There were approximately 1.94 million violence against the person crime offences recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2024/25, compared with almost 2.01 million offences in the previous reporting year. The number of recorded violent crime offences in England and Wales has increased considerably in the last decade, with only around 600,000 violent crimes recorded in 2013/14. Other types of crime climbing After falling to relatively low levels in the mid-2010s, overall crime in England and Wales has been increasing at a substantial rate. From 62 crimes per 1,000 people in 2013/14, the crime rate shot up to a peak of 93.5 by 2022/23. The sharp uptick in the number of sexual offences recorded by the police accounts for part of this rise, with the number of sexual offences increasing from just over 64,000 in 2013/14 to almost 195,000 in 2022/23. While overall theft crime has gradually fallen in a similar time period, there has been a recent spike in shoplifting offences, with almost 444,000 incidents recorded in 2023/24, compared with 342,200 in 2022/23. Prisons under pressure The increase in violent and sexual crime offences, which typically result in longer sentences for offenders, has added to the problem of overcrowding at prisons in England and Wales. With prisons dangerously close to capacity in 2024, the government even released thousands of prisoners early that September. Prisons in England and Wales are also increasingly violent, for both staff and inmates, with assaults on staff reaching a high of over 2,700 incidents in the third quarter of 2024. Incidences of self-harm have also increased rapidly, from around 5,700 in early 2014 to almost 20,000 ten years later.

Data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on violence with and without injury, and harassment, and police recorded crime on violence against the person and sexual offences.

In the 2024/25 reporting year, West Yorkshire reported the highest violent crime rate among police force areas of England and Wales, at 47.9 violent crimes per 1,000 people.

Annual data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), including when and where incidents happened and the victim's perception of the incident.

There were ******* violent crime offences recorded by the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police Forces in London in 2024/25, a decrease when compared with the previous reporting year. From a low of ******* violent crimes in 2015/16, violent crime has increased almost every year. This reflects a pattern of increasing violent crime replicated across England and Wales as a whole, with a peak of *** million offences reported in 2022/23. Overall offences also rising The overall crime figures for London also show a trend of increasing crime in the UK capital. In 2015/16 for example, there were ******* crimes recorded in London, compared to ******* in 2024/25. This follows a similar pattern seen in England and Wales, which has witnessed an uptick in crime after reaching historic lows in the mid-2010s. In 2013/14 for example, there were approximately ** crimes per 100,000 people in England and Wales, compared with *****in 2024/25. By contrast, in Scotland, and in Northern Ireland, crimes rates have remained broadly similar to the mid-2010s. Police budgets rising again Due to the austerity policies enacted by UK governments in the 2010s, the amount the UK government spent on the police was effectively frozen between 2013/14 and 2016/17. This policy has since been reversed, with the overall UK police budget reaching **** billion pounds in 2024/25, compared with 16.4 billion in 2016/17. The amount budgeted for the Metropolitan Police by the Mayor of London for 2025/26 was **** billion British pounds, a significant increase on the **** billion budgeted in 2018/19, but slightly lower than in 2024/25.

In 2024/25, London had the highest homicide rate of any region of the United Kingdom, at **** homicides per million people, followed by the East Midlands at **** homicides per million people. Scotland had a homicide rate of **** homicides per million people in the 2023/24 reporting year. On a more local level, and when just looking at England and Wales, London's homicide rate was however below that of four other police force areas during this time period. Are homicides declining in the UK? When compared with the early 2000s, there are far fewer homicides across the UK. In England and Wales, the number of homicides has fallen from ***** in 2002/03, to *** in 2024/25. In Scotland, homicides fell from *** to ** in the same time period, while in Northern Ireland, there were ** homicides in 2023/24, compared with ** in 2002/23. This decline was not consistent, however, with a noticeable uptick in homicides towards the end of the 2010s, particulary in England and Wales. As whole though, homicide rates across all three legal jurisdictions in the UK are far lower than twenty years earlier. Types of crimes rising in 2025 Although homicides have fallen to relatively low levels in 2024/25, overall crime remains quite high. Types of crime that have increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic in particular include shoplifting which reached a peak of ******* offences in England and Wales in 2024/25. Although overall thefts have fallen, theft from the person offences (such as pickpocketing or snatching of property) reached a high of ******* offences in the same reporting year. Sexual offences also peaked in 2024/25, reaching ******* offences, compared with ****** in 2012/13.

Police recorded crime figures by Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership areas (which equate in the majority of instances, to local authorities).

In 2024/25, there were 26,617 crimes against public justice recorded by the police in Scotland, the highest figure for this type of crime since 2011/12, when there were 26,635 crimes of this type recorded.

This measure will focus on the number of recorded most serious violent crimes against the resident population (per 1,000 population).

Data from the Focus on Violent Crime and Sexual Offences, Compendium on the Crime Survey for England and Wales and police recorded crime.

This statistic shows violent crimes and sexual offences in England and Wales (UK) from 2001/02 to 2018/19, by the offender's relation to the victim. In 2018/19, there were more violent offences commited by strangers than acquaintances. To see the number of domestic violence incidents click here.

Black people were over twice as likely to be arrested as white people – there were 20.4 arrests for every 1,000 black people, and 9.4 for every 1,000 white people.

Trends in Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) crime and Home Office police recorded crime for England and Wales, by offence type. Also includes more detailed data on crime such as violence, fraud and anti-social behaviour.

Notifiable offences recorded by the police: Violence against the person. Data4NR reference

Police recorded crime statistics on the levels and trends in detections and detection rates in England & Wales.

Ratios of PRC aligned violent crime to CSEW violent crime.

There were 15,253 fraud crimes recorded by the police in Scotland in 2024/25, a slight fall on the previous year, but a significant increase compared with previous reporting years, such as in 2019/20 when there were 11,939 of these offences.

Recorded crime figures for CSP areas. Number of offences for the last two years, percentage change, and rates per 1,000 population for the latest year.