While the overall homicide rate in England and Wales might surprise you at just 9.7 victims per million population, the disturbing prevalence of knives, with 41% of murders committed by a sharp instrument and over 50,000 such offences recorded annually, reveals a more complex and violent picture of British crime today.
Key Takeaways
- In the year ending March 2023, there were 580 homicides recorded by police in England and Wales, equivalent to a rate of 9.7 victims per million population
- For the year ending March 2023, 41% of homicide victims were killed by a sharp instrument in England and Wales
- In 2022/23, there were 50,510 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument recorded by police in England and Wales
- In year ending March 2023, theft offences totalled 1,265,000 in England and Wales, up 12%
- Vehicle thefts reached 289,000 in year ending March 2023, highest since 2008/09
- In 2022/23, burglary offences fell 4% to 243,000 in England and Wales
- In year ending March 2023, 193,000 sexual offences were recorded by police in England and Wales, up 19%
- Rape offences totalled 67,000 in year ending March 2023, a 25% increase
- In 2022/23, 70% of police-recorded sexual offences were against females
- Drug offences totalled 132,000 in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales, up 13%
- Possession of cannabis offences were 85,000 in year ending March 2023
- In 2022/23, 24,000 drug supply offences recorded across England and Wales
- Fraud and cyber crime totalled 3.5 million incidents per CSEW year ending March 2023
- Fraud losses estimated at £5.5 billion in year ending March 2023
- Computer misuse offences reached 11,600 in year ending March 2023, up 6%
Knife violence remains a major issue in British crime statistics.
Drug Offences
- Drug offences totalled 132,000 in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales, up 13%
- Possession of cannabis offences were 85,000 in year ending March 2023
- In 2022/23, 24,000 drug supply offences recorded across England and Wales
- Class A drug offences reached 48,000 in year ending March 2023
- In London, drug crimes numbered 35,000 in 2022/23
- 78% of drug offences were possession only in year ending March 2023
- Cocaine possession arrests up 20% to 12,000 in 2022/23
- In West Midlands, drug trafficking offences 4,500 in year ending March 2023
- Heroin and crack cocaine offences totalled 15,000 in year ending March 2023
- Drug seizure value reached £3.5 billion in 2022/23 financial year
- In Greater Manchester, cannabis offences 10,000 in 2022/23
- 1 in 5 homicides linked to drug activity in year ending March 2023
- County lines drug operations dismantled 1,200 in 2022/23
- In South Yorkshire, drug offences up 15% to 6,000 in 2022/23
- Opium possession offences numbered 2,000 in year ending March 2023
- Drug driving offences totalled 65,000 in 2022
- In Cleveland, drug crime rate 12 per 1,000 in 2022/23
- Synthetic opioids seized 500kg in 2022/23 operations
- In Merseyside, drug supply convictions 1,200 in 2022/23
- 40% of drug offenders reoffended within a year in 2021 cohort
- Khat offences declined 50% to 1,000 in year ending March 2023
Drug Offences Interpretation
While the headlines trumpet a £3.5 billion drug seizure victory and the dismantling of 1,200 county lines, the grim reality is that we remain utterly consumed by a Sisyphean war on drugs, where possession offences for less harmful substances like cannabis clog the courts, reoffending rates mock our deterrents, and our streets are still blighted by a tragic and intimate link between drug activity and one in five murders.
Fraud and Cybercrime
- Fraud and cyber crime totalled 3.5 million incidents per CSEW year ending March 2023
- Fraud losses estimated at £5.5 billion in year ending March 2023
- Computer misuse offences reached 11,600 in year ending March 2023, up 6%
- Authorised push payment fraud totalled 82,000 cases worth £485 million in 2022
- In 2022/23, 38% of fraud was impersonation scams
- Cyber crime reports to Action Fraud hit 800,000 in 2022/23
- Phishing attacks affected 300,000 victims per CSEW year ending March 2023
- Investment fraud losses £1.2 billion in 2022/23
- Hacking offences up 20% to 7,000 in year ending March 2023
- Romance scams totalled 23,000 reports worth £83 million in 2022/23
- 1 in 17 adults experienced fraud per CSEW year ending March 2023
- Email scams made up 25% of cyber crimes in 2022/23
- Advance fee fraud reports 15,000 in year ending March 2023
- DDoS attacks on UK businesses numbered 2 million in 2022
- Consumer fraud prevalence 5.2% of population per CSEW
- Malware incidents reported 250,000 to Action Fraud in 2022/23
- Online banking fraud losses £175 million in 2022
- Only 12% of fraud offences resulted in charge in 2022/23
- Cryptocurrency fraud up 300% to £229 million losses in 2022/23
- Business email compromise scams cost £30 million in 2022/23
Fraud and Cybercrime Interpretation
The sheer scale and variety of modern fraud, from £5.5 billion in losses to a 300% surge in cryptocurrency cons, suggests Britain’s criminals have enthusiastically pivoted to digital crime while the justice system, with a paltry 12% charge rate, is still loading the dial-up connection.
