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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background and Context of the Research


Acts of non-violent and violent crime that take place within the United Kingdom are described as
crimes in the United Kingdom. The UK crime was at its peak in year 1995. According to the
surveys of 2001-2002 and year 1995 the number of violent crime incidents in 2001-2002 fell to
2.7 million from 4.2 million in year 1995. Between the survey of 2012/2013 and 2007/2008, the
estimated number of violent incidents decreased by 13%. Over recent years, a general downward
trend has been shown by the number of currently recorded homicides. In year 1989 the numbers
were 521, however, they were lowest in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, i.e., 530 and 551. More than
2/3rds of homicide victims, i.e., 69% were male in 2012-2013. In comparison to 2011-2012, in
2012-2013 there was a decrease of 15% in offences and around 8,135 offences were recorded by
the police.
From year 2011 till year 2013 the offences including sharp instruments or knives also fell by
fifteen percent. Over the same period the overall police recorded crime fell by seven percent.
Some form of sexual assault (involving attempts) was experienced by 0.5% of men and two
percent women, in accordance to 2012/2013 CSEW (Crime Survey for England and Wales). In
comparison to previous year a rise of 20% has been witnessed by police recorded sexual offences
to a total of 64,200 across Wales and England. Within this the number, there was an increase of
17% in different sexual offences and there was an increase of 27% in offences of rape. In
comparison to year 1978 a decrease was shown by the annual count of homicides. While the
population of Wales and England has continued to grow the volume of homicides has decreased
over the past decade.
One of the most famous rape and murder case of UK so far has been the case of Colin Pitchfork.
Two girls were murdered and raped by Pitchfork in July 1986 and November 1983. After
admitting both murders on 22
nd
January 1988 he was sentenced to life imprisonment and
concurrent terms for murder and rape for 30 years. The criminal history of the United Kingdom
has been shaped by the early lives and conviction of some of the most dangerous and prolific
serial child killers and child abusers. One of the early cases of child rape and murder in UK was
witnessed in the 19
th
century. In the nineteenth century, Amelia Dyer murdered around four-
hundred babies and was dubbed as a prolific serial killer and Angel Make. Unmarried mothers
who have to leave their children in safe hands were the main prey of Amelia Dyer. With
dressmaking tape she used to strangle the helpless infants and then used to dump their bodies in
the River Thames. With apparent impunity she conducted her grisly trade for over thirty years.
Rape is defined as a potentially genocide act and a crime against humanity by the international
law. The legal definition of rape is having sex with a woman without her consent. Rape is
certainly not about feelings of affection and/or love, but is more about dominance and power.
Weak legal sanctions for sexual violence, ideologies of male sexual entitlement, and beliefs in
sexual purity and family honour are some principal factors that have been identified by World
Health Organisation (WHO) that led to the perpetration of rape. Rape has serious physical and
psychological consequences for the victim.
An act that is evil within itself is known as murder in common law. In some countries, a long
prison sentence is typically given to an individual convicted of murder. Self-defence is the most
common defence to murder. There are non-parole periods for the crimes involving murder. For
the murder of a person, like, a public official or of a child under eighteen the murder is
punishable by 25 years in prison and for a general murder it is punishable by 20 years. Examples
of crimes where life imprisonment is reserved are contract killing or multiple murders as they
involve financial gain, extortion and torture.
1.2 Scope and Objectives of the Study
To make a comparison between murder and rape cases in the United Kingdom in the last 20
years is the main aim of this study. Following the main objective, this study will further define
the concept of rape and murder. Furthermore, it will provide a graphic representation of UK
crime rate that have changed over the years. It will also focus on the changes in the law and
society that affected the fluctuation of these crimes in the past 20 years. It will also reflect upon
most famous rape and murder cases of UK and will analyze the reasons behind these crimes. In
the end, it will describe how United Kingdom is perceived by Europe and other parts of the
world with regards to these crimes.
1.3 Research Questions
1. What is meant by rape and murder?
2. What changes have incurred in the crime rate over the years?
3. What changes have incurred in the law that affected the fluctuation of these crimes in the
past 20 years?
4. What changes have incurred in society that affected the fluctuation of these crimes in the
past 20 years?
5. What are the main reasons behind most famous rape and murder cases?
6. What is the opinion of the world about UK in terms of these crimes?
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 The Concept of Rape
The legal definition of rape is having sex with a woman without her consent. It is basically the
act of forcing someone to engage in sexual activity against his or her will. It is defined as sexual
penetration or contact achieved when the victim is unconscious or asleep, physically impaired or
mentally impaired or incapacitated, with use of threat, deception, coercion and physical force
and/or without consent. This basic definition has been changed to statutory rape by many states,
which means exempting men who force their wives to have sex, sex with a man without his
consent and sex with a minor without or with consent. Statutory rape is often considered as
sexual contact with a person under the age of sixteen or eighteen as he/she may not be legally
capable of providing the consent. Many jurisdictions have altered the concept of rate to
aggravated sexual assault or sexual assault and the former distinct crime of rape is encompassed
by it. Rape is defined as a potentially genocide act and a crime against humanity by the
