The UK Statistics Authority wrote about communication of crime statistics by the Mayor of London

17 July 2018 · Oliver Oliver Cooper, UK Statistics Authority

The letter is dated 17 July 2018. The UK Statistics Authority published it as Communication of crime statistics by the Mayor of London. Below are 4 passages from the letter in the regulator's own words.

What the UK Statistics Authority wrote

“I continue to be concerned by the misuse of crime statistics, which I know the UK Statistics Authority has taken an interest in before.”

“As you know, Police Recorded Crime evidence ought to be presented with appropriate caveats about its limited reliability as a measure of crime, and that greater reliance should be placed on the Crime Survey for England & Wales to give a more accurate impression of both levels of crime and direction of change of crime levels.”

“The removal of the National Statistics status from Police Recorded Crime in January 2014 should have served as sufficient warning to users of the statistics that Police Recorded Crime is to be used solely within the context of statistics that have retained National Statistics status, such as the Crime Survey.”

“There are some rare offences for which Police Recorded Crime is reliable, but as the UKSA acknowledges, the Crime Survey is more complete and reliable for violent crime overall, and in any fair-handed presentation of official statistics, I would expect this to be noted at least alongside the Police Recorded Crime to offer context and avoid misuse.”

From Oliver Oliver Cooper, UK Statistics Authority, letter of 17 July 2018. Read the full letter.

Receipt