

TREND FROM 1997 (1998 BCS) TO 2006/07 (YEAR ENDING MARCH 2007)

  • All crime as measured by the BCS down 32%.
  • Burglary down 55% (statistically significant fall).
  • All vehicle thefts down 52% (statistically significant fall).
  • All household offences down 33% (statistically significant fall).
  • All BCS violence down 31% (statistically significant fall).
  • All personal offences down 32% (statistically significant fall).

Recorded Crime Figures from Year Ending March 2007 Compared to the Previous Year

  • Total recorded crime down 2%.
  • Domestic burglary down 3%.
  • Offences against vehicles down 4%.
  • ­Robbery up 3%.
  • Sexual offences down 7%.
  • ­Drug offences up 9%.
  • Violence against the person down 1%.

Violent Crime Sub-Categories

  • Most serious violence against the person down 9%
  • Other violence against the person down 1%
  • Other violence against the person (with injury) down 8%
  • ­Other violence against the person (with no injury) up 6%

Getting a copy

Download The 2006/07 British Crime Survey PDF file PDF 1.85Mb

 

Last update: Wednesday, July 25, 2007

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