international law. Consent is one of the most critical issues regarding rape. If consent is not
understood by both parties and has not been given freely by both parties the sexual activity must
not take place. Consent is not referred to silence. Silence does not mean yes and no means no.
It does not matter if one was married to the perpetrator or has had sex with him/her before. If the
consent is given under emotional or physical threats, i.e., duress then sex with an individual
consenting under duress is considered as rape. An individual is deemed incapable of consenting
if he/she is impaired due to drugs or alcohol, therefore, sex with that particular individual is
considered as rape. On the survivor a similar impact is imposed by an attempted rape as a
completed rape. In an attempted rape the involvement of violence is legitimate. The rape can
involve anal or oral penetration. However this penetration can involve other body objects of parts
and is not limited to penile. Rape is certainly not about feelings of affection and/or love, but is
more about dominance and power. Based on control, power and gender rape is a hate crime. By
references to the perpetrators characteristics or sex, the victims characteristics or sex, and/or
the situation in which it occurs, there are several categories of rape, such as, war rape,
acquaintance rape, statutory rape, prison rape, child sexual abuse, incestual rape, marital rape,
gang rape and date rape. Weak legal sanctions for sexual violence, ideologies of male sexual
entitlement, and beliefs in sexual purity and family honour are some principal factors that have
been identified by World Health Organisation (WHO) that led to the perpetration of rape. Rape
has serious physical and psychological consequences for the victim. Additional effects on the
victims, like, becoming pregnant or the acquiring of sexually transmitted infection or physical
injury may be caused by rape in addition to psychological harm resulting from the act. Victims
who have been raped may suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder and can be severely
traumatized.
2.2 The Concept of Murder
The unlawful taking of life of another person is referred to as murder. The common law
definition of murder was set out by William Blackstone in his Commentaries on the Laws of
England. According to him, with implied or express malice aforethought the killing of any
reasonable creature under the kings peace by an individual of sound discretion and memory is
terms as murder. An act that is evil within itself is known as murder in common law. In terms of
nature an act, like, murder is evil/wrong. To consider murder a crime any specific definition or
detailing in the law is not required as it is the very nature of the act. A common law view of
murder is still considered by some jurisdictions. In such jurisdictions, the definition of murder is
defined by previous decisions of the courts of law or precedent case law. With malice
aforethought, by another human, of a human, killing and unlawful are the elements of common
law murder. The intent to inflict serious bodily harm with a high risk of death, the intent to kill
someone or the requisite state of mind is termed as malice. It is also referred to as intentional
disregard of a high probability of death or reckless indifference to human life. The killings that
are done within the boundaries of law, like, justified self-defence and capital punishment are
distinguished from murder by the term unlawful. Killing is referred to as the permanent and
total cessation of blood respiration and circulation. Depending upon the involvement of
mitigating and extenuating situations and the state of mind of the defendant there are different
degrees of murder. Second-degree and first-degree are two classifications of murder in almost all
jurisdictions. When the killer deliberately killed out of ill will toward the victim it is known as
first-degree murder. It is sometimes referred to with malice aforethought and is both the pre-
mediated and international killing of an individual. Both forethought (planning) and malice (evil
intent) are required by it. When killing is not done in the heat of passion and when the killing
was not premeditated but intentional then it is referred to as second-degree murder. Without
concern for human life and when someone is killed due to reckless conduct then a second-degree
murder can also be charged. The constructive murder is also referred to as felony murder. A
person can be found to have committed murder if the intent to cause grievous death results or
serious bodily harm is demonstrated by him/her or if she/he commits a serious felony. Self-
defence is the most common defence to murder. The defendant can only use it if he/she believes
that his/her life or that of a loved one was in danger of serious bodily injury or death. There are
non-parole periods for the crimes involving murder. For the murder of a person, like, a public
official or of a child under eighteen the murder is punishable by 25 years in prison and for a
general murder it is punishable by 20 years. Examples of crimes where life imprisonment is
reserved are contract killing or multiple murders as they involve financial gain, extortion and
torture. In some countries, a long prison sentence is typically given to an individual convicted of
murder.
2.3 The Changes in Crime Rate over the Years
Acts of non-violent and violent crime that take place within the United Kingdom are described as
crime in the United Kingdom. Based on different judicial systems of Northern Ireland, Scotland,
and England and Wales the police systems and courts are separated. In England and Wales the
responsibility for crime is split between the Ministry of Justice, the law enforcement in the UK
and the Home Office. On the other hand this responsibility falls on the Procurator Fiscal Service
and Crown Office, in Scotland.
In year 1981 around 11 million crimes were reported in Wales and England by BCS (British
Crime Survey). However in year 1981 the amount of police-recorded crimes was less than 3
million. This gap was known as the dark figure of crime. It was reported that in comparison to
serious crimes that never recorded to the police the crimes not involved in the police count of
crime was significantly less. Believing that nothing can be done by the police, and the incidents
were too trivial and no loss was involved were the most common reasons figured for not
reporting crimes.

