§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of the number of young people who were victims of crime in each of the last 17 years and of that number relative to the number of adult victims for each category of crime; and if he will make a statement; [9100]
715W(2) what estimate he has made of the percentage of young people who have been victims of violent crime; and if he will make a statement. [9095]
§ Mr. Maclean[holding answer 17 December 1996]Information on the age of victims of crime recorded by the police is not routinely collected by the Home Office. However, information from an ad hoc survey on violent crime shows the rates of recorded offences per 100,000 population by age and sex of victims for each of the violent crime offence categories. This information is published in table 2 of the Home Office statistical findings 1/96 "Victims of Violent Crime Recorded by the Police, 1990–94". A copy of this publication is available in the Library.
No estimate has been made of the percentage of young people who have been victims of overall violent crime. However, information from the youth life styles survey carried out by the Home Office in 1993, based on a sample of around 1,700 young people aged between 14 and 25, found that 17 per cent. of young people in this age group reported being a victim of a "violent act" in the previous 12 months. The term "violent act" is not the same as "violent crime". The youth life styles survey defined a "violent act" as being where the victim was
deliberately hit or kicked or had force used against them".Sexual offences are not included.