§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends next to publish recorded crime figures; and if he will make a statement on the methodology used to compile them. [34686]
§ Mr. MichaelThe next recorded crime figures for England and Wales, covering the calendar year 1997, will be published in a Home Office Statistical Bulletin on 7 April 1998.
The recorded crime figures are based on statistical returns provided by the 43 police force areas in England and Wales. The data are compiled using rules for classification and counting issued by the Home Office to maintain the consistency of recording some of the more complex and potentially difficult offences, such as multiple, continuous and repeated offences.
Periodically, the Home Office rules and police recording practices are reviewed to ensure consistency and to determine whether updates are necessary. Recently, both Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and a joint Home Office/Association of Chief Police Officers working party have undertaken such reviews. Their recommendations are being adopted in a package of measures for implementation on 1 April 1998, which were announced initially by my right hon. Friend on 1 October 1997. More detail was given by the Home Office's Director of Research and Statistics on 14 October 1997.
18WThe main measures comprise the logical extension of the coverage of recorded crimes (or notifiable offences) to include all indictable and triable either way offences; the revision of the counting rules for certain offences to move closer to the concept of one crime per victim; a move to financial year publication; and less emphasis in publications on the overall total of recorded crime in favour of individual offence groups.