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Crime · United Kingdom · Updated 2026-10-25

Is crime rising in England and Wales?

The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows crime experienced by adults fell by 33.6% between the years ending March 2016 and March 2026, while crime recorded by the police rose by 34.3% over the same period.

Every figure in this summary is calculated from the sources listed on this page.

Crime experienced by adults (Crime Survey), 10-year direction

Change in estimated CSEW headline crime incidents against adults aged 16+ and their households, excluding fraud and computer misuse. England and Wales, Year ending March 2016 to year ending March 2026. Unit: % change.

Falling −33.6%% change, 2026

63Trust scoreModerate certainty

Only one source – not confirmed by others. Agreement can't be measured, so the score can't reach High.

Score breakdown

Quality32 / 40

How well the sources are made

Agreement15 / 30

Unknown with one source, so set to half

Independence6 / 20

How many separate ways the number was measured

Freshness10 / 10

How recent the newest data is

How much each source counts

  • Crime Survey for England and Wales100%

Sources

SourceValueDefinitionQualityWeight
Crime Survey for England and WalesOffice for National Statistics · Victim surveyRetrieved 2026-10-25Falling −33.6%2026
CSEW headline crime excluding fraud and computer misuse: estimated incidents against adults aged 16+ and their households.

Year ending March 2026 (interviews April 2025 to March 2026) compared with year ending March 2016: 6.5 million to 4.3 million incidents. ONS Appendix tables, year ending March 2026, Table A1a (incidents, 1,000s) and Table A1b (percentage change calculated by ONS, statistically significant).

Face-to-face interviewing was suspended during the pandemic, so the chart has no points for years ending March 2021 and 2022. Fraud and computer misuse are excluded because the survey only measured them from year ending March 2017.

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. Method, definitions and offence coverage are published in the ONS User guide to crime statistics.
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Accredited official statistics; OSR reinstated the accreditation in 2024 after a review.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. Random sample of households representative of England and Wales (31,350 adults interviewed in year ending March 2026), weighted for non-response.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. Yearly estimates are downloadable as a spreadsheet (ONS Appendix tables).
  • No: No known break or quality problem. OSR suspended the accreditation in July 2022 after the response rate fell (72% in year ending March 2016, 48% in year ending March 2026, ONS user guide Table 1) and reinstated it in 2024; no estimates exist for years ending March 2021 and 2022. OSR statement: https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/guidance/osr-statement-on-statistics-from-the-crime-survey-for-england-and-wales/
100%
Crime experienced by adults (Crime Survey), 10-year direction, by source · CSEW incidents (thousands)
02,0004,0006,0008,000201620182020202220242026Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2016: 6,529Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2017: 6,057Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2018: 6,247Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2019: 6,431Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2020: 5,661Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2023: 4,385Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2024: 4,589Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2025: 4,595Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2026: 4,333
Show the data as a table
YearCrime Survey for England and Wales
20166,529
20176,057
20186,247
20196,431
20205,661
20234,385
20244,589
20254,595
20264,333

Police recorded crime, 10-year direction

Change in the number of offences recorded by the police, excluding fraud and computer misuse. England and Wales, Year ending March 2016 to year ending March 2026. Unit: % change.

Rising +34.3%% change, 2026

63Trust scoreModerate certainty

Only one source – not confirmed by others. Agreement can't be measured, so the score can't reach High.

Score breakdown

Quality32 / 40

How well the sources are made

Agreement15 / 30

Unknown with one source, so set to half

Independence6 / 20

How many separate ways the number was measured

Freshness10 / 10

How recent the newest data is

How much each source counts

  • Police recorded crime100%

Sources

SourceValueDefinitionQualityWeight
Police recorded crimeHome Office, published by the Office for National Statistics · Police and justice recordsRetrieved 2026-10-25Rising +34.3%2026
Total recorded crime, all offences excluding fraud and computer misuse, from the 43 territorial police forces plus British Transport Police.

Year ending March 2026 (5,235,213 offences) compared with year ending March 2016 (3,898,526). ONS Appendix tables, year ending March 2026, Table A5a.

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. Recording rules (Home Office Counting Rules, National Crime Recording Standard) and methods are published in the ONS user guide.
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics, but not accredited: OSR removed the accreditation in January 2014 because the quality and consistency of the underlying data may not be reliable.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. Full count of notifiable offences recorded by every police force in England and Wales; it covers only crimes reported to and recorded by the police.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. Yearly counts are downloadable from ONS (Appendix tables) and the Home Office open data tables.
  • No: No known break or quality problem. Recording practice changed over the period: OSR's 2024 review found significant improvements in recording since 2014, and counting rules changed in May 2023. ONS says these figures are not a reliable indicator of overall crime trends.
100%
Police recorded crime, 10-year direction, by source · police recorded offences
02M4M6M201620182020202220242026Police recorded crime, 2016: 3,898,526Police recorded crime, 2017: 4,321,587Police recorded crime, 2018: 4,890,313Police recorded crime, 2019: 5,266,025Police recorded crime, 2020: 5,304,892Police recorded crime, 2021: 4,615,788Police recorded crime, 2022: 5,326,547Police recorded crime, 2023: 5,578,041Police recorded crime, 2024: 5,402,860Police recorded crime, 2025: 5,307,433Police recorded crime, 2026: 5,235,213
Show the data as a table
YearPolice recorded crime
20163,898,526
20174,321,587
20184,890,313
20195,266,025
20205,304,892
20214,615,788
20225,326,547
20235,578,041
20245,402,860
20255,307,433
20265,235,213

Why the numbers differ

  • Police recording practice improved over the period. ONS says the rise in police recorded crime over the last 10 years was largely driven by better recording standards. (source, retrieved 2026-10-25)
  • Not every crime is reported to the police. ONS estimates that only about 36% of CSEW headline incidents (excluding fraud and computer misuse) were reported to the police in the year ending March 2026. (source, retrieved 2026-10-25)
  • The survey does not cover some crimes that police record, such as homicide, crimes against businesses, crimes against people not living in households (for example in care homes, student halls or prisons), and crimes with no specific victim such as drug possession. (source, retrieved 2026-10-25)
  • The survey's response rate fell from 72% to 48% over the period (ONS user guide, Table 1). ONS weights the results for non-response, and OSR judged in 2024 that quality is broadly similar to before the pandemic. (source, retrieved 2026-10-25)

Common mistakes

  • Reading the rise in police recorded crime as a rise in crime. ONS says police recorded crime is not a reliable indicator of overall crime trends, and that its increase over the last 10 years was largely influenced by improvements in recording standards. (source, retrieved 2026-10-25)