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Govt considering extending crime survey

15/05/2008

The government is to consider extending a key crime indicator to include younger children, the home secretary has revealed.

Jacqui Smith said the Home Office wanted the British Crime Survey (BCS) to include offences committed against children because of the likelihood of 11 to 16-year-olds being the victims of street crime.

One in eight children aged between 11 and 16 say they have had their mobile phone or MP3 player stolen from them, with a third of the crimes taking place while the victim was texting or listening to music.

Home secretary Jacqui Smith said the government was aware young people were more likely to be victims of crime rather than perpetrators of it.

"I want to ensure that young people are offered as much protection from crime as possible, and receive support if they do become victims, while also tackling offending vigorously," she said.

"Extending the British Crime Survey will help us to understand better how crime affects young people and do even more to prevent it. This summer we will publish a Youth Crime Action Plan to further coordinate this effort across government."

The BCS, which is released in conjunction with police crime statistics, is designed to give a more accurate reflection of the true level of crime in England and Wales as it includes crimes that have not been reported.

The Conservatives have accused the Labour government of ignoring crimes against children for years, despite a steep rise in youth violence.

Shadow home secretary David Davis has welcomed the move to "finally" start recording offences against children.

"But the BCS also fails to count a range of other serious crimes - including murder, rape, shoplifting and fraud," he added.

"This demonstrates Labour's staggering complacency - if you don't count crime properly, how can you cut it?"