Attrition
Definition
The progressive loss of cases as they move through the criminal justice system: from crime committed, to reported, to recorded, to prosecuted, to convicted. Each stage filters out cases, meaning conviction statistics represent only a small fraction of offending.
- Field
- Criminology and criminal statistics
- Stages
- Offence, report, record, prosecution, conviction
- Effect
- Progressive loss of cases at each stage
- Consequence
- Conviction data understates true offending
Common questions
Why does attrition matter when interpreting official crime statistics?+
Because cases fall away at every stage of the process, conviction counts reflect only a fraction of offences committed, so comparing conviction rates across time or jurisdictions can mislead unless the analyst accounts for how attrition itself may differ.
What causes attrition at the reporting stage specifically?+
Victims may not report an offence to police for reasons such as fear, distrust of the system, embarrassment, or a belief that nothing will be done, meaning the gap between crimes committed and crimes recorded starts before police involvement.
Does attrition affect all offence types equally?+
No, attrition rates vary considerably by offence, with crimes that rely heavily on victim cooperation and corroborating evidence, such as sexual offences, typically showing much higher attrition than offences with strong physical or documentary evidence.
Related terms
- Aspartic Acid Racemisation
- The slow spontaneous conversion of L-aspartic acid to D-aspartic acid in the non-remodelling enamel protein. Because the rate constant is known and...
- Cementum Annulation
- The annual ring pairs visible in ground sections of the tooth root cementum, laid down one per year in normal conditions. Counting...
- Counting Rules
- Administrative instructions that specify how agencies should convert incidents into statistical records: how to count multiple victims of one incident, how to...
- Kvaal Method
- A non-destructive radiographic method that measures pulp-to-tooth ratios at defined reference points on periapical radiographs to estimate age from secondary dentine deposition....
- Notifiable Offences
- In England and Wales, the category of offences that must be formally reported to the Home Office and included in national crime...
- Police-Recorded Crime
- Criminal incidents formally logged by police following a report or officer discovery, counted according to nationally defined rules and submitted to a...
- Reporting Rate
- The proportion of crimes experienced by victims that are brought to the attention of police. Reporting rates vary substantially by offence type,...
- Root Transparency
- Translucency of the root dentine advancing from the apex upward, caused by mineralisation of the dentinal tubules. It is one of Gustafson's...
- Secondary Dentine
- Dentine deposited by the odontoblasts throughout adult life inside the pulp chamber, progressively reducing its volume. Visible radiographically as a narrowing of...
- Secondary Victimisation
- Additional harm caused to a victim through the process of reporting and investigation, such as disbelief, insensitive questioning, or retraumatisation. Fear of...
Explained in these topics
- Adult Age: Gustafson, Kvaal, Cementum, RacemisationTooth-to-tooth wear of the occlusal surface. Gustafson scored it 0 (no wear) to 3 (pulp exposure through wear). Its rate is strongly influenced by diet and bru...
- Official Crime Statistics