Are we getting less violent as a nation – or even as a species? And is it a coincidence that we are drinking less booze? FactCheck investigates.
Mark Harper’s decision to stand down as immigration minister has been praised by everyone from the prime minister to opposing politicians. Did he do all he could to check his cleaner’s status?
Crime has fallen to an all-time low, according to the latest figures. The only problem is that no one seems to trust the figures. Can FactCheck help?
Siobhan Kennedy
As another telecoms company asks whether the data mining programme Dishfire has been harvesting information from its customers, questions over the role of British agents begin to mount.
The future of the Police Federation hinges on the details of an independent report – described as “dynamite” by one insider – which will call for major changes to the way the organisation is run.
The crime statistics for England and Wales are based on “unreliable” data says the National Statistics Authority. What is the public to believe when the government claims crime is going down?
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling is asked to launch an inquiry into why an electronic tagging system operated by G4S malfunctioned, leading to four men being wrongly accused of tampering with their tags.
People behave better when they’re being watched. But will fitting all UK police officers with tiny head cameras really improve trust in policing?
How can crime figures continue to tumble even as the economy flatlines and police numbers fall? FactCheck finds out.
As MPs call for tougher knife laws, David Cameron insists the government is already cracking down. FactCheck investigates.
Boris Johnson has promised to “keep police numbers high” in the capital. But FactCheck discovers that officer strength is really at a five-year low.
Chris Grayling has urged greater use of cautions for rapists. Would that work? FactCheck finds out.
The effect of all this is to artificially make it look like there has been a real increase in neighbourhood policing.
There are no hard statistics available on outcomes yet, which means we effectively have to take the minister’s word for it.
“The Met’s budget shortfall accounts for the lion’s share of a £302m gap nationally. It’s not clear where the money will come from and more job losses can’t be ruled out.”