Graph # Levels of Unrecorded and Recorded Crime from 1981 to 2005-2006
Throughout the eighties and early nineties, in year 1995 the number of crimes reported by the
BCS reached a peak of 19 million. A similar level was witnessed in 2005-2006. According to the
BCS, there were 10.9 million crimes in 2005-2006.

Graph # Trends in Police Recorded Crime and BS from 1981 to 2005-2006
According to the surveys of 2001-2002 and year 1995 the number of violent crime incidents in
2001-2002 fell to 2.7 million from 4.2 million in year 1995. Between the survey of 2012/2013
and 2007/2008, the estimated number of violent incidents decreased by 13%. In 2012/2013 a
non-statistically significant decrease of six percent was shown by the CSEW (Crime Survey for
England and Wales). The crime was at its peak in year 1995. In comparison to the 2012-2013
CSEW, 5.3% of adults the most victims of violent crime were 5.3% of adults aged sixteen and
over. In year 1995, the victimisation rate was 2.6%, however, it was less than half in 2012-2013.
Over recent years, a general downward trend has been shown by the number of currently
recorded murders. In year 1989 the numbers were 521, however, they were lowest in 2011-2012
and 2012-2013, i.e., 530 and 551. More than 2/3rds of murder victims, i.e., 69% were male in
2012-2013. In comparison to 2011-2012, in 2012-2013 there was a decrease of 15% in offences
and around 8,135 offences were recorded by the police. From year 2011 till year 2013 the
offences including sharp instruments or knives also fell by fifteen percent. Over the same period
the overall police recorded crime fell by seven percent. Some form of sexual assault (involving
attempts) was experienced by 0.5% of men and two percent women, in accordance to 2012/2013
CSEW.
For the year ending on 14
th
March, an estimate of 7.3 million incidents of crime against resident
adults and households in Wales and England were shown by the latest figures from the CSEW.
This shows that in comparison to the survey of previous year there is a decrease of 14% and
since the survey began in year 1981 it is the lowest estimate and since the mid 1990s it continues
to the long downward trend. In comparison the peak level witnessed in year 1995, the total
number of CSEW incidents is estimated to be 62% lower in comparison to the survey of 2008-
2009, a decrease of 29% has been shown by it.
In comparison to previous year decreases were shown for most types of major crimes, i.e, by
10% the theft offences decreased, by 17% the criminal damage decreased, by 20% the violence
decreased. In the year ending on 14
th
March, around 3.7 million offences were recorded. Since
2002-20003 a decrease has been witnessed in police recorded crime figures. Over the last 3 years
the rate of reduction has been slow down. In comparison to the peak in 20003-2004 the latest
figures are 38% lower and in comparison to 2008-2009 it is 21% lower. In comparison to the
survey of 2011-2012 and 2006-2007 a faster decrease has been shown by police recorded crime.
In comparison with the previous year an increase of 7% has been witnessed by the number of
shoplifting offences recorded by the police. Year on year a large increase of 17% was also shown
in the volume of fraud recorded. In comparison to the previous year a rise of 20% has been
witnessed by police recorded sexual offences to a total of 64,200 across Wales and England.
Within this the number, there was an increase of 17% in different sexual offences and there was
an increase of 27% in offences of rape. In comparison to the peak in year 1995 and the data of
CSEW between 2004-2005 and year 1995 a large fall of 65% is shown by violent crimes.

