Rise of 9% in number of crimes
POLICE-RECORDED crime has increased by almost a 10th, fuelled by rises in homicides, knife-related offences, robberies and theft.
Official figures show forces in England and Wales registered a total of 5.6 million offences in the year to June.
This was a rise of 9% compared with the previous 12 months, and it is the highest total for police-recorded crime since the year ending March 2005.
The data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a 14% increase in police-recorded homicide offences, from 630 to 719.
These figures exclude the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester.
There were also jumps in the numbers of recorded robberies (up 22%), sexual offences (up 18%), vehicle-related theft (up 7%) and burglaries (up 2%).
Statisticians said the increase in the number of crimes recorded by the police does not necessarily mean the level of crime has increased.
The other measure used to track levels of offending, the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), showed most types of crime have stayed at similar levels to the previous year, including violence.
However, estimates drawn from the survey did show an 8% increase in theft compared with the previous year.
Joe Traynor from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice said: “Over recent decades, we’ve seen continued falls in overall levels of crime but in the last year the trend has been more stable.
“The latest figures show no change in the total level of crime but variation by crime types.
“We saw rises in some types of theft and in some lower-volume but higherharm types of violence, balanced by a fall in the high-volume offence of computer misuse.
“There was no change in other highvolume offences such as overall violence, criminal damage and fraud.
“To put today’s crime survey figures into context, only two out of 10 adults experienced crime in the latest year.”
Concerns over serious violence intensified this year after a spate of fatal stabbings and shootings, with London in particular badly hit by bloodshed.
In the latest period, the number of recorded homicides - which includes murder, manslaughter and infanticide continued an “upward trend” since March 2014, indicating a change to the long-term decrease over the previous decade, according to the ONS report.
The number of offences registered as involving a knife or sharp instrument, 39,332, was the highest since the year ending March 2011, when comparable records started.
The majority of police forces recorded a rise in such offences, while admissions to hospital for assaults involving a sharp instrument are also tracking upwards.
The ONS added vehicle offences, burglary and robbery are thought to show “genuine” increases.
Meanwhile, separate Home Office data showed 8.7% of recorded offences resulted in a charge or summons.
In 46.6% of cases, the investigation was completed without a suspect being identified. This percentage was down slightly year-on-year.