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Royal Statistical Society Meeting of the Social Statistics Sections 15th May 2012, 5pm Royal Statistical Society, London. 12 Errol Street, London, EC1Y 8LX “The International Crime Drop” A meeting of the Social Statistics Sections will take place on 15th May 2012 at 5pm with tea/coffee from 4.30pm. Speakers are: Nick Tilley, University College London Andromachi Tseloni, Nottingham Trent University Jan Van Dijk, Tilburg University, Netherlands In the last ten to twenty years crime rates have dramatically and unexpectedly fallen both in the UK and with few exceptions across the western world. Rather surprisingly the international overall crime drop continues to be a major puzzle in criminology. The generalised nature of the drop and the variations in trend across different crimes suggest that they have been triggered by changes in criminal opportunities and routine activities that occurred cross-nationally rather than changes in the criminal justice system or legislation which by nature are limited within national boundaries. The presentations will focus on important findings from a forthcoming edited book on the crime drop and will draw on data from the International Crime Victims Survey (ICVS) and other international data sources include the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on homicide rates and the European Sourcebook on police recorded rates. Observed and estimated crime rate trends will be presented and their implications discussed. Dramatic changes in routine activities in society that opened up crime opportunities and reduced risks explained the crime increases since the Second World War. The same perspective can also be applied to help explain the recent crime drops as well as the variations in trend and their timing across different crime types. The session will be chaired by Chris Kershaw from the Home Office who will also discuss some specific findings from England and Wales due to be published in the book that may help to explain the divergence between crime trends and some public attitudes. Allan Brimicombe from East London University, who is also chair of the Crime and Justice Statistics Network, will act as the discussant. Attendance is free and open to all, but pre-registration is recommended. You can register by email [log in to unmask] or by phone (020) 7638 8998. For further information about the meeting contact Chris Kershaw ([log in to unmask]). For directions see www.rss.org.uk/findus. You may leave the list at any time by sending the command SIGNOFF allstat to [log in to unmask], leaving the subject line blank.