This is the third report in a new annual publication that combines the reporting of police recorded crime and the British Crime Survey (BCS) results. The police recorded and BCS figures are a complementary series that together provide a better picture of crime than could be obtained from either series alone.

		The police recorded crime reports on the financial year 2003/04. Police statistics provide a good measure of trends in well-reported crimes, are an important indicator of police workload, and can be used for local crime pattern analysis.
		BCS results are based on interviews conducted in the financial year 2003/04. For the crime types it covers, the BCS can provide a better reflection of the true extent of crime because it includes crimes that are not reported to the police. The BCS count also gives a better indication of trends in crime over time because it is unaffected by changes in levels of reporting to the police, and in police recording practices.

Structure of the report

The report begins with a summary of the significant findings. Chapter 2 comments on the level of crime in England and Wales, and Chapter 3 provides information on victims' reporting of crime to the police and recording of crime by the police. Chapters 4 and 5 provide a broader analysis of property crime, vehicle crime and violent crime. Chapter 6 provides information on the pattern of crime across England and Wales. Chapter 7 provides information on detections, and discusses some of the issues around the interpretation of those statistics.

Main Volume (pdf, 1mb)

for quicker download, the publication is also available in four parts:

Chapters 1-3 (pdf, 444kb)
Chapters 4-6 (pdf, 404kb)
Chapter 7 (pdf, 256kb)
Appendices (pdf, 124kb)

Statistical tables from the chapters are available in Excel format:

chapter 2 tables (296kb)
chapter 3 tables (44kb)
chapter 4 tables (92kb)
chapter 5 tables (64kb)
chapter 6 tables (88kb)
chapter 7 tables (68kb)



Additional tables reporting statistics for individual Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and Basic Command Units are available:

Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships - Recorded Crime for Key Offences 2002/03 to 2003/04 Excel pdf

Basic Command Unit - Recorded Crime for Key Offences 2002/03 to 2003/04 Excel pdf

Basic Command Unit - Detection Recorded for Key Offences 2002/03 to 2003/04 Excel pdf

Comparisons can be made with most similar BCUs and CDRPs using the following look-up tables Excel


Local area recorded crime dataÊ at middle super output area for 2003/04 for selected police force areas can be found on the Neighbourhood Statistics website.

ToÊmost easily access this, click on the links for statistics from the following police force areas: Bedfordshire including Luton, Hertfordshire, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Devon & Cornwall, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Cleveland, Durham, Northumbria and the Metropolitan Police and then select a specific district.


Regional factsheets accompany the main volume. They summarise the main recorded crime statistics and British Crime Survey findings for each of the Government Office Regions in England and for Wales (pdf):

London Region
North East Region
North West Region
Yorkshire and Humberside Region
South East Region
South West Region
East Midlands Region
East of England Region
West Midlands Region
Wales Cymru



A technical report providing more information about the adjustments that were used in making comparisons between the BCS and recorded crime data is available (pdf):

Comparing BCS and police counts of crime 2003-2004

2002-3 British Crime Survey (England and Wales) Technical Report Volume I


Supplementary Volumes

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