Victims of crime

Published 10 October 2017

Last updated 23 February 2018 - see all updates

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Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• 15% of people aged 16 and over in England and Wales were victims of at least one crime in 2015/16 – a fall of 2% compared with 2013/14

• in 2015/16, a higher percentage of people from the Mixed, Asian and Black ethnic groups were victims of crime compared with White people

Things you need to know

These figures are based on the annual Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).

The CSEW is a face-to-face survey in which people aged 16 or over living in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of a selected range of criminal offences in the previous 12 months.

The CSEW is able to capture a broad range of victim-based crimes experienced by those interviewed, not just those that have been reported to (and recorded by) the police. However, some offences such as homicide and sexual offences are not included in its main estimates.

Since October 2015, the survey has included fraud and computer misuse. However, as data from before this point is not available, the statistics and commentary presented here exclude fraud and computer misuse offences.

Keep in mind when making comparisons between ethnic groups that all survey estimates are subject to a degree of uncertainty. This is because they are based on a sample of the population. The degree of uncertainty is greater when the number of respondents is small, so it will be highest for ethnic minority groups.

Estimates based on fewer than 50 responses are excluded, as they are considered less reliable.

To increase the reliability of the data when broken down by gender, age group and socio-economic group, the ONS combines data for each year into a 3-year average.

These statistics are estimates based on the sample of people who took part in the survey, and may not reflect the whole population. You should therefore use caution when interpreting them.

The CSEW does not include:

• people living in communal establishments (such as care homes, student halls of residence and prisons):
• crimes against commercial or public sector bodies

What the data measures

This data measures the proportion of the population who reported being victims of an offence one or more times in the 12 months prior to interview. This is known as the prevalence rate.

Prevalence rates measure whether a household or person was a victim of at least one crime in the period covered by the survey. They do not measure the specific number of times a household or person was a victim.

These figures are based on information from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), for which respondents and their households are designated either as victims or non-victims.

The proportion of victims provides the prevalence rate, often described as the risk of being a victim of crime.

The ethnic categories used in this data

Where possible, this data is broken down by the 18 ethnic categories listed in the 2011 Census. There's a separate category for respondents whose ethnicity wasn't known.

The 2011 Census categories are as follows:

White:

• English/ Welsh/ Scottish/ Northern Irish/ British
• Irish
• Gypsy, Traveller or Irish Traveller
• Any other White background

Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:

• White and Black Caribbean
• White and Black African
• White and Asian
• Any other Mixed/ Multiple ethnic background

Asian/Asian British:

• Indian
• Pakistani
• Bangladeshi
• Chinese
• Any other Asian background

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British:

• African
• Caribbean
• Any other Black/African/Caribbean background

Other ethnic group:

• Arab
• Any other ethnic group

To analyse the data by gender, age group and socio-economic group, the Office for National Statistics uses the following 5 broad ethnic categories:

• Asian / Asian British
• Black / African / Caribbean / Black British
• Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups
• White
• Other ethnic group

2. Victims of crime by ethnicity over time

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2013/14 to 2015/16
• Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales, year ending March 2016

Percentage and number of people who were victims of crime by ethnicity over time

	2013/14		2014/15		2015/16
Ethnicity	2013/14 %	2013/14 Number	2014/15 %	2014/15 Number	2015/16 %	2015/16 Number
All	17	35,371	16	33,350	15	35,324
Asian	19	1,824	16	1,649	18	1,790
Bangladeshi	17	138	12	123	15	135
Chinese	15	169	11	136	16	173
Indian	20	767	14	679	18	722
Pakistani	20	398	22	388	23	428
Asian other	15	352	14	323	15	332
Black	17	959	18	902	19	902
Black African	16	564	19	529	19	530
Black Caribbean	17	350	15	316	16	311
Black other		45	28	57	31	61
Mixed	27	339	28	309	21	364
Mixed White/Asian	24	80	28	90	16	94
Mixed White/Black African		46		45		44
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	29	120	29	98	21	135
Mixed other	29	93	23	76	26	91
White	17	31,980	16	30,212	15	31,967
White British	17	30,073	16	28,476	15	29,993
White Irish	21	322	17	299	17	287
White Gypsy/Traveller		12		10		15
White other	17	1,573	19	1,427	16	1,672
Other	14	236	15	234	17	242
Arab	10	88	10	83	10	87
Any other	16	148	17	151	21	155

