1998 1999 - Nationalarchives.gov.uk
1998 1999 - Nationalarchives.gov.uk
1998 1999 - Nationalarchives.gov.uk
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4. POLICE FORCE AREAS (TABLES 2, 3, 4, 5; FIGURES 5, 6)<br />
(a) Twenty nine of the forty three police forces in England and Wales had an<br />
underlying reduction between 1997/98 and <strong>1998</strong>/99 in the total number of crimes<br />
recorded; during the previous financial year 41 force areas recorded fewer crimes.<br />
(b) Metropolitan forces (see note 4) recorded 0.8 per cent more crimes in<br />
<strong>1998</strong>/99 than in 1997/98 whilst the non-metropolitan forces recorded 3.1 per cent<br />
fewer crimes. Ten years ago, approximately the same number of crimes were<br />
recorded in metropolitan areas as in non-metropolitan areas. However, since<br />
1988/89 the proportion of crime recorded by metropolitan forces has fallen to 45.4<br />
per cent of the total. This follows increases in total recorded crime over the ten year<br />
period of 11.4 per cent in metropolitan areas and 31.4 per cent in non-metropolitan<br />
areas. There has been a small shift in resident population from metropolitan to nonmetropolitan<br />
areas, but this has been insufficient to explain the larger falls in crime.<br />
(c) Of the metropolitan forces, four showed underlying trend falls. The largest fall<br />
was 1.4 per cent in Northumbria, and is the only force to have recorded seven<br />
consecutive financial year falls. The City of London force showed the largest<br />
increase; however the 17.5 per cent rise in this force was dwarfed by the underlying<br />
1.3 per cent fall in the surrounding Metropolitan Police District.<br />
(d) Changes in non-metropolitan areas ranged from a decrease of 10 per cent in<br />
Lancashire, to an increase of 5 per cent in Thames Valley. Nine non-metropolitan<br />
forces recorded decreases of over 5 per cent.<br />
(e) The number of offences recorded in each police force area per 100,000<br />
resident population is shown in Table 2. The forces with the highest recorded crime<br />
rates are mainly the metropolitan police force areas and other forces which include<br />
large conurbations; the lowest rates are mainly in rural areas.<br />
(f) The highest rate was in Humberside with 14,800 offences per 100,000<br />
population, followed by Greater Manchester (14,100), Nottinghamshire (13,100) and<br />
West Yorkshire (13,000). In contrast, the lowest rates were in Dyfed-Powys (5,100),<br />
Surrey (5,400) and Hertfordshire (5,700).<br />
(g) Some of the differences between police force areas in the rates of recorded<br />
crime may be due to extraneous factors. These factors include the victims of crimes<br />
recorded in a police force area not living in that area (particularly so in metropolitan<br />
areas), together with differing reporting rates of offences to the police and recording<br />
practices within police force areas.<br />
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