Violent Crime Overview, Homicide and Gun Crime 2004/2005

• NCJ Number: 213811
• Author(s): Kathryn Coleman; Celia Hird; David Povey
• Date Published: January 2006
• Length: 95 pages
• Corporate Author: Great Britain Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate
• Sale Source: Great Britain Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: Home Office Statistical Bulletin 02/06, January 2006, (supplementary volume to Crime in England and Wales 2004/2005); downloaded April 13, 2006.

Annotation

These data on violent crime in England and Wales in the years 2004 and 2005 were obtained from the British Crime Survey (a victimization survey); police recorded crime; and the 2004 Offending Crime and Justice Survey, which provides information on offenders ages 10 to 25, including the nature of their crimes and their motivations for offending.

Abstract

Data from the British Crime Survey (BCS) showed that between 1995 and 2004/2005, violent crime declined by 43 percent. The decrease was mainly due to a 59-percent decrease in domestic violence and a 54-percent decline in acquaintance violence; stranger violence remained relatively stable. A smaller proportion of violent crimes occurred in the home in 2004/2005, and a greater proportion occurred in the street compared with 1995. According to the BCS, between 1995 and 2004/2005 the number of violent crimes in which the victim believed the offender was under the influence of alcohol decreased by approximately one-third; in 2004/2005 almost half of the victims believed the offender to be under the influence of alcohol. Victims had consumed alcohol prior to their victimization in 30 percent of BCS 2004/2005 violent crimes. Neither the victim nor the offender had consumed alcohol in 38 percent of incidents. Young men ages 16 to 24 were most at risk of being victims of violence according to 2004/2005 BCS interviews; 14.6 percent had been victims of violent crime once or more in the last year, compared with 3.6 percent of all adults. Sixteen percent of 10 to 25 year-olds committed a violent offense in the year prior to the 2004 Offending Crime and Justice Survey. According to the BCS, 41 percent of violent incidents were not considered to be a crime by the victim. Nearly half of the violent offenses reported on the BCS and recorded by the police in 2004/2005 resulted in no injury to the victim. Extensive tables and figures