The British Crime Survey (BCS) is based on interviews with individuals living in private households regarding incidents experienced by the survey respondents in the 12 months prior to their interview. For the survey year ending June 2004, the BCS had a nationally representative sample of 39,164 adults aged 16 and over living in private households in England and Wales with a response rate of 74 percent. Highlights from the recent survey include: 1) the risk of being a victim of crime decreased by 25 percent from the year ending June 2003 and is lower than it was in 1981, the year of the first BCS; 2) compared to June 2003, the 2004 survey showed significant decreases in vehicle thefts, all household crime, and all personal crime; 3) police statistics that showed a 14 percent increase in violence against the person for the period April-June 2004 as compared to the same period in the previous year appear to reflect the continuing effects of improved police recording of crime; 4) in the year to June 2004, there were a provisional 10,590 firearm offenses, representing a 3 percent increase compared to the previous year; 5) the BCS shows levels of worry about the main crime types have fallen compared with the previous year, as have the level of perceived anti-social behavior; and 6) levels of confidence in most aspects of the criminal justice system have improved compared to the previous year. 7 tables, 4 figures, and list of recent Home Office research and statistical publications on crime