§ Mr. SimmondsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded by Lincolnshire police force in each year since 1995, broken down by category. [138226]
§ Ms BlearsThe requested information is given in the table.
There was a change of counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, which had the effect of increasing the number of crimes counted. Numbers of offences for years before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable.
The National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) was introduced across England and Wales in April 2002. Lincolnshire Police Force introduced the Standard in March 2002. Broadly, the NCRS had the effect of increasing the number of crimes recorded by the police. Therefore, following the introduction of the Standard, numbers of recorded crimes are not comparable with previous years.
687W1 Crimes were recorded on a calendar year basis until 1997, and on a financial year basis thereafter.
fp2 The number of crimes recorded in that financial year using the expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998.
3 Up until April 1998, the existing drug offences were recorded within 'Other offences'.
4 Lincolnshire police implemented the NCRS in March 2002. Numbers of recorded crimes after this date are not comparable with previous years.