British crime data for the year ending March 2023 paints a worrying mix of spikes and shifts, from 132,000 drug offences in England and Wales and 289,000 vehicle thefts, the highest since 2008 to 243,000 burglaries that fell 4%. Meanwhile, fraud and cyber crime reached 3.5 million incidents and sexual offences climbed sharply, with rape up 25% and 580 homicides recorded. The pattern is not just about what is rising, but about how quickly the pressures are changing across different types of crime.
Key Takeaways
- 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%
- 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
- 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
England and Wales saw rising drug, fraud and serious violence, with sharp instrument killings and vehicle theft surging.
Related reading
01 · Category
Drug Offences21 stats
01
Drug offences totalled 132,000 in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales, up 13%
02
Possession of cannabis offences were 85,000 in year ending March 2023
03
In 2022/23, 24,000 drug supply offences recorded across England and Wales
04
Class A drug offences reached 48,000 in year ending March 2023
05
In London, drug crimes numbered 35,000 in 2022/23
06
78% of drug offences were possession only in year ending March 2023
07
Cocaine possession arrests up 20% to 12,000 in 2022/23
08
In West Midlands, drug trafficking offences 4,500 in year ending March 2023
09
Heroin and crack cocaine offences totalled 15,000 in year ending March 2023
10
Drug seizure value reached £3.5 billion in 2022/23 financial year
11
In Greater Manchester, cannabis offences 10,000 in 2022/23
12
1 in 5 homicides linked to drug activity in year ending March 2023
13
County lines drug operations dismantled 1,200 in 2022/23
14
In South Yorkshire, drug offences up 15% to 6,000 in 2022/23
15
Opium possession offences numbered 2,000 in year ending March 2023
16
Drug driving offences totalled 65,000 in 2022
17
In Cleveland, drug crime rate 12 per 1,000 in 2022/23
18
Synthetic opioids seized 500kg in 2022/23 operations
19
In Merseyside, drug supply convictions 1,200 in 2022/23
20
40% of drug offenders reoffended within a year in 2021 cohort
21
Khat offences declined 50% to 1,000 in year ending March 2023
Interpretation
Drug Offences Interpretation
In the year ending March 2023, drug offences in England and Wales rose to 132,000, with cannabis possession accounting for 85,000 and 78% of cases being possession only, showing a clear shift toward drug possession within this offence category.
02 · Category
Fraud And Cybercrime20 stats
01
Fraud and cyber crime totalled 3.5 million incidents per CSEW year ending March 2023
02
Fraud losses estimated at £5.5 billion in year ending March 2023
03
Computer misuse offences reached 11,600 in year ending March 2023, up 6%
04
Authorised push payment fraud totalled 82,000 cases worth £485 million in 2022
05
In 2022/23, 38% of fraud was impersonation scams
06
Cyber crime reports to Action Fraud hit 800,000 in 2022/23
07
Phishing attacks affected 300,000 victims per CSEW year ending March 2023
08
Investment fraud losses £1.2 billion in 2022/23
09
Hacking offences up 20% to 7,000 in year ending March 2023
10
Romance scams totalled 23,000 reports worth £83 million in 2022/23
11
1 in 17 adults experienced fraud per CSEW year ending March 2023
12
Email scams made up 25% of cyber crimes in 2022/23
13
Advance fee fraud reports 15,000 in year ending March 2023
14
DDoS attacks on UK businesses numbered 2 million in 2022
15
Consumer fraud prevalence 5.2% of population per CSEW
16
Malware incidents reported 250,000 to Action Fraud in 2022/23
17
Online banking fraud losses £175 million in 2022
18
Only 12% of fraud offences resulted in charge in 2022/23
19
Cryptocurrency fraud up 300% to £229 million losses in 2022/23
20
Business email compromise scams cost £30 million in 2022/23
Interpretation
Fraud And Cybercrime Interpretation
Fraud and cybercrime accounted for 3.5 million incidents per CSEW year ending March 2023 with losses of £5.5 billion, and the scale is mirrored in the cyber and fraud reporting pipeline where Action Fraud received 800,000 cyber crime reports in 2022 to 2023.
