[flienianO]

Finally.......

Crime figures often just reflect police activity.

For Example if the police launch a robbery initiative then street crime arrests
and the reporting of street crime will increase.

If the police launch a crack down on Domestic Violence, then figures for violent assault charges will also increase (One in four assaults in the UK are domestics).

Likewise if the police launch an initiative to encourage rape victims to come forward, then rape figures will increase dramaticaly.

There are also discrepencies in figures, the UK police now record crime that would have just been recorded as one crime in the past as multiple crimes. While half of all violent crime in the UK results in no injury to anyone at all.

Violent crime in the UK covers a much broader area than in the US, for example verbal assault, harrasement, common assault are all recorded as violent crimes (in the same way felonys are in the US) even though they result in no injury. Of the other 50% of Violent Crime, the vast majority are simple assaults resulting in cuts and bruises.

The UK Police are now the subject of a target culture and have to meet targets for recorded crime. The system has been broadly criticised as performance targets have increased numbers of trivial offences and taken discretion away from officers, who now feel that they must make an arrest in order to meet targets and to justify budgets, which will be cut if they don't meet targets.

There have been cases of children arrested for using chalk on the pavement or people being arrested for offences they would not have been arrested for in the past, when police officers had more discretion and could make decisions themselves.

More reliable figures regarding violent crime are hospital casualty
figures.

There has been a 25% reduction in hospital admissions due to violent crime since 2000 in England and Wales according to Professor Shepherd and his violence research group at Cardiff University Medical School - (see my earlier posts)

As for serious assaults, they are often reported in the UK, as the person
assaulted can claim criminal injuries compensation running in to thousands
of pounds.

UK - Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority -

https://www.cica.gov.uk/portal/page?..._schema=PORTAL

Likewise anyone who is insured would be stupid not to report a robbery, car theft or house break in, when they could claim the money back on insurance, and a crime must be reported
to the police and given a crime number before an insurance company will deal with any claim.