Graph # 01: From year 1981-2013/2014 the Trends in CSEW and Police Recorded Crime
In the year ending on 14
th
March 2014, 810,000 crimes were experienced by children of age ten
to fifteen in accordance to the CSEW. Amongst them 40% were thefts of personal property and
55% were violent crimes. In comparison to the previous year a similar percentage is shown by
this year in terms of the proportions of criminal damage, personal property theft and violent
crimes. For the year ending on 14
th
March 2014, the police recorded around 2.1 million incidents
of anti-social behaviour (ASB). A decrease of 7% was witnessed by the number of ASB
incidents. In terms of businesses in Wales and England, around 7.3 million incidents of crimes
were reported by the Commercial Victimisation Surveys of year 2013 and year 2012. Between
2010-2011 and 2004-2005 the underlying trend in domestic burglary remained fairly. In
comparison to the survey of 2003-2004 it is 40% lower and in comparison to previous year it is
12% lower. In comparison to previous year, a fall of 8% has been recorded by the CSEW in
terms of levels of vehicle-related theft. Since 2004-2005 the underlying trend of theft of personal
property has been fairly flat. In comparison to year 1995, half of the level is shown by the current
estimate. In comparison to previous year a decrease of 17% is recorded by bicycle theft show. In
comparison to year 1995 and the survey of 2008-2009 it has been 43% and 27% lower.

Graph # 02 Percentage and Volumes Change between 2013-2014 and 2012-2013 and
Selected Victim-Based Police Recorded Crime Offences
In comparison to previous year an increase of 6% was shown by violence against the police-
recorded person offences. In comparison to year 1978 a decrease was shown by the annual count
of murders. While the population of Wales and England has continued to grow the volume of
murders has decreased over the past decade. In comparison to previous year, a decrease of 11%
was shown by robberies.

