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.
- Definition
- Incidents formally logged by police
- Source
- Public report or officer discovery
- Role
- Primary component of official crime statistics
Common questions
Why do police-recorded crime figures usually undercount actual crime?+
Many offences are never reported to police at all, a gap known as the dark figure of crime, and recording rules, classification changes, and public confidence in police all further shape what ends up logged, so recorded crime tracks reporting and recording behaviour as much as offending itself.
What is typically used alongside police-recorded crime to get a fuller picture?+
Victimisation surveys that ask a representative sample of the public directly about their experience of crime, whether or not they reported it, are commonly used to cross-check and supplement police-recorded figures.
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...