Robbery, murder rise in UK
The British government warned it is “sleepwalking into a nightmare” as new figures show murder, robbery and stabbings increasing sharply in England and Wales.
The number of police officers has hit a record low, amid claims funding cuts have driven up violent crime and “encouraged” offenders, the Independent reported.
Almost half of all criminal investigations have been closed with no suspect identified, and the proportion ending with someone being charged or summonsed to court fell to just nine percent in the year to March.
In the year to March, the number of homicides recorded by police rose by 12 percent, knife crime offences were up by 16 percent and robbery rocketed by 30 percent.
A total of more than 40,000 knife offences was the highest number since 2010-11.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said only a “small proportion” of incidents, which include threatening someone as well as stabbings, resulted in people being taken to hospital, with Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) recording 4,656 admissions in England.
Police have warned that “feral” knife attacks are becoming more brutal, seeing victims stabbed and slashed multiple times.
A wave of killings has sparked a government crackdown on deadly weapons including “zombie” knives, which will become illegal to possess.
Figures show that murders have increased for the fourth consecutive year following a long-term decline, and are mainly concentrated in London and other cities.
Robberies rose by almost a third, and statisticians said that although improvements in police record-keeping contributed to the rise it “may reflect a real change”.
The ONS said robberies were “disproportionately concentrated in London and other metropolitan areas”, amid alarm over violent muggings by attackers on mopeds who frequently target phones.
Firearms offences increased by two percent overall, and vehicle-related theft was up by 17 percent according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
The survey, which records people’s experiences rather than what is reported to police, found that 80 percent of the people did not experience any crime in the past year.
The number of police officers in England and Wales has fallen to 122,404 — the lowest number since comparable records began in 1996.
Home Office statistics showed there was an overall increase in the total police workforce, which was driven by staff rather than police officers.
There were decreases in the number of police officers, Police Community Support Officers and special constables compared with the previous year, as well as officers in “frontline roles”.
Around 2 percent of police officers — around 2,300 — are on long-term sick leave, and the Police Federation has demanded better support and mental health services to help them cope with traumatic incidents and a spate of terror attacks.