Table # 01 Percentage Change and Number of CSEW Incidents for 2013-2014
2.4 Changes in the Law that affected the Fluctuation of these Crimes in the Past Twenty
Years
The level of recorded crime is affected by changes in the law. According to the British Crime
Survey (BCS) a large amount of headroom for extra reporting is left as only 40% of crimes are
reported to the police by public and most of these unreported crimes are considered too trivial to
report. Throughout the eighties and early nineties, in year 1995 the number of crimes reported by
the BCS reached a peak of 19 million. A similar level was witnessed in 2005-2006. According to
the BCS, there were 10.9 million crimes in 2005-2006. Due to changes in police recording
practices, reporting by the public and changes to the counting rules for crime, there was a huge
increase in number of crimes recorded by the police. From the level of individual commanders to
individual officers to national and force policies the recorded crime depends on the polices
recording practices. The police recorded crime is also affected by the changes in police recording
practices and in levels of reporting to the police. There is an impact by the rules governing the
operational decisions in respect of the allocation of resources, systems in place and the recording
of data on the statistics of police recorded crime. Without any real change in underlying crime
trends, an increase in crimes recorded can be led by more proactive policing in a given area.
Both recording and reporting practices does affect the level of recorded crime.
Graph # 03 From 2003-2004 till 2012-2013 the Trends in All NCS Crime and Recorded
Crime
In recent years there have been two major changes to the recording of crimes, i.e., across
Northern Ireland, Wales and England the NCRS was introduced in year 2002 and in order to
become more victim-based it was made mandatory to include certain additional summary counts
and offences by the HOCR for Recorded Crime. A new crime recording system, i.e., ICIS-
Integrated Crime Information System was introduced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland
in year 2001. It improved data coverage and data collection, due to which a low level crime was
identified by the statistics of recorded crime. However, there was no large impact by the
introduction of NCRS in year 2002. To take a more victim-oriented approach towards recording
of crime and to ensure greater consistency between forces in crime recording were the two main
purposes of NCRS. An increase in the number of recorded crimes was resulted by both of these
changes. From the overall comparison, these changes imposed a larger impact on the minor
violent crimes. The figures of recorded crime outcome have been affected by a number of
changes to the available sanctions and recording practices. The term detection was classified into
non sanction and sanction detections. In the form of a detection rate the detections were
presented and a percentage of the total number of crimes recorded in 2-12-2012 was expressed
by the number of detections recorded in a given year. There was an inflationary effect on
recorded crime due to the implementation of the NCRS in year 2002. Due to the introduction of
the ICIS systems within PSNI, in the overall detection rate a drop of 7% points between 2000-
2001 and 2001-2002 was experienced by Northern Ireland. From year 2004, PSNI agreed to stop
the use of inflammatory consequences as a permanent detection method and due to this in
period between 2004-2005 and 2003-2004 there was a drop of 4.2%. In 2006-2007 a fall of
23.6% and in 2005-2006 a fall of 30.6% was recorded by the overall detection rate as within the
PSNI a higher evidential standard was adopted in year 2006. In 2007-2008 a fall of 20.5% and in
2006-2007 a fall of 20.5% was witnessed by the overall detection rate within Northern Ireland as
claiming of non-sanction detections was allowed by some of the methods in year 2007.
2.5 Changes in Society that affected the Fluctuation of these Crimes in the Past Twenty
Years
Crime rates have rise due to changes in Western societies and it is due to the impact of rising
inequality, globalisation and marketisation in society. Both crime and society in particular are
impacted by market forces in Western Capitalist societies. Due to the potential to make vast
sums of money both growing marketisation and globalisation have encouraged crime. Corporate
greed is resulted out of capitalism and a criminal activity within businesses is led by it.
Opportunities for crimes, like, insider trading have increased due to the deregulation of financial
markets. The opportunities for different kinds of crime based directly upon consumer societies
and growth of market have also been increased due to marketisation and globalisation. For
example, the fraud related to insurance by salespeople and claimants. Based on work more
incentives and opportunities have been created due to changing patterns of work. The
employment of individuals that are fraudulent benefit claimers and who are working illegally is
encouraged by subcontracting. It often happens in building, food and clothing industries. Other
crimes are related to changing nature of unemployment and employment. In capitalist societies a
fundamental shift was recognized in patterns of employment. Substantial job losses were
experienced by both public sector employment and mass manufacturing areas. A double-dip
recession was faced by the UK economy in year 2011 due to this the unemployment almost
certainly got increased. During the economic gloom, a better position was gained by those with
technical and modern skills. However, difficulties were faced by those with dated skills. Also, at
that span of time in search of larger and cheaper source of labour, some multi-national
corporations also moved out of the United Kingdom. Joblessness clearly has massively
destructive effects on the self-respect of communities and individuals. The greater the
cumulative effects the longer are the high levels of unemployment. Higher levels of
unemployment result in several theft offences, like, burglary, vehicle theft, and other theft of
property. In the CSEW between 2011-2012 and 2004-2005 the underlying trend in domestic
burglary remained fairly flat. In comparison to previous year, a decrease of 12% was reported by
incidents of domestic burglary for the year ending on 14
th
March 2014.

