Crime in England and Wales fell by seven per cent in the past year, according to the British Crime Survey (BCS).
Police recorded crime, also published for the year to 31 March 2005, is also down six per cent.
However the Conservatives pointed to violent crime figures: 1,035,046 cases of violence against the person were recorded in 2004.
The Tories pointed to overall recorded crime risen by 9 per cent since 1998-9, overall violent crime risen by 7 per cent in the past year, and almost doubled since 1998-9. Meanwhile, the detection rate for overall crime has fallen from 29 per cent in 1998-9 to 26 per cent in 2004-5. Last year, total recorded crime fell 6 per cent to 5.6 million incidents, but gun crime rose by 6 per cent, according to the Tories.
Shadow Home Secretary, David Davis, said: "This is further evidence that the Government continues to fail on violent crime. Last year, for the first time ever, violent crime topped a million – in the last 12 months it has risen yet further. Under Labour, violent crime has almost doubled.
"Much violent crime is fuelled by drugs and this rise is a direct consequence of the Government’s failure even to begin fighting the war on drugs. With violent crime continuing to spiral out of control it beggars belief that the Government’s only response is to unleash 24-hour drinking on our town and city centres."
What Labour says
Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, said: "I am extremely encouraged by statistics published today which show the overall level of crime is continuing to fall. Particularly impressive is the fall in burglary and vehicle theft which, according to the BritishCrime Survey, are down 20 and 11 percent respectively. I am pleased to announce that we have delivered on the target announced by the Prime Minister to reduce vehicle crime by 30 per cent over five years. Although the British Crime Survey records an 11 per cent decrease in violent crime, I recognise that this remains an issue of concern for many people and the increase in police recorded violent crime contributes significantly to the fear of crime. However, it is important to recognise that half of all recorded violent crime results in no injury and that recording changes introduced in 2002 resulted in the increased recording of violent crimes particularly for less serious violent offences. The Violent Crime Reduction Bill currently before Parliament will givenew powers to police and local authorities to tackle violent criminals and ensure they are effectively punished. In particular the Bill includes tough new measures to crack down on alcohol-related violence which accounts for 48 per cent of all violent crime. We have made significant progress on violent crime, but I accept that more needs to be done and the Government is determined to achieve further reductions.The overall picture presented by the statistics is very positive and is testament to the considerable work that has been put into crime reduction initiatives across the criminal justice system. Police numbers are at an all time high and it is encouraging to see the steady two per cent rise in overall detection rates, with the rate for homicide now at 98 per cent.
