§ Mr. KnowlesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has about the levels of crime in other countries in relation to the levels in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. John PattenThe only readily available information is that compiled by Interpol, whose latest
Table 1 Interpol statistics on the levels of offences recorded by the police in certain countries 1984 (unless stated) Number per 100,000 population Country Homicide and attempted murder Wounding Rape Robbery and violent theft Burglary Theft of cars Western European countries England and Wales 1.6 224 2.2 50 1,807 694 Scotland 1.4 92 4.4 87 2,179 632 Northern Ireland (1983) 19.8 131 5.0 119 1,361 106 United Kingdom (1) 2.0 210 2.4 55 1,784 635 Austria 2.4 2 5.2 30 806 17 Belgium 3.3 89 5.7 50 n/a 141 Denmark 5.8 116 7.7 36 2,230 470 Ireland 1.1 3 2.0 55 1,057 30 Finland 5.6 37 6.4 34 773 172 France 4.6 70 5.2 106 810 483 Germany 4.5 104 9.7 46 1,554 118 Greece 1.8 4 0.9 2 73 n/a Italy (1983) 5.3 n/a 1.8 36 n/a 276 Netherlands 12.3 113 7.2 53 2,329 156 Norway (1983) 0.9 22 4.2 n/a n/a 273 Portugal 4.6 1 2.0 22 100 61 Spain 2.2 27 3.6 147 1,070 298 Sweden 5.7 26 11.9 44 1,709 460 Other countries Australia 3.4 59 13.8 84 1,754 585 Canada 6.3 117 n/a 93 1,421 305 Japan 1.5 20 1.6 2 251 29 USA 7.9 290 35.7 205 1,264 437 1 Calculated—not shown in Interpol returns n/a Not available 196W
Table 2 Interpol statistics on the annual average increase in offences recorded by the police per 100,000 population in certain countries 1974–1984 (unless stated) Percentages Country Annual average percentage increase Western European countries England and Wales 7.7 Scotland 7.5 N. Ireland (1974–1983) 7.2 Austria 2.7 Denmark 3.6 Finland 2.1 France 9.4 Germany 5.3 Italy (1974–1983) -2.5 Netherlands 13.8 Norway (1974–1983) 7.5 Sweden 4.3 Other countries Australia 10.5 Canada -0.9 Japan 2.1 USA 0.3 figures are for 1984 and are given in the following two tables. The figures show that rising crime is a feature common to most Western European countries. United Kingdom recorded crime rates are relatively low for homicide and attempted murder and rape, relatively high for burglary, robbery and wounding and particularly high for car theft. However, these figures are unlikely to be comparable between countries: definitions and counting procedures may differ, as may levels of reporting and recording.