1. Introduction

Crime statistics for England and Wales are produced by multiple departments across government. The aim of this guide is to introduce the main sources of Office for National Statistics (ONS) crime statistics, broken down by potential areas of interest, to provide a more efficient way to find the crime statistics you might need.

We currently publish four quarterly bulletins, presenting the latest findings from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), the Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW), developed in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and other sources. We also publish topic-based articles on specific crime types. The crime statistics we publish are for England and Wales only and are taken from several sources:

  • the CSEW and TCSEW includes crimes not reported to the police but does not include some offences (for example, possession of drugs, homicide) and some victims (for example, businesses, visitors, and population resident in institutions, such as old people's homes)

  • Home Office (HO), police recorded crime; this has a wider coverage of offences but does not include crimes that have not been reported to the police or less serious crimes dealt with by magistrates' courts (for example, "summary offences" such as speeding)

  • National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) - the NFIB collates fraud data from Action Fraud (the national fraud reporting centre that records incidents of fraud directly from the public and organisations), Cifas (a UK-wide fraud and financial crime prevention service) and UK Finance (which collects information on fraud from the card payments industry in the UK)

Information on further sources of crime statistics published by departments other than the ONS can be found in Section 8 of this guide.

Back to table of contents

2. Statistics about crime, by crime type

Violent crime, sexual offences and intimate personal violence and robbery

Statistics on these crime types can be found in the following publications:

Sexual offences in England and Wales overview: year ending March 2022

This includes commentary split into separate articles that cover prevalence and trends and victim characteristics with accompanying datasets.

Sexual offending: victimisation and the path through the criminal justice system 

This is a joint publication by statisticians in the Ministry of Justice, Home Office and the Office for National Statistics, including appendix tables.

Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2022 

Includes an overview article and separate articles covering prevalence and trends; victim characteristics; partner abuse in detail; domestic abuse and the criminal justice system; domestic abuse victim services; how domestic abuse data are captured through the criminal justice system and a research article on the redevelopment of domestic abuse statistics, including appendix tables and a data tool.

Violence against women and girls: research update November 2022

An update of our current and future research and publications relating to violence against women and girls (VAWG), including a data landscape tool.

The nature of violent crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2022 

An overview article of the extent of violent crime including appendix tables and a dataset for offences involving the use of weapons.

Nature of crime tables, children aged 10 to 15 years violence

Annual data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). Data include when and where incidents happened, information about offenders, the victim's perception of the incident and who they reported the incident to.

Nature of crime tables: violence

Perceptions of personal safety and experiences of harassment, Great Britain: 16 February to 13 March 2022

Bulletin and appendix tables covering perceptions of safety and experiences of harassment, by personal characteristics, based on the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN).

Homicide in England and Wales

Analyses of information held within the Home Office Homicide Index, which contains detailed record-level information about each homicide recorded by police in England and Wales.

Offences involving the use of firearms

Analyses of information held by the Home Office on offences involving the use of firearms recorded by police in England and Wales.

Offences involving the use of weapons data tables

Datasets relating to offences involving weapons as recorded by police and hospital episode statistics.

Modern slavery in the UK

This article explores the issue and brings together sources linked to modern slavery from a range of organisations.

Latest crime statistics quarterly bulletin

Crime against households and adults using data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and police recorded crime.

Appendix tables 

These tables contain trends of headline figures of crime (number of incidents, incidence rates, prevalence rates, percentages and percentage changes) broken down by crime type, for both police recorded, CSEW and TCSEW crime.

Other related tables 

Contain a more detailed look at the headline figures of crime, broken down by crime type.

Definitions of violent crime can be found in Chapter 5 of the current User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales.

Definitions of sexual offences and intimate personal violence can be found in Chapter 5 of the current User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales.

Definitions of robbery can be found in Chapter 5 of the current User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales.

Abuse during childhood

Statistics on these crime types can be found in the following publications:

Child victims of modern slavery in the UK: March 2022

Bulletin exploring the hidden nature of child victims of modern slavery including a progress report article on sourcing the data.

Child abuse in England and Wales: March 2020 

This release brings together our analysis and research on child abuse in England and Wales. The analysis includes a range of indicators from different data sources and organisations.

Childhood vulnerability to victimisation in England and Wales: year ending March 2017 to year ending March 2019

This release explores victimisation and negative behaviours of children aged 10 to 15 years living in a household with an adult who reported experiencing domestic abuse, substance misuse and mental ill-health and includes appendix tables.

