Ways of Measuring Crime

• Official statistics: Government records of reported crime
• Official statistics are government records of the total number of crimes reported to police and recorded in the official figures
• Official Statistics are published on an annual basis and provide a 'snapshot' of the number of crimes occurring in the country and different regions
• Official statistics allows the government to develop crime-prevention strategies and policing initiatives in response to the figures
• Victim Surveys are people's experiences of crime
• Victim surveys record people's experience of crime over a specific period
• The Crime Survey for England and Wales asks people to document crimes they have been a victim in the past year
• 50,000 households are randomly selected to take part in victim surveys, the results are published annually
• In 2009, a separate survey was introduced to record the experiences of younger people aged 10-15
• Offender surveys is where people self-report the crimes they've committed
• Offender surveys involve individuals volunteering details of the number and types of crimes they have committed
• These surveys tend to target groups of likely offenders based on 'risk' factors, such as previous convictions, age and social background
• Offender surveys look at indicators of repeat offending, trends in drug and alcohol use etc.