Data withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Victims of crime Victims of crime by ethnicity over time Summary

This data shows that:

• between 2013/14 and 2015/16, the percentage of White adults who were victims of at least one crime fell from 17% to 15% – no other ethnic group experienced a meaningful change in levels of crime

• although the data shows a reduction in the percentage of people of Mixed ethnicity who were victims of crime – and an increase for people from the Other ethnic group – sample sizes for these groups were small, so any generalisations based on these results are very unreliable

3. Victims of crime by ethnicity and gender

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 (3 years combined)
• Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales, year ending March 2016

Percentage and number of people who were victims of crime by ethnicity and gender

	All		Male		Female
Ethnicity	All %	All Number	Male %	Male Number	Female %	Female Number
Asian	18	5,263	18	2,603	17	2,660
Black	18	2,763	18	1,157	18	1,606
Mixed	25	1,012	24	417	27	595
White	16	94,159	16	42,656	15	51,503
Other	15	712	16	371	14	341

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Victims of crime Victims of crime by ethnicity and gender Summary

This data shows that:

• White men were more likely than White women to be victims of crime

• although the chart and table show some differences between men and women in the Mixed, Asian and Other ethnic groups, sample sizes for these groups are small, so any generalisations based on these results are very unreliable

4. Victims of crime by ethnicity and age group

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 (3 years combined)
• Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales, year ending March 2016

Percentage and number of people who were victims of crime by ethnicity and age group

	Asian		Black		Mixed		White		Other
Age group	Asian %	Asian Number	Black %	Black Number	Mixed %	Mixed Number	White %	White Number	Other %	Other Number
16-24	19	570	23	282	29	209	23	6,553	11	89
25-34	19	1,373	19	540	30	256	21	12,676	14	179
35-44	17	1,465	17	724	23	226	19	14,194	21	195
45-54	18	801	19	625	25	160	17	16,140	17	112
55-64	14	547	14	285	12	71	13	15,720	17	65
65-74	14	360	8	165	4	62	9	15,889		43
75+	13	147	7	142		28	6	12,987		29

Data withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Victims of crime Victims of crime by ethnicity and age group Summary

This data shows that:

• on average, across all ethnic groups, younger people were more likely to experience crime than older people

• among the White, Black and Mixed ethnic groups, experience of crime went down as age increased

• people aged 16 to 24 years from the White and Mixed ethnic groups were more likely to experience crime than people of the same age from the Asian and Other ethnic groups

• in the 25 to 34 age group, people of Mixed ethnicity were more likely to be victims of crime than people of the same age from all other ethnic groups

• although the data shows other differences based on ethnicity and age group, sample sizes are small so any generalisations based on these results are very unreliable

5. Victims of crime by ethnicity and socio-economic group

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 (3 years combined)
• Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales, year ending March 2016

Percentage and number of people who were victims of crime by ethnicity and socio-economic group

	Asian		Black		Mixed		White		Other
[None]	Asian %	Asian Number	Black %	Black Number	Mixed %	Mixed Number	White %	White Number	Other %	Other Number
Managerial and professional occupations	20	1,653	20	806	32	339	16	32,267	22	196
Intermediate occupations	19	1,076	18	470	21	199	15	22,321	15	125
Routine and manual occupations	16	1,467	17	1,004	22	311	15	33,752	16	177
Never worked and long-term unemployed	13	602	12	235	18	57	18	2,848	16	106
Full time students	18	423	21	223	25	101	22	2,463	7	106
Not classified		42		25		5	14	508		2

Data withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Victims of crime Victims of crime by ethnicity and socio-economic group Summary

This data shows that:

• in the Asian, Black and Mixed ethnicity groups, a higher percentage of people in managerial or professional jobs experienced crime compared with people of the same ethnicity in long-term unemployment

• however, White people in long-term unemployment were more likely to be victims of crime than people of the same ethnicity in managerial and professional jobs

• among full-time students, those from the Other ethnic group were least likely to be victims of crime

6. Methodology

CSEW estimates are based on analysis of structured face-to-face interviews carried out using computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI). In 2015/16, the response rate was 72%.

