UK · Crime

Crime

Crime in England and Wales is measured two ways. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) asks people directly about their experiences and is the most reliable measure of how much crime there actually is, including incidents never reported to the police. Police-recorded crime captures only what is reported and entered onto police systems, but covers a wider range of offences. The two sources tell different stories and need to be read together.

The scale

Crime in England and Wales today

The CSEW estimated around 9.6 million headline-crime incidents in the year ending December 2025 - no statistically significant change on the previous year. Headline crime covers theft, robbery, criminal damage, fraud, computer misuse, and violence with or without injury. For long-run comparisons, ONS excludes fraud and computer misuse because they were only added to the survey later; on that comparable basis, crime is far below its 1995 peak.

9.6 millionCSEW headline-crime incidents in England and Wales, year ending December 2025

No significant changeHeadline CSEW crime versus year ending December 2024

19.8 millionPeak of the comparable CSEW headline-crime series in 1995

-77.8%Long-run fall since the 1995 peak, excluding fraud and computer misuse

22% fallDomestic burglary versus year ending December 2024 (CSEW)

14% fallVehicle-related theft versus year ending December 2024 (CSEW)

Reference point	Comparable CSEW headline crime
1981 (first survey)	11.3 million
1995 (peak)	19.8 million
2008/09	9.5 million
2019/20 (pre-pandemic)	5.7 million
YE December 2025	4.4 million

Source: ONS, Crime in England and Wales appendix tables, year ending December 2025. Comparable series excludes fraud and computer misuse, which were added to the survey later.

Crime types

What kinds of crime

Crime is concentrated in a handful of high-volume categories. Fraud is the single largest category in the latest survey, followed by theft offences and violence. Homicide is rare in absolute terms but disproportionately reported.

4.4 millionFraud incidents (CSEW, year ending December 2025)

2.6 millionTheft offences (CSEW, year ending December 2025)

1.1 millionViolence with or without injury (CSEW, year ending December 2025)

616,000Criminal damage incidents (CSEW, year ending December 2025)

88,000Robbery incidents (CSEW, year ending December 2025)

503Homicides recorded by police in England and Wales, year ending December 2025

Police-recorded fraud and computer misuse are temporarily excluded from headline recorded-crime totals because of issues with the supply of those data in the year ending December 2025. The CSEW figures above are the only live national measure of fraud and computer misuse.

Crime by area

Police-recorded crime by police force area

Police-recorded crime is published by the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales. Forces vary enormously in size - the Metropolitan Police covers around 9 million people, City of London Police around 15,000 - so the map shows crime rate per 1,000 population, not raw counts.

Police force area view

Switch the offence group to compare recorded-crime rates across the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales.

Offence group

Year ending December 2025. Rates are per 1,000 residents using mid-2024 police force area population estimates.

Boundary data

Loading England boundaries

Preparing the England-focused constituency layer and locking the viewport to the intended political geography.

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YE Dec 2025 / 43 forces

Total recorded crime (excluding fraud)Click a police force area on the map for detail.

62.469.274.180.796.1

Police-recorded crime is influenced by changes in recording practice and victim reporting, and is not designated as accredited official statistics for trend purposes. The Crime Survey for England and Wales is a more reliable measure of trends but cannot be broken down to police force area.

Outcomes

From report to outcome

Reporting rates are low. Many sexual offences, domestic abuse incidents, harassment cases, and lower-level violence are never reported to the police. Police-recorded crime therefore captures only a fraction of what people actually experience.

Among crimes that are recorded, the share that result in a charge has fallen over time. Court backlogs have lengthened, especially in the Crown Court, and the prosecution of serious violent and sexual offences has become a major policy issue. Recorded crime is therefore only the front end of a much longer attrition chain from incident to charge, prosecution, and case completion.

Data availability

A note on the data

Crime is devolved. England and Wales figures come from the ONS and Home Office. Scotland publishes separately via the Scottish Government and Police Scotland, and Northern Ireland publishes separately via the PSNI and Department of Justice. Direct comparisons across the three jurisdictions are difficult because of definitional and recording differences.

Within England and Wales, the CSEW is the most reliable measure of how much crime there actually is, but it is a sample survey and cannot produce reliable estimates below regional level. Police-recorded crime can be broken down to police force area and below, but it is influenced by changes in recording practice and victim reporting, so long-term comparisons need to be read with that in mind.

The figures on this page are for England and Wales unless otherwise stated. The map above shows police-recorded crime at police force area level, which is the natural geography of the data.

Sources