Skip to main content

Thames Valley Police

Volume 485: debated on Thursday 18 December 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were reported in the Thames Valley police force area in each of the last 10 years; and what the detection rate was in each such year. (244373)

The available information relates to offences recorded and detected and is given in the following tables. Non-sanction detections that contribute to detection rates have fallen in recent years reflecting a significant shift by many forces away from recording detections of crime where no further action is taken. For this reason overall detection rates over time are not fully comparable.

From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very limited set of circumstances.

Table 1: Number of offences and the detection rate for offences recorded in Thames Valley—1998-99 to 2001-02

Period

Number of offences

Detection rate (percentage)

1998-99

176,477

25

1999-20001

191,875

20

2000-01

187,989

22

2001-02

196,980

24

1 Revised detections guidance was implemented on 1 April 1999. The new instructions provided more precise and rigorous criteria for recording a detection with the underlying emphasis on the successful result of a police investigation.

Table 2: Number of offences and the detection rate for offences recorded in Thames Valley—2002-03 to 2007-08

Period

Number of offences

Detection rate (percentage)

2002-03

208,523

25

2003-04

210,256

23

2004-05

205,273

26

2005-06

201,412

28

2006-07

211,325

25

2007-08

196,008

25

Note:

The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) burglaries, (b) violent crimes and (c) thefts were reported in the Thames Valley police force area in each of the last 10 years; and what the detection rate was in each such year. (244375)

The available information is given in the following tables. A number of changes have been made to recorded crime in response to suggestions in the two reviews of crime statistics. One such change is that the term ‘violent crime’ is no longer used in connection with the recorded crime statistics and we now provide figures for violence against the person.

Non-sanction detections that contribute to detection rates have fallen in recent years reflecting a significant shift by many forces away from recording detections of crime where no further action is taken. For this reason overall detection rates over time are not fully comparable.

From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very limited set of circumstances.

Table 1: Number of offences and the detection rate for offences recorded in Thames Valley1998-99 to 2001-02

Burglary

Violence against the person

Theft offences

Period

Number of offences

Detection rate (percentage)

Number of offences

Detection rate (percentage)

Number of offences

Detection rate (percentage)

1998-99

30,735

22

10,784

76

89,616

18

1999-2-0001

31,185

12

13,870

68

96,123

14

2000-01

27,756

12

14,797

71

91,582

16

2001-02

27,798

17

16,646

70

94,964

18

1 Revised detections guidance was implemented on 1 April 1999. The new instructions provided more precise and rigorous criteria for recording a detection with the underlying emphasis on the successful result of a police investigation.

Table 2: Number of offences and the detection rate for offences recorded in Thames Valley—2002-03 to 2007-08

Burglary

Violence against the person

Theft offences

Period

Number of offences

Detection rate (percentage)

Number of offences

Detection rate (percentage)

Number of offences

Detection rate (percentage)

2002-03

29,432

15

25,326

61

93,639

18

2003-04

30,076

13

28,588

51

90,256

16

2004-05

25,466

14

34,223

52

84,502

18

2005-06

24,771

14

35,987

59

80,488

17

2006-07

24,085

13

41,422

49

79,682

15

2007-08

22,353

9

42,281

45

72,503

16

Note:

The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable.