More Home Office figures which nobody trusts
The Daily Telegraph has Yet Another Example of Home Office Figures Which Nobody Trusts:
It is time to call for the breakup and re-organisation of this ailing Government Department, which is simply not doing the job which it claims to be doing on our behalf, and is trying to mislead the public:
Official figures on crime and drink just don't add up By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor (Filed: 09/02/2006)The Home Office was under fire last night after publishing statistics purporting to show that violent crime fell in the weeks after pubs were allowed to extend opening hours.
The Tories accused ministers of spinning "bogus" figures to justify the reforms and the Statistics Commission, an independent watchdog set up to ensure that Government figures are trustworthy, said it was concerned about the way they had been compiled and released.
But the exercise again called into question the use of statistics by the Home Office. They did not conform to any recognised methodology and were also leaked to certain media outlets for maximum political impact.It was impossible to tell from the figures whether alcohol-related violence had fallen or whether more police on the streets had pushed down offences.
Yet this did not stop ministers from hailing the figures as a vindication of their policies.
In December, a report from the Statistics Commission said the Home Office should be stripped of responsibility for publishing crime statistics because public trust had been eroded, partly by departmental manipulation of their timing and context.
That call by the independent Statistics Commission was prompted by the cynical political manipulation and the selective leaking of the official crime statistics before they were officially published last July.
Who trusts Home Office crime statistics ? Nobody, according to the Statistics Commission
This latest incident strengthens that case even further.
After the criticism, Mr Clarke set up a review of crime statistics that is due to report in the summer.Richard Alldritt, the chief executive of the Statistics Commission, said: "We are concerned about the way in which the figures are coming out and would like to see a proper statistical statement."
Together with the failure of the Home Office present truthful and accurate financial accounts to the National Audit Office
Home Office accounting system scandal - the legacy of Sir John Gieve and David Blunkett ?
and their repeated lies about the extent of Identity Fraud as a justification for their ID Card scheme,
Andy Burnham's "£1.7 billon identity fraud" figure is as false as the previous £1.3 billion one
how can there be any public confidence in Home Office figures ?
If a private sector organisation had this track record, then there would be resignations of directors and possible criminal prosecutions.