26 January 2006 - Home Office review of crime data in England and Wales
The review will be undertaken by an independent group of opposition party nominees, leading statisticians and media representatives.
- Chair - Professor Adrian Smith, QMW and RSS, (statistician)
- Professor Tim Newburn LSE and President of the British Society of Criminology (criminologist)
- Dr Irwin Stelzer, Sunday Times Columnist and Fellow of the Hudson Institute (media)
- Robert Phillis, chief executive Guardian Media Group (media)
- Kate Flannery, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (police)
- Paul Evans, Director Police Standards Unit (police)
- Dr David Green, Director Civitas (Conservative Party nominee)
- Liberal Democrat Party nominee to be confirmed
- Dame Helen Reeves, formerly chief executive of Victim Support (victims)
- Ian Beesley, Statistics Commission (statistician)
- Ian Johnston, Association of Chief Police Officers, Head of Crime (police)
The Statistics Commission identified in their interim report published on 20 December 2005 the following five issues of importance to those who need and use crime information:
- public trust in crime data
- measures of total crime
- measurement of the fear of crime
- international comparisons
- getting the best from data held by local police forces.
> Increasing Transparency and Understanding - Major Review of Crime Statistics [Home Office website]
> Statistics Commission interim report [PDF 136KB, 13 pages]