Graph # 04- From 1981 to 2013-2014 the Trends in CSEW Domestic Burglary


Table # 02 - Number, Rate and Percentage of Incidents of CSEW Burglary
In comparison to previous year, in year ending on March 2014, there was a decrease of 1% in
non-domestic burglary (for instance, those against businesses) and 7% in domestic burglary (for
instance, those against inhabited dwellings) in accordance to the police recorded crime statistics.
Table # 03 - Rate and Number of Offences of Police Recorded Burglary
Table # 04 - Percentage Change in Police Recorded Burglary
In comparison to previous year, a decrease of 8% was witnessed by thefts related to vehicle, in
accordance to the estimates of CSEW. Since the mid-1990s the rate of reduction in vehicle
offences has been striking and this is due to improvements in vehicle security. Since the survey
began in year 1981, the lowest number recorded of vehicle-related theft was in 2013-2014, i.e.,
934,000 vehicle-related thefts.

Graph # 05 - From 1981 to 2013-2014 the Trends in CSEW Vehicle-Related Theft

Table # 05 - Percentage, Rate and Number of Incidents of CSEW Vehicle Offences
In comparison to previous year, a fall of 4% was shown in the year ending on 14
th
March by the
police recorded crime category of both commercial and private vehicles.
Table # 06 - Rate and Number of Offences of Police Recorded Vehicle Offences
Other theft of property was also measured by police recorded crime and CSEW. Shoplifting,
bicycle theft, theft from the person and all other theft offences were categories present in police
recorded crime. Bicycle theft, theft from the person, other household theft and other theft of
personal property were categories in the CSEW. In comparison to previous year, there was no
statistic significant change shown by the theft from the person in year ending on 14
th
March
2014. In comparison to previous year, there was a decrease of 24% in other household theft in
year ending on 14
th
March 2014.

Graph # 07 - From 1981 to 2013-2014 the Trends in CSEW Theft from the Person and
other Household Theft
According to the survey ending on 14
th
March 2014, around 950,000 incidents of other theft of
personal property were estimated by the CSEW. In comparison to previous survey year the
apparent decrease of 1% was not statically significant. In comparison to 2004-2005 the
underlying trend of theft of personal property has been fairly flat in recent years. In comparison
to previous year a decrease of 17% was shown by incidents of bicycle theft this year. In this year,
shoplifting accounted for 9% of all police recorded crime. In comparison to previous years an
increase of 7% was witnessed and around 321,008 offences related to shopliftings were recorded
by the police. In comparison to 2012-2013 there were 20,385 shoplifting offences that took place
across Wales and England. In comparison to previous year, a decrease of 6% was shown this
year by other theft offences. In comparison to 546,127 offences of the previous year, around
512,753 offences were found this year.

Graph # 08 - From 2002-2003 to 2013-2014 the Trends in Police Recorded all other Theft
Offences


Table # 07 - Percentage, Rate and Number of Incidents of CSEW other Theft of Property