Definitions of abuse during childhood can be found in Chapter 5 of the current User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales.

Theft offences including burglary, vehicle-related thefts, and criminal damage and arson

Statistics on these crime types can be found in the following publications:

Nature of crime tables

These tables are based on findings from Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) interviews and give a picture of the nature of burglary, theft, criminal damage, violence and crimes against children aged 10 to 15 years. Nature of crime tables include data on the timing and location of incidents, what was stolen or damaged, and the associated costs, injuries sustained, and weapons used in violent incidents, the emotional impact on the victim and information about contact with offenders. These tables include trends over time.

Property crime tables

Annual data from the CSEW and metal theft offences recorded by the police, including demographic and offence type breakdowns and time series data.

Latest crime statistics quarterly bulletin

Crime against households and adults using data from the CSEW and police recorded crime.

Appendix tables

These tables contain trends of headline figures of crime (number of incidents, incidence rates, prevalence rates, percentages and percentage changes) broken down by crime type, for both police recorded, CSEW and Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW) crime.

Other related tables 

Contain a more detailed look at the headline figures of crime, broken down by crime type.

Definitions of theft offences can be found in Chapter 5 of the current User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales.

Definitions of criminal damage and arson can be found in Chapter 5 of the current User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales.

Hate crime

Statistics on hate crime can be found in the following publications:

Hate crime in England and Wales

This publication, produced by statisticians in the Home Office and the Office for National Statistics provides information on the number of hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales and the number of hate crimes reported by respondents in three combined years of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).

Definitions of hate crime can be found in Chapter 5 of the current User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales.

Fraud

Statistics on fraud and further information on how measures of fraud are being developed can be found in the following publications:

Nature of fraud and computer misuse in England and Wales

A summary of the various sources of data for fraud and computer misuse and what these tell us about victims, circumstances and long-term trends.

Nature of fraud and computer misuse: Appendix tables

Taken from the CSEW and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB). Data include numbers of incidents and characteristics of victims.

Nature of crime: fraud and computer misuse tables

Annual data on the nature of fraud and computer misuse offences. Data for the year ending March 2021 and March 2022 are from the Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW).

Definitions of fraud can be found in Chapter 5 of the current User guide to crime statistics in England and Wales.

Anti-social behaviour

Statistics on anti-social behaviour can be found in the following publications:

Latest crime statistics quarterly bulletin

Crime against households and adults using data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and police recorded crime.

Crime in England and Wales: coronavirus (COVID-19) and crime tables

Information from a module of questions included in the Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW) around perceptions of crime, the police and anti-social behaviour during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Data on children's online activity are also presented. These tables have now been discontinued.

Other related tables 

Contain a more detailed look at the headline figures of crime, broken down by crime type.

Crime in England and Wales: Police Force Area tables

The number of police recorded crimes, percentage change from previous year and rate per 1,000 population by offence group, firearms, knife and sharp instrument, fraud and computer misuse. Additional datasets including trends over time and experiences of anti-social behaviour offences by police force area (year ending March editions only).

Coronavirus and crime in England and Wales: August 2020

This publication explores crime in England and Wales during April and May 2020 when the first national lockdown restrictions were at their strictest. Includes appendix tables.

Definitions of anti-social behaviour can be found in Chapter 5 of the current User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales.

Impact of crime

Victimisation and its relationship to drug misuse, common mental health disorder and well-being in England and Wales, year ending March 2021

An overview of drug misuse, symptoms of common mental disorder and personal well-being in adults who reported being a victim of crime in the last year. Data are from the Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW) and includes accompanying dataset.

The impact of crime on victims and society: March 2022

This article summarises the crime harm framework that has been used to categorise existing related data in the new crime harm interactive database. It also includes information on how to use the Crime Severity Score data tool.

Other crimes against society

This high-level category separates out crimes that do not normally have a specific identifiable victim. "Other crimes against society" comprises categories of "drug offences"; "possession of weapons"; "Public order"; and "miscellaneous crimes against society".

Statistics on "Other crimes against society" can be found in the following publications:

Drug misuse in England and Wales: year ending June 2022

An overview of the extent and trends of illicit drug use. Data are from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). Includes a dataset of .

Latest crime statistics quarterly bulletin

Crime against households and adults using data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and police recorded crime.

