§ Sir Michael NeubertTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the incidence of violent crime in the United Kingdom; and what information he has on the incidence of violent crime in other countries of the EC and in the United States of America.
§ Mr. John PattenThere were about 250,000 violent crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales in 1990, about 6 per cent. of all recorded crime.
A recent international crime survey showed that in 1988 the risk of being the victim of violent crime in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland was lower than in most western European countries—for example, Belgium. Within western Europe, risks were highest in Finland, the Netherlands and West Germany. The risk in the USA was the highest of all countries surveyed. The results of the survey are in "Experiences of Crime across the World: Key findings from the 1989 International Crime Survey", a copy of which is in the Library.