Police and British Crime Survey show mixed results in the recent crime report.

The Home Office has released its latest crime figures today, and says that the risk of becoming a victim of crime has risen, while the number of murders has dropped to its lowest rate in 20 years.

The report claims to provide a more thorough report of crime than simply looking at police figures alone, as it takes results from the British Crime Survey (BCS) and the police, which together look to provide a comprehensive picture.

However, the two sources provide a mixed picture. The BCS claims that overall, crime has seen no change compared to 2007/8; however, the police have said that crimes reported have shown a 5% drop, with decreases in most types of crime.

With regards to robberies, the story is similar, with the BCS showing robberies as staying stable, and the police recording a 5% fall.

Knife crime has also seen a slight drop. The number of homicide offences involving a knife or other sharp instrument falling from 270 to 252, though there was a rise in attempted murders using these objects up from 245 to 271.
 
Chris Grayling MP, Shadow Home Secretary, has suggested that the government is trying to cover up the scale of the knife problem: “Massaging the figures on knife crime twice in two years is just an insult to the families of those who have been tragically murdered in knife attacks and who are campaigning for real action to get knives off our streets.”

Meanwhile, Alan Johnson, Home Secretary, labelled the statistics encouraging, but said the government was not being complacent: “As in previous years we see changing patterns of crime and we know that during economic downturns certain crimes face upward pressure, which is why we’ve already taken action to tackle these head-on.

“Although today’s figures show signs of some acquisitive crimes increasing, the government is determined to keep these crimes down by continued investment in preventative measures, tough, targeted policing and historically high numbers of police officers.”