03 · Category
Property Crime25 stats
01
In year ending March 2023, theft offences totalled 1,265,000 in England and Wales, up 12%
02
Vehicle thefts reached 289,000 in year ending March 2023, highest since 2008/09
03
In 2022/23, burglary offences fell 4% to 243,000 in England and Wales
04
Shoplifting offences surged 26% to 312,000 in year ending March 2023
05
In London, theft from the person offences numbered 85,000 in 2022/23
06
Bike thefts totalled 74,000 in year ending March 2023, down 9%
07
Criminal damage and arson offences were 524,000 in year ending March 2023
08
In West Midlands, burglaries reached 25,000 in year ending March 2023
09
Theft offences in retail settings rose 37% to 1.8 million per CSEW year ending March 2023
10
In 2022/23, 48% of burglaries were residential in England and Wales
11
Car thefts in England and Wales averaged 790 per day in year ending March 2023
12
Agricultural equipment thefts totalled 2,500 incidents in 2022/23
13
In Greater Manchester, theft offences hit 120,000 in 2022/23
14
Purse dipping offences numbered 12,000 in year ending March 2023
15
Burglary detection rate was 6.7% in year ending March 2023 England and Wales
16
In South Yorkshire, shoplifting reached 15,000 offences in 2022/23
17
Vehicle interference offences totalled 45,000 in year ending March 2023
18
Theft from vehicles was 372,000 in CSEW estimates year ending March 2023
19
In Cleveland, burglary rate was 8.5 per 1,000 households in 2022/23
20
Metal thefts declined 20% to 3,000 in 2022/23 England and Wales
21
In Merseyside, vehicle thefts numbered 18,000 in 2022/23
22
Household burglary prevalence was 1.2% per CSEW year ending March 2023
23
Theft of pedal cycles rate was 1.3 per 1,000 adults in year ending March 2023
24
Commercial burglaries fell 15% to 70,000 in year ending March 2023
25
In 2022/23, shoplifting charge rate was 12% in England and Wales
Interpretation
Property Crime Interpretation
Property crime is intensifying overall, with theft offences rising to 1,265,000 and shoplifting surging 26% to 312,000 in the year ending March 2023 even as burglary falls 4% to 243,000.
More related reading
04 · Category
Sexual Offences24 stats
01
In year ending March 2023, 193,000 sexual offences were recorded by police in England and Wales, up 19%
02
Rape offences totalled 67,000 in year ending March 2023, a 25% increase
03
In 2022/23, 70% of police-recorded sexual offences were against females
04
Sexual assault offences reached 110,000 in year ending March 2023 England and Wales
05
Child sexual abuse offences numbered 85,000 in year ending March 2023
06
In London, rape reports hit 9,000 in 2022/23 financial year
07
3.3% of adults experienced sexual assault per CSEW year ending March 2023 lifetime
08
Domestic sexual offences made up 15% of total sexual crimes in 2022/23
09
Rape charge rate was 2.6% for offences recorded in year ending March 2022
10
In West Midlands, sexual offences totalled 12,000 in year ending March 2023
11
Female victims aged 16-24 reported highest sexual offence rates in CSEW
12
Grooming offences reached 7,500 in year ending March 2023 England and Wales
13
In Greater Manchester, child sexual exploitation cases numbered 1,200 in 2022/23
14
87,000 sexual offences against under-16s recorded in year ending March 2023
15
Sexual harassment prevalence was 2.4 million adults per CSEW year ending 2020
16
In South Yorkshire, rape offences up 30% to 2,100 in 2022/23
17
Only 16% of sexual offence victims were male in year ending March 2023
18
Revenge porn offences totalled 2,500 in year ending March 2023
19
In Cleveland, sexual crime rate 4.5 per 1,000 population in 2022/23
20
Up-skirting offences numbered 1,200 since law change in 2019 to 2023
21
In Merseyside, sexual assaults reached 5,000 in 2022/23
22
25% of sexual offences occurred online in CSEW estimates year ending 2020
23
Sexual offence conviction rate was 1.5% for cases reaching court in 2022
24
In year ending March 2023, indecent exposure offences up 24% to 10,000
Interpretation
Sexual Offences Interpretation
In England and Wales, police-recorded sexual offences rose to 193,000 in the year ending March 2023, and within that category rape offences climbed to 67,000, reflecting a clear upward trend alongside other high-volume types like 110,000 sexual assaults and 85,000 child sexual abuse cases.
