Crime figures for England and Wales reveal a stark contrast between rising property crimes and falling violent offences. Shoplifting and theft from the person have reached record highs, while homicides have dropped to their lowest level in more than a decade.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has also published groundbreaking estimates showing that one in 10 people aged 16 and over experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking in the past year. These figures represent the first combined estimate of these crime types.
Shoplifting hits record high
Police forces recorded 530,643 shoplifting offences in 2024/25, marking a 20% increase from 444,022 in the previous year. This represents the highest total since current police recording practices began in 2002/03.
Theft from the person has similarly surged to record levels. Forces recorded 151,220 such offences in the year to March, up 15% from 131,584 in 2023/24.
Knife crime shows mixed trends
Knife crime offences totalled 53,047 in 2024/25, down slightly by 1% from the previous year and 4% below pre-pandemic levels. However, knife-enabled homicides fell dramatically by 23% to 204 cases, down from 265 in 2023/24.
Possession of bladed weapons increased by 2% to 28,314 offences, nearly double the 2016/17 figure of 14,453. Knife-enabled threats to kill rose 7% from 5,690 to 6,060 cases.
Violence and homicides decline
Violence against the person offences dropped 4% to 1.9 million cases, though this remains above pre-pandemic levels. Homicides fell 6% to 535 cases, the lowest annual figure since 533 in 2013/14.
Total police-recorded crime decreased slightly by 1% to 6.6 million offences. The ONS cautioned that these figures reflect changes in police recording practices as well as genuine crime trends.
Domestic abuse affects millions
An estimated 5.1 million people aged 16 and over experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking in 2024/25. This equates to 10.6% of the adult population, with women disproportionately affected at 12.8% compared to 8.4% for men.
Domestic abuse alone affected 7.8% of adults, equivalent to about 3.8 million people. The ONS said this figure showed no statistically significant change from the previous year's 8.0%.
Overall crime experiences rise
The ONS Crime Survey found people experienced 9.4 million crime incidents in 2024/25, up from 8.8 million previously. This increase was driven primarily by a 31% rise in fraud, which accounted for 4.2 million incidents and reached its highest level since measurement began in 2016/17.
Despite this rise, overall crime experiences remain 16% lower than the 11.2 million incidents recorded in 2016/17. Long-term trends for theft, criminal damage and violence have continued their downward trajectory since the mid-1990s.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
