The line graph compares proportions of three categories of criminal activity – car theft, house burglary and street robbery – across England and Wales between 1970 and 2000.
Overall, vehicle-related offences dominated throughout the period, rising sharply before declining towards the end. Domestic break-ins followed a similar but less dramatic trajectory, whereas incidents occurring in public spaces remained comparatively low and stable.
At the beginning of the timeframe, car theft stood at approximately 0.4 percent, before climbing steadily to reach a peak of around 1.4 percent in 1985. Thereafter, figures decreased progressively, finishing at roughly 0.8 percent by 2000. Burglary started at about 0.3 percent, increased gradually to nearly 0.6 percent in 1990, then fell moderately during the final decade. By contrast, street robbery fluctuated slightly within a narrow band, never exceeding 0.15 percent at any stage.
Taken together, data indicate that automobile crime experienced the most pronounced variation, while offences committed on streets showed minimal volatility over three decades.