05 · Category
Violent Crime30 stats
01
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
02
For the year ending March 2023, 41% of homicide victims were killed by a sharp instrument in England and Wales
03
In 2022/23, there were 50,510 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument recorded by police in England and Wales
04
Police recorded 20,000 knife-enabled crimes in the West Midlands police force area for year ending March 2023
05
In year ending March 2023, robbery offences involving a knife or sharp instrument rose by 7% to 19,212 in England and Wales
06
Homicides in London reached 109 in the year to September 2023, the lowest since 2014
07
In 2022, there were 1,024,111 violence against the person offences recorded in England and Wales
08
Assault with injury offences increased by 5% to 546,000 in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales
09
In 2021/22, 73,675 grievous bodily harm with intent offences were recorded across England and Wales
10
Domestic abuse-related violent crimes accounted for 19% of all police-recorded violent crime in year ending March 2023
11
In year ending December 2022, 2,451,423 violent crimes were recorded in England and Wales
12
Gun crime offences totalled 5,819 in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales
13
In 2022/23, 109 firearms discharges were recorded in police operations in England and Wales
14
Stranger homicides made up 24% of total homicides in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales
15
In West Yorkshire, violent crime offences rose 12% to 142,000 in year ending March 2023
16
Police recorded 98,000 public order offences involving violence in year ending March 2023 across England and Wales
17
In 2022, 1 in 100 people in England and Wales experienced violent crime according to CSEW
18
Youths aged 10-17 accounted for 15% of violent crime suspects in 2022/23
19
In Greater Manchester, 112,000 violent crimes were recorded in 2022/23
20
Racial violence offences totalled 15,000 in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales
21
In year ending March 2023, 4,500 threats to kill were recorded by police in England and Wales
22
Homicide victims under 1 year old numbered 12 in year ending March 2023
23
In South Yorkshire, knife crime offences reached 3,200 in year ending March 2023
24
Violent crime rate in Cleveland was 85 per 1,000 population in 2022/23
25
In 2023, 25,000 possession of weapons offences were recorded England and Wales
26
Domestic homicides totalled 102 in year ending March 2023 in England and Wales
27
In Merseyside, violent crimes hit 70,000 in 2022/23 financial year
28
Harassment offences rose 20% to 500,000 in CSEW year ending March 2023
29
In year ending March 2023, 8% of violent crimes resulted in charge/summons
30
Gang-related homicides were 19% of total in year ending March 2023
Interpretation
Violent Crime Interpretation
Across England and Wales, violent crime remains heavily shaped by knives as 41% of homicide victims were killed with a sharp instrument and police recorded 50,510 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2022 to 23, with knife use in robbery rising 7% to 19,212 in the year ending March 2023.
report visual · Breakdown
Drug offences: totals vs recent change
Drug offences in England and Wales are up year-on-year, with most cases involving possession.
70%
In 2022/23, 70% of police-recorded sexual offences were against females
30%
In South Yorkshire, rape offences up 30% to 2,100 in 2022/23
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Elif Demirci. (2026, February 13). British Crime Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/british-crime-statistics
MLA
Elif Demirci. "British Crime Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/british-crime-statistics.
Chicago
Elif Demirci. 2026. "British Crime Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/british-crime-statistics.
Sources & references
15 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level