Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

This teaching dataset is based on the Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2017-2018 (CSEW) (held by the UK Data Service under SN 8464). It contains data for all 34,715 cases from the CSEW 2017-2018 (adult non-victim form dataset) for a selection of variables.

The data contains 114 variables covering the following topics:

• demographic details
• perceptions of crime
• experience of crime
• antisocial behaviour
• attitudes towards the Criminal Justice System

Most variables are individual variables, and require individual based analysis. Household-level variables include the number of adults (nadults) and children (nchil2). There is a mix of discrete and continuous variables. A full list of variable names, labels and frequency distributions in the teaching dataset are provided in the user guide. The documentation for the main CSEW 2017-2018 (SN 8464) includes a copy of the questionnaire.

In the 2022/23 reporting year Greater Manchester Police reported 11,827 sexual crime offences, compared with 11,613 in the previous year. During this time period, the number of sexual crimes reported was highest in the most recent year.

The crime rate in London was 105.8 crime offences per thousand people for the 2023/24 reporting year, compared with 100.9 in the previous year. Between 2015/16 and 2019/20 the crime rate in the UK capital increased in every reporting year, with the sudden drop seen in 2019/20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing a sharp reduction in certain types of crime such as robbery and theft. Police record over 938,00 crimes in 2023/24 The number of crimes reported by the police in London was 938,020 in 2023/24, compared with 887,870 in the previous reporting year. Although there was a slight dip in overall recorded crime in the aftermath of the pandemic, this was not the case for violent crimes which have risen consistently. One positive is that the number of homicide offences in 2023/24 has remained beneath the 159 reported in 2017/18. Additionally, the Metropolitan Police force area has a lower crime rate than many of the UK's other major police forces, such as West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside. Police recruitment drive ends era of cuts   The rise in crime in London happened alongside a decline in both personnel and funding for the London Metropolitan Police. Compared with 2010 for example, there were around 3,000 fewer police officers in 2018, while annual funding was reduced to around 3.3 billion pounds between 2013/14 and 2018/19, compared with 3.62 billion in 2012/13. These cuts were due to the policy of austerity that was implemented by the UK government during that time period, but this has recently been replaced by pledges to increase spending and to recruit more police. In 2023/24, the budget for the Metropolitan Police was 4.53 billion pounds, while the number of officers in 2023 increased to around 34,900.

In the 2022/23 reporting year Greater Manchester Police reported 12,131 drug crime offences, compared with 7,560 in the previous year. During this time period, the number of theft crimes reported was highest in the 2016/17 reporting year.

In 2023/24 there were 116 homicide offences recorded in London, the most of any region of the United Kingdom during that time period. North West England, which includes the large city of Manchester had 71 homicides, and had the second-highest number of homicides. In the same reporting period, the constituent countries of Northern Ireland and Wales reported the fewest homicides, at 24 each. Homicides in the UK falling despite recent uptick Since 2002/03, all three jurisdictions of the UK; England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, have seen their homicide rates fall, with Scotland seeing the steepest decline. The most significant decline in homicides in this period occurred between 2002/03 and 2014/15, which saw the annual number of homicides in England and Wales half from over 1,000 to 500. This trend was suddenly reversed from 2015/16 onwards, with homicides rising to around 700 per year between 2016/17 and 2019/20. While homicides fell back to 583 in 2023/24, it remains to be seen if this pattern will continue. Knives used in almost half of all murders In 2022/23 a knife or other sharp instrument was used in over 41 percent of all murders in England and Wales, making this, by far, the most common method of killing in that reporting year. The overall number of knife homicides reached 244 in 2022/23, compared with 282 in the previous year, and just above the 281 reported in 2017/18. Firearm homicides were much rarer than knife homicides, with 29 taking place in the same reporting year, and homicides caused by shooting only accounting for 4.9 percent of homicides overall.

In the 2022/23 reporting year Greater Manchester Police reported 32,703 criminal damage and arson crime offences, compared with 33,517 in the previous year. During this time period, the number of arson crimes reported was highest in the 2016/17 reporting year.

In the 223/24 reporting year, the Cleveland police force reported a homicide rate of 22.4 homicides per million people, the highest among the provided police force areas in England in that year

In the 2022/23 reporting year Greater Manchester Police reported 101,230 theft crime offences, compared with 102,392 in the previous year. During this time period, the number of theft crimes reported was highest in the 2017/18 reporting year.

There were 930,398 crimes recorded by the Metropolitan Police in London in 2023/24, the most of any police force area in England and Wales. Greater Manchester Police reported 342,652 crimes, while West Midlands police recorded 328,180, making these police forces the second and third-highest in terms of crime recorded.

This statistic shows the ten cities with the highest car crime rate in Great Britain in 2011 and 2012. Manchester clearly has the highest car crime rate in the country, however, cities like Manchester, London and Birmingham are particularly big. Bradford is not a particularly big city, but it has a very high car crime rate. The national average was only 121 cars stolen per 10 thousand registered which is stark contrast with the ten cities in the list.