§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the rate of violent crime was in each Government office region at the latest date for which figures are available.[68899]
§ Mr. DenhamThe table gives figures for rates of violent crime from the British Crime Survey (BCS), for the English regions and Wales based on BCS interviews in the financial year 2001–02. The BCS figures for violence per 10,000 adults relate to violence (wounding, common assault, robbery and snatch theft) experienced by the members of the public sampled in the survey.
The BCS violence estimate for the number of violent incidents increased by two per cent. compared to 2000, but this is not statistically significant. Comparison of results reported to the BCS in 2001–02 with those for earlier years show a 17 per cent. decline in BCS violence since 1999, a 22 per cent. decline since 1997 and a 33 per cent. decline since 1995, all of these decreases being statistically significant.
The following figures have been extracted from Table 6.06 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin "Crime in England and Wales 2001–02", which is available in the library. A fuller explanation of the differences between the collection of recorded crime and BCS figures is given in Chapter 2 of this publication.
The BCS and police recorded crime figures for violence are not directly comparable. Numbers of police recorded violent crimes per 10,000 population relate to all the recordable offences in the violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery offence groups. There is also a less than complete correlation between the recorded crime and BCS figures owing to the different methods of collection, methodology and coverage (for example, the BCS only relates to victims over the age of 16, and residents), with different rates of reporting of crimes to the police also being a factor.
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Violent crime recorded by the British Crime Survey by region 2001–02–Rates per 10,000 adults1 Region Total BCS violence per 10,000 adults1 North East Region 386 North West Region 736 Yorkshire and the Humber Region 866 East Midlands Region 621 West Midlands Region 579 East of England Region 589 London Region 800 South East Region 895 South West Region 493 Wales 618
Violent crime recorded by the British Crime Survey by region 2001–02—Rates per 10,000 adults' Region Total BCS violence per 10,000 adults1 England and Wales 679 England and Wales 657 (excluding London Region) 1BCS data relates to those of age 16 of over, i.e. about 80 per cent. of the population. (Recorded violent crime figures relate to the whole population).