The level of crime and fear of crime is one of the most commonly cited influences on people's quality of life. In 1998 there were over 900,000 notifiable offences committed in London (see data set below). There are many links between crime and health. Some of the most obvious are the effects of personal violence and assault, which can have both mental and physical consequences for health in the short and long term. Crime inevitably involves some costs to the NHS. This is partly because of the treatment needed for resulting health problems, and partly because community workers, including NHS staff, are especially vulnerable to some forms of crime.

Crime is associated with social disorganisation, low social capital, relative deprivation and health inequalities. The same social and environmental factors that predict geographic variation in crime rates may also be relevant to explaining community variations in health and well-being.

A recent review of the links between Crime and Health in London was undertaken to support the London Health Strategy.

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The LHO was commissioned by the Metropolitan Police Service in November 2001 to conduct a literature review to identify published research on:

An Executive Summary of the literature review with recommendations, as well as the full review are available below.

Date	Title	Format	View
27 Nov 2003	Casualties of crime: a literature review of assaults and accident and emergency departments
27 Nov 2003	Casualties of crime: a literature review of assaults and accident and emergency departments: executive summary

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Estimates suggest that domestic violence accounts for 25% of all violent crime in the UK; that 69% of domestic violence results in injury and that 90% of violent attacks are witnessed by children. There are therefore significant threats to both short and long term physical and mental health.

Date	Title	Format	View
3 Jun 2005	Department of Health: A resource manual for health care professionals
3 Jun 2005	Domestic Violence Data Source
3 Jun 2005	Home Office on Domestic Violence
3 Jun 2005	London Domestic Violence Strategy
3 Jun 2005	Women's Aid

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Abuse of children can have both short and long term effects on the health of children. The short term effects may be manifested in depression, learning problems in school and behavioural disorders. The long term consequences can affect a child's development and psychosocial functioning. There is thought to be a strong link between abuse of women by a male partner and abuse of children. DoH figures suggest that in 1998 there were nearly 5,000 children in London on child protection registers for some form of abuse. The highest rates were around 50-60 per 10,000 children in Hackney and Haringey, the lowest around 15 in Enfield and Waltham Forest.

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Our perceptions of the incidence of crime and feelings of personal safety can have a widespread effect on the way we live our lives. The effects of fear of crime may be manifest in behaviour, for example we may avoid going out alone, stay at home more, never go out in the dark etc. These ill inevitably tend to reduce involvement in the local community, and increase isolation. Both these factors will have some health impact; however the nature of that is very difficult to quantify.

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Drug and alcohol are key factors in many crimes. Often drug related crime is non-violent and includes theft, shoplifting, burglary and prostitution. It is not always clear whether drug use leads to criminality or vice versa. There are strong associations between alcohol consumption and violent crime, particularly amongst men in the 15 to 25 year age groups. See sections on drug misuse and alcohol.

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In the past, Metropolitan Police divisions have not been co-terminous with other geographies of London, but this is now changing with the advent of the Greater London Authority. It is important to distinguish between offences, arrests and convictions when using crime statistics, and it can be difficult to link these to areas of residence.

The Metropolitan Police Information Bureau collects data on arrests and can produce aggregated data tables on request. The geographical standard police areas are not co-terminous with local authority boundaries at the moment, although these are under review. Data are also collected on victims of crime and drug related offences.

These are accessible as Web pages as Excel spreadsheets.

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Summary details of The British Crime Survey 1998 are available through the publications section of the Research, Development and Statistics Directorate branch of the Home Office Website, as are various other relevant statistical and research papers. The British Crime Survey measures crime against people living in private households in England & Wales, i.e. vandalism (against vehicles and other private property), all property theft (burglary, vehicle-related, bicycle, household and personal theft), and violence (mugging, robbery, snatch theft, wounding and common assault). The survey has been carried out seven times since 1982 and now is an annual survey.

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London is served by the London Probation Area of the National Probation Services. Further details are available from their website at London Probation Office.

Standard data systems collect details of court cases by charge (i.e. type of crime) and sentence, and include a range of demographic variables including presence of drug, alcohol and mental health problems. Aggregated data tables should be available by contacting research and information staff at your local service. Summary statistics are available through the Research, Development and Statistics Directorate branch of the Home Office Website.

There is also a Prison Service Website, which contains publications, some national statistics and corporate information.

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