Property Crime
- In year ending March 2023, theft offences totalled 1,265,000 in England and Wales, up 12%
- Vehicle thefts reached 289,000 in year ending March 2023, highest since 2008/09
- In 2022/23, burglary offences fell 4% to 243,000 in England and Wales
- Shoplifting offences surged 26% to 312,000 in year ending March 2023
- In London, theft from the person offences numbered 85,000 in 2022/23
- Bike thefts totalled 74,000 in year ending March 2023, down 9%
- Criminal damage and arson offences were 524,000 in year ending March 2023
- In West Midlands, burglaries reached 25,000 in year ending March 2023
- Theft offences in retail settings rose 37% to 1.8 million per CSEW year ending March 2023
- In 2022/23, 48% of burglaries were residential in England and Wales
- Car thefts in England and Wales averaged 790 per day in year ending March 2023
- Agricultural equipment thefts totalled 2,500 incidents in 2022/23
- In Greater Manchester, theft offences hit 120,000 in 2022/23
- Purse dipping offences numbered 12,000 in year ending March 2023
- Burglary detection rate was 6.7% in year ending March 2023 England and Wales
- In South Yorkshire, shoplifting reached 15,000 offences in 2022/23
- Vehicle interference offences totalled 45,000 in year ending March 2023
- Theft from vehicles was 372,000 in CSEW estimates year ending March 2023
- In Cleveland, burglary rate was 8.5 per 1,000 households in 2022/23
- Metal thefts declined 20% to 3,000 in 2022/23 England and Wales
- In Merseyside, vehicle thefts numbered 18,000 in 2022/23
- Household burglary prevalence was 1.2% per CSEW year ending March 2023
- Theft of pedal cycles rate was 1.3 per 1,000 adults in year ending March 2023
- Commercial burglaries fell 15% to 70,000 in year ending March 2023
- In 2022/23, shoplifting charge rate was 12% in England and Wales
Property Crime Interpretation
While shoplifters grow ever more brazen and burglars oddly discreet, the criminals in both camps can likely agree on one thing: their odds of being caught remain comfortably, and troublingly, low.
Sexual Offences
- In year ending March 2023, 193,000 sexual offences were recorded by police in England and Wales, up 19%
- Rape offences totalled 67,000 in year ending March 2023, a 25% increase
- In 2022/23, 70% of police-recorded sexual offences were against females
- Sexual assault offences reached 110,000 in year ending March 2023 England and Wales
- Child sexual abuse offences numbered 85,000 in year ending March 2023
- In London, rape reports hit 9,000 in 2022/23 financial year
- 3.3% of adults experienced sexual assault per CSEW year ending March 2023 lifetime
- Domestic sexual offences made up 15% of total sexual crimes in 2022/23
- Rape charge rate was 2.6% for offences recorded in year ending March 2022
- In West Midlands, sexual offences totalled 12,000 in year ending March 2023
- Female victims aged 16-24 reported highest sexual offence rates in CSEW
- Grooming offences reached 7,500 in year ending March 2023 England and Wales
- In Greater Manchester, child sexual exploitation cases numbered 1,200 in 2022/23
- 87,000 sexual offences against under-16s recorded in year ending March 2023
- Sexual harassment prevalence was 2.4 million adults per CSEW year ending 2020
- In South Yorkshire, rape offences up 30% to 2,100 in 2022/23
- Only 16% of sexual offence victims were male in year ending March 2023
- Revenge porn offences totalled 2,500 in year ending March 2023
- In Cleveland, sexual crime rate 4.5 per 1,000 population in 2022/23
- Up-skirting offences numbered 1,200 since law change in 2019 to 2023
- In Merseyside, sexual assaults reached 5,000 in 2022/23
- 25% of sexual offences occurred online in CSEW estimates year ending 2020
- Sexual offence conviction rate was 1.5% for cases reaching court in 2022
- In year ending March 2023, indecent exposure offences up 24% to 10,000
Sexual Offences Interpretation
Behind these staggering numbers lies a grim and systemic truth: we have constructed a society where predators operate with near-impunity, victims are overwhelmingly female and young, and the journey from report to justice is a statistical miracle akin to being struck by lightning—twice.
