The UK Statistics
Authority is concerned that recent political and media debate
about trends in violent crime has misrepresented the data and is,
therefore, damaging trust in official statistics. We have looked
in particular at comparisons between recorded violent offences in
the late 1990s and 2008/09 which have been the subject of recent
controversy in the national media. We regard a comparison, without
qualification, of police recorded statistics between the late
1990s and 2008/09 as likely to mislead the public.
Sir Michael Scholar, Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, has
today written to the Shadow Secretary of State for Home Affairs,
Chris Grayling MP. Sir Michael's letter and an
accompanying Monitoring and Assessment Note are reproduced below.
The Note sets out the Statistics Authority's views in
more detail.
For more information please contact: 07786 892263, 07990 795693
or 07971 186710
To view the attached letter from Sir Michael Scholar KCB and
the Monitoring and Assessment Note please go to the following links:
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/imagelibrary/detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=28&MediaDetailsID=1369&SubjectId=35
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/imagelibrary/detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=28&MediaDetailsID=1368&SubjectId=35
Contacts:
NDS Enquiries
Phone: For enquiries please contact the above department
ndsenquiries@coi.gsi.gov.uk
David Mencer
Phone: 020 7261 8645
Mobile: 07990 795693
david.mencer@coi.gsi.gov.uk