Crime experienced by individuals and households in England and Wales increased 10% over the past year, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Robbery, violence with injury and fraud increased notably in the 12 months up to June 2024 – returning to pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police rose by 29% to reach a 20-year high.
The ONS cautioned that the previous year – up to June 2023 – included periods of Covid restrictions, so it was too early to tell if the change represents a short-term fluctuation or the start of a new trend.
The agency also noted that crime has generally decreased over the last decade.
Dame Diana Johnson, minister for crime, policing and fire, said “too many town centres have been decimated by record levels of shoplifting, and communities have been left shaken by rising levels of knife crime, snatch theft and robbery”.
“This cannot continue,” she said, and vowed to boost policing and toughen the law on shoplifting.
Over the past year, there were an estimated 9.2 million incidents of what is described as “headline crime”, which includes theft, robbery, criminal damage, fraud, computer misuse, and violence with or without injury.
Overall, these offences rose 10%, according to the latest ONS Crime Survey.
Robbery hit an estimated 139,000 incidents, compared with 60,000 the previous year.
Violence with injury rose to 562,000 incidents, up from around 376,000.
Overall, violence is some two-thirds lower than in the 1990s.
Consumer and retail fraud also increased by 19%, reaching approximately 963,000 incidents.
There was no significant change in sexual assault offences last year.
However, these offences have increased over the last decade – making them a notable exception to the decline in crime experienced by individuals in that period.
Meanwhile, shoplifting offences recorded by the police hit their highest level since records began.
A total of 469,788 of these offences were recorded in the year to June 2024, compared with 365,173 in the previous year.
Shoplifting offences had already hit a record high in April.
Theft from an individual also increased 20%.
Among violent crimes, homicides fell 3%, down from 578 to 562.
Knife crime was up 4% year-on-year, but remains 2% lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Recorded crime figures are not seen as a good indicator of general trends, but are used to give insight into lower volume but higher harm offences reported to the police.
The ONS advised that changes to recorded crime may be partly a consequence of changes in police activity and recording practices.