The CSEW is a household sample survey and, as such, estimates are based on a representative sample of the population of England and Wales aged 16 and over. A sample, as used in the CSEW, is a small-scale representation of the population from which it is drawn.

Weighting:

Weighting is used to adjust the results of a survey to make them representative of the population and improve their accuracy.

For example, a survey which contains 25% women and 75% men will not accurately reflect the views of the general population, which we know has an even 50/50 split.

Statisticians rebalance or ‘weight’ the survey results to more accurately represent the general population. This helps to make them more reliable.

Survey weights are usually applied to make sure the survey sample has broadly the same gender, age, ethnic and geographic make up as the general population.

The CSEW collects information from approximately 35,000 households each year. Since those responses reflect only a fraction of the total population of England and Wales, a process is used to give different weights to different households and individuals based on their sex, age and region, in such a way that the weighted distribution of responding household and individuals in these households matches the known distribution in the population as a whole.

First, weights are applied to the raw data to compensate for:

• unequal address selection probabilities (given, some areas are more populated than others)
• the observed variation in response rates between different types of neighbourhood
• situations in which only one dwelling unit can be selected in multiple ‘dwelling unit' households
• different probabilities of a respondent being selected based on different sized households

Second, calibration weighting is used to make adjustments for known differentials in response rates between different regions and between different age by six sub-groups.

Socio-economic groups:

The National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC) categorises members of the adult public in the UK according to their occupational status.

The NS-SEC categories are:

• managerial and professional occupations
• intermediate occupations (clerical, sales, service)
• routine and manual occupations
• never worked and long-term unemployed
• full-time students
• not classified

Suppression rules and disclosure control

Estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales have National Statistics status.

National Statistics are a subset of official statistics which have been certified by the UK Statistics Authority as compliant with its Code of Practice for Official Statistics, including requirements on disclosure control. Estimates based on a number of respondents (known as the 'unweighted base') that is less than 50 are suppressed as these estimates are deemed to be less reliable.

Rounding

Estimates in the charts and tables are given to the nearest whole number.

You can see more detailed estimates (rounded to 1 decimal place) if you download the data.

Further technical information

Since the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is based on a sample of the population, estimates have a margin of quantifiable and non-quantifiable error associated with them.

Non-quantifiable error includes:

• when respondents have recalled crimes in the reference period that actually occurred outside that period
• crimes that did occur in the reference period that were not mentioned at all (either because respondents failed to recall a fairly trivial incident or, conversely, because they did not want to disclose an incident, such as a domestic assault)
• respondents saying they reported crimes to police when they did not (a “socially desirable” response)
• some incidents reported during the interview being miscoded (‘interviewer or coder error’)

7. Data sources

Source

Crime Survey for England and Wales, year ending March 2016

Type of data

Survey data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Office for National Statistics

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is a face-to-face survey in which people living in households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of a selected range of criminal offences in the 12 months prior to the interview.

The CSEW is able to capture a broad range of victim-based crimes experienced by those interviewed, not just those that have been reported to, and recorded by, the police.

8. Download the data

Victims of crime - Spreadsheet (csv) 113 KB

This file contains the following: ethnicity, year, geography, gender, socio-economic status, value, denominator

Publication release date: 10 October 2017

Updated: 23 February 2018

full page history

1. 23 February 2018 Minor updates for style and accuracy
2. 10 October 2017 First published

From: Office for National Statistics

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