National Statistical

The challenges of measuring crimes against children post-pandemic

Sophie Sanders
July 20, 2023

Categories: Crime, Office for Statistics Regulation, Population

Understanding children’s experiences of crime and factors that make children more at risk of victimisation is crucial to enabling evidence-informed decision making and policies that support and protect young people. Today, for the first time since before the pandemic, we have been able to produce estimates on crimes against children. However, as Sophie Sanders explains, it has not been without challenge.

Understanding the impact of crime on society through data

Statistically Speaking
October 31, 2022

Categories: Crime, Data, Office for National Statistics, ONS

Just as the nature of crime evolves, so must the data sources we rely on to capture its true nature and extent. If you’ve listened to the media you may have got the impression that overall crime in England and Wales is at record levels, but do the statistics back that up, or has crime actually been falling? Or is it the case that the nature of crime has simply changed over the last few decades, meaning we’re now more likely to be targeted online than in the streets?

Understanding the impact of the pandemic on crime

Meghan Elkin
October 27, 2022

Categories: Crime, Office for National Statistics, ONS, Public Policy

Met Police officers on duty during the pandemic

The impact of lockdown restrictions on levels of crime is one of the lesser told stories of the coronavirus pandemic. With large parts of the population asked to stay in their homes, so-called traditional crimes such as burglary and robbery decreased. However, this was offset by rises in fraud as criminals exploited changing behaviours and more reliance of online and phone services. Meghan Elkin explains how the first comparable figures to before the pandemic help us understand whether there are sustained impacts on levels of crime.