NCJ Number
195714
Date Published
1998
Length
44 pages
Annotation
This report provides an overview of data on various types of violence committed against persons in the United Kingdom over a number of decades for the purpose of enabling readers to take stock of the effect of violence on daily life in Great Britain.
Abstract
This is a report of the Violence Research Programme (VRP), which was funded over 5 years (1997-2002) to conduct research projects on violence in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The views of offenders, victims, policymakers, front-line professionals, and members of the general public are included in the research on the impact and meaning of violence. For the purposes of this report, "violence" is defined as "any behavior by an individual that intentionally threatens, attempts to inflict, or does cause, physical, sexual, or psychological harm to others or to themselves." The report includes a summary of data available on homicide over the centuries, including the period from 1580 through 1709. Also provided is an overview of the provisions of statutes that target violence against the person in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Data are provided on the proportion of people who knew someone who had experienced a violent incident in the past year (by age and gender). Other data pertain to violence against children, youth who commit violence, sexual violence, homophobic violence, racist violence, domestic violence, violence in the workplace, male-on-male violence, complaints of violence by police and prison staff, and homicide. Data are also provided on injuries from violence against persons; trends in serious assault, robbery, and sexual offenses in England, Wales, and Scotland for 1977-97; and various types of violence in Northern Ireland from 1969 through 1998. The report concludes with 9 figures that portray comparative statistics on criminal justice processing for violent offenses. A 119-item bibliography and a listing of the details of VRP projects