Audits of Crime and Disorder: Some Lessons from Research

Abstract

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 placed a statutory duty on local authorities and the police to carry out an audit of crime and disorder for each district, borough and unitary local authority in England and Wales. The first audits were published in 1999 and the next will be published in 2002. Following a process of consultation, these audits were used as the basis for strategy setting. This paper is based on an evaluation by the author of eight audits, covering a whole county in the north of England, and provides a descriptive overview followed by a critical analysis. In particular, the paper examines sources of information, the uses and abuses of data, and the setting of draft strategies by audit teams. The final section discusses the potential for progressive reform.