Crime

How the ONS crime figures help us to better understand the risks to children

A young boy is sitting on a swing set and looking at a shadow figure of a man or bully at a playground

In 2018 the Children’s Commissioner’s Office in England highlighted the need for better data on the numbers of children living in households where adult domestic abuse, mental ill-health or substance misuse may be present. Sophie Sanders explains how the Office for National Statistics has developed its first analysis to help better understand how the presence of these issues could impact on childhood vulnerability.

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What’s happened to crime during the pandemic? How ONS has responded to the measurement challenge

Early data from police forces suggest crimes recorded in England and Wales have fallen since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.  For a wider overall picture of crime most users tend to look to the Crime Survey for England and Wales.   But the suspension of face-to-face interviewing has forced the ONS to modify this large household survey. In this post Billy Gazard explains what’s changed and what you need to be aware of in interpreting our next set of crime statistics.

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Understanding the extent and nature of child abuse

Child abuse is an appalling crime against some of the most vulnerable in society. It’s something that’s not often discussed or well understood, and there has been a lack of complete statistics. The Office for National Statistics has been working to produce the most comprehensive picture possible by incorporating questions into the Crime Survey for England and Wales and analysing this alongside other sources of data, which can only tell a partial story. Here Meghan Elkin explains how bringing data sources together helps us better understand both the nature of child abuse and the potential demand on support services.

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