The number of crime offences recorded by the police in England and Wales rose to approximately 6.74 million in the 2022/23 reporting year, compared with 6.34 million in the previous reporting year. This was the highest number of crimes recorded in the provided time period, with the low number of crimes reported in 2020/21 due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place throughout that reporting year. With the exception of 2020/21, the number of crime offences in England and Wales has been rising at a fairly rapid pace, increasing from just over four million in 2013/14, to the high seen in the most recent year.
Reversing the trend after a decade of cuts
The rise in crime during this period has led to serious questions about how to reverse this trend, and if the police have enough manpower and resources to counter it. Due to austerity measures pursued by British governments after 2010, police forces were forced to cut officer numbers in successive years between 2010 and 2017, resulting in a net decrease of around 22,000 officers. In more recent years public sector expenditure on the police force has started to increase and reached 24.9 billion British pounds in 2021/22, while officer numbers reached 164,000 in 2022, the highest figure since 2011.
Crime rates highest in Northern England
In 2022/23, the police force area with the highest crime rate in this year was Cleveland, located in the North East of England, which had approximately 147.7 crimes per 1,000 people, compared with the England and Wales average of 93.6. Among UK regions, the three regions of Northern England; Yorkshire, the North East, and the North West, had the highest crime rates of any regions. The region of England with the lowest crime rate was the South West, at 69.9 crimes per 1,000 people.
Number of police recorded crime offences in England and Wales from 2002/03 to 2022/23
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Office for National Statistics (UK). (July 20, 2023). Number of police recorded crime offences in England and Wales from 2002/03 to 2022/23 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved July 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/283069/crimes-in-england-and-wales/
Office for National Statistics (UK). "Number of police recorded crime offences in England and Wales from 2002/03 to 2022/23." Chart. July 20, 2023. Statista. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/283069/crimes-in-england-and-wales/
Office for National Statistics (UK). (2023). Number of police recorded crime offences in England and Wales from 2002/03 to 2022/23. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: July 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/283069/crimes-in-england-and-wales/
Office for National Statistics (UK). "Number of Police Recorded Crime Offences in England and Wales from 2002/03 to 2022/23." Statista, Statista Inc., 20 Jul 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/283069/crimes-in-england-and-wales/
Office for National Statistics (UK), Number of police recorded crime offences in England and Wales from 2002/03 to 2022/23 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/283069/crimes-in-england-and-wales/ (last visited July 22, 2024)
Number of police recorded crime offences in England and Wales from 2002/03 to 2022/23 [Graph], Office for National Statistics (UK), July 20, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/283069/crimes-in-england-and-wales/