Crime Trends

We measure the amount of crime using statistics. In England and Wales we use recorded crime statistics usually from the police and the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which is a self report survey of the amount of crime individuals experience. Both are conducted yearly and aim at showing crime rates during that year. It has often been argued that recorded crime statistics do not show the full picture of crime as there is often a dark figure which the Crime Survey aims at discovering. Many crimes recorded tend to be minor, but also when looking over figures we do see a shift in the patterns of offending behaviour over time.

Many theorists argue that the way we record crime can affect the rates of crime that we see in statistics. Legislation can impact this alot, with the introduction of new legislation it can lead to the introduction of new offences, this can increase the crime rate. The same way as new offences can be created, old ones can be repealed so they…