Comment

Criminal justice harsher and more punitive than ever

Alarming reading in The Daily Telegraph this morning, at least for those who want to see more people sent to prison and for longer.

I am not one of those people. I am in favour of...

8 January 2014
Publication

Response to the review of crime statistics

In early 2011 the National Statistician conducted an independent review of crime statistics with the aim of increasing public confidence in these statistics. The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies...
12 April 2011
News

'Almost certain' police fiddle crime statistics, MPs told

It is 'almost certain' that the police fiddle crime figures, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Tom Winsor, told the House of Commons Home Affairs yesterday.

Mr Winsor is the latest figure to question the accuracy of police crime data....

18 December 2013
News

Police accused of fiddling crime figures, again

In the latest hearing before the House of Commons Public Administration Committee Professor Mike Hough of Birkbeck, University of London and a member of the Crime Statistics Advisory Board (CSAB) said that some of the falls in police recorded crime levels was down to police misrecording crime...

12 December 2013
News

Shooting the messenger

PC James Patrick, who last week gave evidence to the House of Commons Public Administration Committee on the 'fiddling' of crime figures, faces a disciplinary hearing next week, The Times reports (...

22 November 2013
News

Are police too concerned with performance targets?

MPs were yesterday given the low down on what nodding, cuffing, skewing and stitching is in the manipulation of police crime stats. They were told how crime figures have been routinely re categorised, downgraded or even ignored in order to meet performance targets.   

These manipulations...

20 November 2013
Comment

Crime and the recession. Is there a link?

The annual publication of official crime data has been a bit of a damp squib in recent years, at least as far as press and political interest is concerned. Crime falling is nowhere near as good a...

14 July 2011