Table # 08 - Rate and Number of Offences of Police Recorded Other Theft
2.6 Most Famous Rape and Murder Cases and the Reasons for them
2.7.1 The Case of Colin Pitchfork
Colin Pitchfork is a convicted British rapist and murderer. He was the first person who got
caught due to mass DNA screening and was the first person who was convicted of a crime based
on DNA fingerprinting evidence. Two girls were murdered and raped by Pitchfork in July 1986
and November 1983. He raped and murdered Lynda Mann who was a fifteen-year-old girl on
21
st
November 1983. On 31
st
July 1986 he raped and murdered Dawn Ashworth, who was also a
fifteen-year old girl. On 19
th
September 1987, he was arrested at his home in Haybarn Close. The
main reason behind these murders was Colins compulsion of flashing females over 1000 times
in his early teens. Sexual assault was led by flashing and then in order to protect his identity he
used to strangle his victims. After admitting both murders on 22
nd
January 1988 he was
sentenced to life imprisonment and concurrent terms for murder and rape for 30 years.
2.7.2 The Cases of Child Murder and Abuse
The criminal history of the United Kingdom has been shaped by the early lives and conviction of
some of the most dangerous and prolific serial child killers and child abusers. In the nineteenth
century, Amelia Dyer murdered around four-hundred babies and was dubbed as a prolific serial
killer and Angel Make. Unmarried mothers who have to leave their children in safe hands were
the main prey of Amelia Dyer. With dressmaking tape she used to strangle the helpless infants
and then used to dump their bodies in the River Thames. With apparent impunity she conducted
her grisly trade for over thirty years.
Rosemary and Fred West are probably the most notorious British serial killers of recent history.
For over a twenty-year period they murdered, raped, tortured and abducted an unknown number
of women. Under their home at 25
th
Cromwell Street, Gloucester they buried many of their
victims. Before being brought to face charges of murdering twelve people involving his eldest
daughter and first wife, Fred West eventually committed suicide. In year 1995 Rose West was
convicted of ten murders.
Nurse Beverley Allit was another notorious serial killer who carried out attacks between year
1991 and year 1993. At that span of time, she was suffering from Munchausen syndrome by
(MSbP) which is a psychological illness. For causing grievous bodily harm to six children,
attempting to murder another and for murdering of four children at Grantham and Kesteven
hospital in Lincolnshire, Allitt was given thirteen life sentences in year 1993.
A 12-year old school girl, named Tia Sharp was murdered by Stuart Hazell who brutally
suffocated and molested her. She was the granddaughter of this partner. Before stashing the
corpse of the 12-year-old naked girl in the loft and dressing it in pyjamas, she even took a
photograph. 5-year-old April Jones was abducted and murdered by Mark Bridger. Bridger was
revealed as a child killer and a paedophile.
An 8-year-old Ivorian girl, named Victoria Adjo Climbe was tortured and murdered by her
guardians in year 2000 in London, England. The life of Victoria was tragic and short. She was
forced to sleep naked in a bath and was starved, beaten and tied in a bin bag filled with her
excrement. With one hundred and twenty-eight injuries she died in year 2000. In order to save
Victoria, twelve chances were missed by social workers. A major change in Englands child
protection policies and public inquiry was led by Victorias death.
Two of the most demonised figures of Britain were Moors murdered Myra Hindley and Ian
Brady. They both were given indefinite life sentences. In the 1960s they attacked five small
children whom they later disposed of on bleak Saddleworth Moor of Manchester. Outrage was
continuously caused by this case and the entire nation got scandalised by it. In year 1987 they
confessed to kill five children.
2.8 The Perspective about UK by the World with regards to these Crimes
2.8.1 Murder
In year 2004, around 490,000 deaths from intentional murder were reported by the data
previously published by the United Nations on Crime and Drug. In year 2004, a world average
murder rate of 7.6 per 100,000 population was represented. Below mentioned graph shows the
average intentional murder rate in terms of public health data, criminal justice, and sub-region. In
each sub-region an average of a limited set of countries is shown. However, it is important to
note that on this wider set of countries the calculated average rates will be different. Only those
countries are selected within this graph those who have at least one public health value and one
criminal justice for intentional murders.

Graph # 09 - Average Intentional Murders Rate by Public Health Data, Criminal Justice,
and Sub-Region
With reasonable agreement between public health and criminal justice data, low murder levels in
countries in North America, Asia and Europe were shown in countries in North America, Asia
and Europe. Through a focus on evidence-led policing and crime prevention, low murder rates
under two per 100,000 population has been achieved by countries in Europe. Rates of 2.5 per
100,000 population has been shown by countries in Western and Northern Europe. In
comparison to this rate from this level up to around per 100,000 is shown by countries in Eastern
Europe.

Graph # 10 - Rate of Murders per 100,000 Population Europe Region
2.8.2 Rape
The calculation of rape is done on basis of 100,000 populations in the data of UN-CTS. The
highest recorded rape rates are gained by North America, Oceania and Southern Africa and the
lowest by Asia. There are large differences between the regions. In the highest quartile the
differences between the rape rates of individual countries are large which identified a broader
definition of rape in North America. For example, in comparison to the European countries,
sexual assaults are included in metadata of Canada.

