On the day that I finished the first draft of my second book in The Memoir Series, the UK government have released the latest crime statistics. My second book focuses on my years as a Police Officer in the Lincolnshire Police Force. In it I mention crime trends, the "truth" (or lack of it) in official figures, and how statistics can be massaged to meet political ends. Coincidental???
I read a post on another site which puts things succinctly so I'll copy it here for you to see:-
About 5.3 million crimes were recorded in all in the 12-month period, that's up 14%.
However, the separate Crime Survey, based on people's experiences, suggests crime continues to fall...!
This survey, based on interviews with 35,000 households in England and Wales, includes crimes that people do not report to police.
The latest police figures for the 12 months to September from 44 forces show:
68,968 robbery offences, up 29% 138,045 sex offences, up 23% 37,443 knife crime offences, up 21% 1,291,405 violent crime offences, up 20%
There were 37,443 knife crimes and 6,694 gun crime offences recorded in the year to September.
The number of offences involving a knife or a sharp instrument had been falling since 2011 but started rising again over the past three years, the ONS said.
This contrasts with the Crime Survey which found that most crimes either fell or were at a similar level.'
Police numbers at lowest for 2 decades.
If police figures show such a major increase based on reported crime, and unreported crime would increase the number of crimes, how can the crime survey conclude crime is static or in decline???
Does this show a vigorous massage of figures or does some moron think the public will believe anything?
It makes for some interesting reading, don't you think?
As Disraeli once said, "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics!"
Andrew Heasman, author of "Beyond the Waves: My Royal Navy Adventures" available from
Or via my website at https://ajheasman.wixsite.com/author
