Modelling and predicting recorded property crime trends in England and Wales – a retrospective

In 1999 the Home Office published, for the first time ever, 3-year ahead projections of property crime in England and Wales. The projections covered the period 1999–2001 and indicated strong upward pressure after five full years of falling crime. This pressure was generated by three factors: the number of young men in the general population, the state of the economy and the fact that property crime appeared to be well below its underlying trend level. The projections received a mixed response, with some agreeing that crime was set to rise while questioning the scale of any increase, to others who doubted the value of this type of econometric modelling. In fact, property crime did increase in 1999, although not at a rate suggested by the models – and indeed levels of burglary continued to fall. This paper addresses some of the reasons for this disparity as well as considering various criticisms of the Home Office approach.