Violent Crime
- In the year ending March 2023, there were 580 homicides recorded by police in England and Wales, equivalent to a rate of 9.7 victims per million population
- For the year ending March 2023, 41% of homicide victims were killed by a sharp instrument in England and Wales
- In 2022/23, there were 50,510 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument recorded by police in England and Wales
- Police recorded 20,000 knife-enabled crimes in the West Midlands police force area for year ending March 2023
- In year ending March 2023, robbery offences involving a knife or sharp instrument rose by 7% to 19,212 in England and Wales
- Homicides in London reached 109 in the year to September 2023, the lowest since 2014
- In 2022, there were 1,024,111 violence against the person offences recorded in England and Wales
- Assault with injury offences increased by 5% to 546,000 in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales
- In 2021/22, 73,675 grievous bodily harm with intent offences were recorded across England and Wales
- Domestic abuse-related violent crimes accounted for 19% of all police-recorded violent crime in year ending March 2023
- In year ending December 2022, 2,451,423 violent crimes were recorded in England and Wales
- Gun crime offences totalled 5,819 in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales
- In 2022/23, 109 firearms discharges were recorded in police operations in England and Wales
- Stranger homicides made up 24% of total homicides in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales
- In West Yorkshire, violent crime offences rose 12% to 142,000 in year ending March 2023
- Police recorded 98,000 public order offences involving violence in year ending March 2023 across England and Wales
- In 2022, 1 in 100 people in England and Wales experienced violent crime according to CSEW
- Youths aged 10-17 accounted for 15% of violent crime suspects in 2022/23
- In Greater Manchester, 112,000 violent crimes were recorded in 2022/23
- Racial violence offences totalled 15,000 in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales
- In year ending March 2023, 4,500 threats to kill were recorded by police in England and Wales
- Homicide victims under 1 year old numbered 12 in year ending March 2023
- In South Yorkshire, knife crime offences reached 3,200 in year ending March 2023
- Violent crime rate in Cleveland was 85 per 1,000 population in 2022/23
- In 2023, 25,000 possession of weapons offences were recorded England and Wales
- Domestic homicides totalled 102 in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales
- In Merseyside, violent crimes hit 70,000 in 2022/23 financial year
- Harassment offences rose 20% to 500,000 in CSEW year ending March 2023
- In year ending March 2023, 8% of violent crimes resulted in charge/summons
- Gang-related homicides were 19% of total in year ending March 2023
Violent Crime Interpretation
While the national homicide rate offers a veneer of reassurance, the persistent and often sharp-edged tide of violent crime—from domestic horrors to street-level threats—paints a starkly different and more troubling picture of daily life in many communities.
Sources & References
- Reference 1ONSons.gov.ukVisit source
- Reference 2GOVgov.ukVisit source
- Reference 3METmet.police.ukVisit source
- Reference 4WESTYORKSHIREwestyorkshire.police.ukVisit source
- Reference 5GMPgmp.police.ukVisit source
- Reference 6SOUTHYORKSHIREsouthyorkshire.police.ukVisit source
- Reference 7POLICEpolice.ukVisit source
- Reference 8MERSEYSIDEmerseyside.police.ukVisit source
- Reference 9WEST-MIDLANDSwest-midlands.police.ukVisit source
- Reference 10NFUONLINEnfuonline.comVisit source
- Reference 11ONSons.govVisit source
- Reference 12NATIONALCRIMEAGENCYnationalcrimeagency.gov.ukVisit source
- Reference 13UKFINANCEukfinance.org.ukVisit source
- Reference 14ACTIONFRAUDactionfraud.police.ukVisit source
- Reference 15NCSCncsc.gov.ukVisit source