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PASC to take evidence on Crime Statistics

21 January 2014

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This will be the Public Administration Select Committee’s fourth session looking at crime statistics. This is part of the Committee’s wider programme of work on statistics and their use in Government.

Witnesses

Tuesday 21 January 2014, Committee Room 15, Palace of Westminster

At 9.30am:

  • Sir Andrew Dilnot, Chair, UK Statistics Authority
  • Ed Humpherson, Head of Assessment, UK Statistics Authority
  • Jil Matheson, National Statistician
  • John Flatley, Head of Crime Statistics, Office for National Statistics
  • Norman Baker MP, Minister for Crime Prevention, Home Office
  • Professor Bernard Silverman, Chief Scientific Adviser, Home Office

Purpose of the session

The Committee will hear from the UK Statistics Authority and the Office for National Statistics about the factors that can lead to the mis-recording of crime, and the reasons for UKSA’s recent decision to de-designate crime statistics based on recorded crime data as "National Statistics". They will also hear from the Home Office minister about the implications of de-designation and what improvements are needed to ensure crime data integrity.

The Twitter hashtag for the session will be #crimestats.

Issues

Particular issues to be explored may include:

  • the factors that may lead to divergence from established national standards for crime recording
  • the roles and responsibilities of different organisations in producing, assessing, analysing and publishing crime statistics
  • the adequacy of the process for designating statistics as "National Statistics" and the implications of UKSA’s recent announcement to remove the "kitemark" of National Statistics from statistics based on police recorded crime
  • how crime data integrity should be urgently improved

Further information