Figures show the number of crimes recorded annually in England and Wales has risen by 13%, passing the five million mark for the first time in 10 years.
Crimes in the 12 months to June were up from 4.6 million the previous year, said the Office for National Statistics.
It said crime categorised as “violent” rose by 19%, with rises in offences including stalking and harassment.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales, which is based on people’s experiences, suggests there were 10.8 million offences.
Crimes that people do not report to police are also included in the survey. When comparing like-for-like crimes, the survey reported a 9% decrease compared with the previous year.
The figures cover the 12 months to the end of June, and the rise is the largest annual rise in a decade and continues a recent trend of crime increases.
Both sets of data were released on the same day.
John Flatley, from the ONS, said, “While improvements made by police forces in recording crime are still a factor in the increase, we judge that there have been genuine increases in crime – particularly in some of the low incidence but more harmful categories.”
But he said police figures alone cannot provide “a good measure of all crime in society”.
“The recent increases in recorded crime need to be seen in the context of the overall decline in crime indicated by the Crime Survey for England and Wales,” he said.
Some of the other statistics included in the ONS’ report were:
- Knife crime was up 26% year-on-year
- Nearly half of the increase in knife crime was attributed to London
- Sexual offences were up 19%
- The number of homicides (cases of murder and manslaughter) increased by 46 to 629, excluding the terror attacks in London and Manchester
- There were 1.2 million crimes of violence against the person
According to ONS, the 19% increase in “violence against the person” offences dealt with by police was “driven largely” by increases in the sub-categories of “violence without injury” (21%) and “stalking and harassment” (36%) and “violence with injury” (10%).
Sarah Newton, a Home Office minister, welcomed the fall in the crime survey estimates and improvements in police recording.
“But while it is clear that much of the rise in police-recorded violent offences is due to better recording, we know that some of this increase is likely to be genuine, which is why we have taken urgent action to stop these crimes and keep our communities safe,” she said.
“This week, we began consulting on tough new laws to crack down on acid attacks and knife offences. Our domestic abuse bill will help to bring this heinous crime out of the shadows and ensure victims receive both support and justice, as we invest £100m to prevent and confront violence against women and girls. We are also investing £1.9bn to counter the cyber threats we face.”
Crimes recorded by the police in Scotland are at their lowest level since 1974.
