crime

Rates of most common crimes have dropped since 2010
The Crime Survey for England and Wales is based on a large, representative sample of households. The survey measures crime in a consistent way that is not affected by changes in police recording of crime, so it can be used to reliably track changes in crime over time.
Last updated on 21 April 2023 1 min read Crime and justice chart of the week
Increases in crime-related demand are hitting some forces harder than others
One way to understand crime-related demands on police forces is to track ‘crime pressure’, a measure of investigative workload representing the number of crimes reported to a force per officer, weighted according to Office for National Statistics estimates of the relative severity of different crimes.
18 August 2022 8 min read Crime and justice chart of the week
Increases in crime-related demand are hitting some forces harder than others
One way to understand crime-related demands on police forces is to track ‘crime pressure’, a measure of investigative workload representing the number of crimes reported to a force per officer, weighted according to Office for National Statistics estimates of the relative severity of different crimes.
19 July 2021 7 min read Crime and justice chart of the week
Why you can't identify changes in crime by comparing this month to last month
This post first appeared on the Social Research Association blog. Understanding if some event is associated with a change in the frequency of crime is a common question, both in practice and in research.
13 May 2020 10 min read
Chart: 73% of victim-based crime is not reported to police
Of the 10.9 million crimes which individual adults aged 16 years and over experienced in the past year, only 27% were reported to the authorities. Reporting rates vary substantially, with more-serious crimes more likely to be reported.
10 February 2020 1 min read Crime and justice chart of the week
Chart: Homicides haven't only increased in Britain
The homicide-rate increase over the past five years hasn’t been unique to England and Wales, with murders also increasing in France, Germany and Sweden after continent-wide decreases since the 1990s.
27 January 2020 1 min read Crime and justice chart of the week
Chart: Seizures of the most harmful drugs at UK borders are falling
Border Force is responsible for seizing drugs at ports, airports and international parcels depots. However, reports by the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration suggest drug-detection efforts are hindered by understaffing, lack of training and focus on conducting passport checks on travellers.
2 December 2019 1 min read Crime and justice chart of the week
Chart: Much of the homicide drop has already been erased
The rapid decrease in the homicide (murder, manslaughter and infanticide) rate in England and Wales between 2000 and 2014 was unprecedented over the previous century, but a third of that decrease has already been reversed.
21 October 2019 1 min read Crime and justice chart of the week
Chart: Online crime now the most-likely threat to many businesses
Online crime (including hacking, phishing and virus attacks) is now experienced by more businesses than any other type across sectors as varied as manufacturing and communications. But in the sectors most-likely to experience a crime (retail, accomodation and entertainment), traditional offences such as theft are still more likely.
7 October 2019 1 min read Crime and justice chart of the week
Chart: Drug use was falling, but that seems to be changing
Self-reported drug use has fallen for most of the past 20 years according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, but in the past seven years the use of cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy has increased substantially, particularly among people aged 16–24.
23 September 2019 1 min read Crime and justice chart of the week