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Police-recorded crime

Definition

Criminal incidents formally logged by police following a report or officer discovery, counted according to nationally defined rules and submitted to a central statistical agency. The primary component of official crime statistics in most countries.

Related terms

Attrition
The progressive loss of cases as they move through the criminal justice system: from crime committed, to reported, to recorded, to prosecuted,...
Counting rules
Administrative instructions that specify how agencies should convert incidents into statistical records: how to count multiple victims of one incident, how to...
Notifiable offences
In England and Wales, the category of offences that must be formally reported to the Home Office and included in national crime...
Reporting rate
The proportion of crimes experienced by victims that are brought to the attention of police. Reporting rates vary substantially by offence type,...
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

  • Official Crime StatisticsCriminal incidents formally logged by police following a report or officer discovery, counted according to nationally defined rules and submitted to a central...

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