Crime

Crime is difficult to measure and that makes it easy to be alarmed by newspaper reports that might not tell the whole story. We look behind the headline figures and put them in context

24 July 2020

Many children have been the victims of grooming gangs, but there’s no evidence for a figure of one million

We can’t objectively compare the public response to grooming gangs with Black Lives Matter

Many children have been the victims of grooming gangs, but there’s no evidence for a figure of one million

21 July 2020

Pressing ‘cancel’ does not prevent cash machine fraud

It is a common myth that pressing cancel before using a cash machine will prevent fraud

Pressing ‘cancel’ does not prevent cash machine fraud

2 July 2020

We know of one successful conviction of a police officer for the killing of someone in police custody since 1971

Also two police forces and one officer have been prosecuted successfully for crimes related to the death of someone in custody since 1971.

We know of one successful conviction of a police officer for the killing of someone in police custody since 1971

14 April 2020

If you need the police but can’t talk, dial 999 from a mobile, then 55 when prompted and don’t hang up

If you can’t talk but need the police, you can dial 55 when prompted on a 999 call from a mobile.

If you need the police but can’t talk, dial 999 from a mobile, then 55 when prompted and don’t hang up

10 March 2020

There’s not enough evidence to say it’s as easy to buy drugs as pizza in the UK

The head of a Home Office investigation into drug use in Britain claimed it is almost easier to buy drugs than pizza.

There’s not enough evidence to say it’s as easy to buy drugs as pizza in the UK

5 March 2020

Context is needed in this article about offences committed prior to prison sentences

In prison sentences of less than six months, the average number of previous offences was 60 for females and 57 for males.

Context is needed in this article about offences committed prior to prison sentences

18 February 2020

Change in LGBT+ hate crime levels not as simple as Dawn Butler suggests

There are two sources of data on this type of hate crime, one estimates a 261% increase and the other a 40% decrease since around 2010.

Change in LGBT+ hate crime levels not as simple as Dawn Butler suggests

18 February 2020

Justice spending is down 25% since 2010, not 40%

The government did announce a real terms reduction of 40% to the Ministry of Justice but ultimately reduced funding by 25% between 2010/11 and 2019/20.

Justice spending is down 25% since 2010, not 40%

21 January 2020

There’s limited evidence that lie detectors will be effective on terror offenders

Lie detectors aren’t accurate, but that’s not the only measure of their worth.

There’s limited evidence that lie detectors will be effective on terror offenders

17 January 2020

It’s very unlikely that fewer knife offenders are facing jail

Claims from Labour about knife crime sentencing aren’t comparing like-with-like.

It’s very unlikely that fewer knife offenders are facing jail

Crime

Many children have been the victims of grooming gangs, but there’s no evidence for a figure of one million

Pressing ‘cancel’ does not prevent cash machine fraud

We know of one successful conviction of a police officer for the killing of someone in police custody since 1971

If you need the police but can’t talk, dial 999 from a mobile, then 55 when prompted and don’t hang up

There’s not enough evidence to say it’s as easy to buy drugs as pizza in the UK

Context is needed in this article about offences committed prior to prison sentences

Change in LGBT+ hate crime levels not as simple as Dawn Butler suggests

Justice spending is down 25% since 2010, not 40%

There’s limited evidence that lie detectors will be effective on terror offenders

It’s very unlikely that fewer knife offenders are facing jail

Full Fact fights bad information