Graph # 11 - Rapes per 100,000 Population in year 2006

Graph # 12 - The Countries above the Third Quartile according to the Rape Rate Recorded
by Police
The developed countries are missing from the lowest quartile. Since some of these developing
countries have been suffered from internal conflicts and also been recently in a state of war,
therefore, they have zero rates of rape. In comparison to other countries, rape may not be
recorded in similar way by these countries. There is an increasing trend in rape. In year 1996, the
rapes in the United States and Canada were most frequent. However, by year 2006 they have
decreased but this has indicated that the rates are levelling off and the rates have increased in
other countries.

Table # 09 - Trends in Rape (N=49)

Graph # 13 - Trend of Rape in Selected Countries
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research methodology adopted within this study is secondary research. Therefore, it involves
the synthesis, collation and/or summary of existing research. Government statistics, journals and
books based on law, crime and society and previous research reports were the main secondary
resources that were used throughout the study. Both external and internal sources of secondary
data were utilized within this study. Data was first collected from Google search engine by using
key words, such as, crime, crime in UK, crime rates, crime rates in UK, rape, murder, sexual
offences, sexual offences in UK, violent crimes, violent crimes in UK, sexual abuse, sexual
abuses in UK, sexual violence, sexual violence in UK, victims of crime, police, UK police,
police recorded crimes, police unrecorded offences, changes in UK law, changes in UK society,
fluctuation within UK crimes, cases of murder in UK, and cases of rape in UK. Much of the
graphical representations, tables and statistics of UK crime rate and trends, number, volume
changes, percentage of incidents, police recorded and unrecorded offences was gained from the
crime and justice section of website statistics.gov.uk was accessed. It provided statistics related
to justice and crime that were collected from several justice agencies, police forces and the
public. The statistics were related to the perceptions and experiences of general public related to
crime. The functioning of the justice system, the work of the police and types of crime were
involved within the statistics. Many different aspects of criminal justice system and aspects of
crime were measured by these statistics of crime and justice. Criminal careers and re-offending,
the outcomes and the operation of the courts in the criminal justice system, the exercise of police
powers and police staffing, police recorded crime and crime as measured by the British Crime
Survey (BCS) were the areas that were analysed under the section of justice and crime. The high-
profile issues within the civil justice system were also highlighted by the statistics. Data for
Wales and England was produced by the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office. However, the
data for Northern Ireland and Scotland was produced by the devolved administrations.
Offenders, justice, police and crime trends were four main topics that were addressed under the
crime and justice section of the website. Under the topic of offenders, five areas were addressed,
i.e., mentally disordered offences, criminal careers and re-offending, prison, probation, and
sentencing. Under the topic of justice, four areas were addressed, i.e., family and civil justice,
public experiences and attitudes, the judiciary and criminal justice. Under the topic of police the
three main areas that were addressed attitudes of policing, police resources and personnel and
police activity. Under the topic of crime trends, five main areas that were addressed were anti-
social behaviour and criminal damage, victims of crime, drug crime, property crime and sexual
and violence crime. Furthermore, the data was collected from news sources, published research
reports, country information and different electronic databases. Six electronic databases were
accessed in order to collective data for the study were Google Scholar, National Criminal Justice
Reference Service Abstracts Database (NCJRS), JSTOR, ProQuest, Emerald, EBSCO host,
Google Books and SAGE. Research reports based on crime, crime in UK, crime rates, crime
rates in UK, rape, murder, sexual offences, sexual offences in UK, violent crimes, violent crimes
in UK, sexual abuse, sexual abuses in UK, sexual violence, sexual violence in UK, victims of
crime, police, UK police, police recorded crimes, police unrecorded crimes, changes in UK law,
changes in UK society, fluctuation within UK crimes, cases of murder in UK, and cases of rape
in UK were accessed from these electronic databases.

References
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