Appendix tables

These tables contain trends of headline figures of crime (number of incidents, incidence rates, prevalence rates, percentages and percentage changes) broken down by crime type, for both police recorded, CSEW and the Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW) crime.

Other related tables

Contain a more detailed look at the headline figures of crime, broken down by crime type.

Definitions of other crimes against society can be found in Chapter 5 of the current User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales.

Crime and the coronavirus pandemic

Statistics covering the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on crime and people's perceptions of crime are:

Latest crime statistics quarterly bulletin

Crime against households and adults using data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and police recorded crime.

Appendix tables

These tables contain trends of headline figures of crime (number of incidents, incidence rates, prevalence rates, percentages and percentage changes) broken down by crime type, for both police recorded, CSEW and the Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW) crime.

Crime in England and Wales: coronavirus (COVID-19) and crime tables

Information from a module of questions included in the TCSEW around perceptions of crime, the police and anti-social behaviour during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Data on children's online activity are also presented. These tables have now been discontinued.

Coronavirus and crime in England and Wales: August 2020

This publication explores crime in England and Wales during April and May 2020 when the first national lockdown restrictions were at their strictest. Includes appendix tables.

Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2022

Figures on domestic abuse from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, police recorded crime and several different organisations.

Domestic abuse during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, England and Wales: November 2020

Indicators from a range of sources to assess the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on domestic abuse in England and Wales. Includes appendix tables.

Back to table of contents

3. Statistics about crimes experienced by children

Since January 2009, the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) has asked children aged 10 to 15 years, resident in households in England and Wales, about their experience of crime in the previous 12 months. Data collection from children aged 10 to 15 years was suspended in March 2020 because of restrictions on face-to-face interviewing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Face-to-face interviewing for children aged 10 to 15 years restarted in April 2022. A limited set of statistics on crime experienced by children is available up to the year ending March 2023.

Statistics on crime experienced by children aged 10 to 15 years can be found in the following publications:

Latest crime statistics quarterly bulletin

This bulletin contains the latest figures from the CSEW and police recorded crime.

Appendix tables

These tables contain trends of headline figures of crime (number of incidents, incidence rates, prevalence rates, percentages and percentage changes) broken down by crime type, for both police recorded, CSEW crime.

Annual trend and demographic tables

Additional datasets on crimes experienced by children, by personal and household characteristics.

Crime in England and Wales: coronavirus (COVID-19) and crime tables

Information from a module of questions included in the TCSEW. Data on children's online activity based on responses provided by parent or guardian. These tables have now been discontinued.

Other related tables

Contain a more detailed look at the headline figures of crime, broken down by crime type

Child sexual abuse and child exploitation datasets up to year ending March 2020 only.

Nature of crime tables, children aged 10 to 15 years violence

Annual data from the CSEW. Data include when and where incidents happened, information about offenders, the victim's perception of the incident, and who they reported the incident to.

Nature of crime tables, children aged 10 to 15 years theft

Annual data from the CSEW. Data include when and where incidents happened, information about offenders, the victim's perception of the incident, and who they reported the incident to.

Nature of crime tables, children aged 10 to 15 years criminal damage

Annual data from the CSEW. Data include when and where incidents happened, information about offenders, the victim's perception of the incident, and who they reported the incident to.

Children's online behaviour in England and Wales: year ending March 2020

The prevalence and nature of online activity among children, using data from the 10- to 15-year-olds' CSEW.

Online bullying in England and Wales: year ending March 2020

Estimates of the prevalence and nature of online bullying among children, using data from the 10- to 15-year-olds' CSEW.

Coronavirus and crime in England and Wales: August 2020

This publication explores crime in England and Wales during April and May 2020 when the first national lockdown restrictions were at their strictest and includes an appendix table that presents online activity of children based on responses provided by parent or guardian.

Child victims of modern slavery in the UK: March 2022

Bulletin exploring the hidden nature of child victims of modern slavery including a progress report article on sourcing the data.

Back to table of contents

5. Statistics about perceptions of crime, the police, and the criminal justice system

Questions in the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and the Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW) ask respondents about their perception of change in national and local crime as well as their perceived likelihood of being a victim of burglary, vehicle crime or violent crime. Questions also ask respondents about their confidence in the police and the criminal justice system (CJS) and perceptions of anti-social behaviour.

Statistics on perceptions and worry about crime, perceptions of anti-social behaviour and confidence in the police and CJS can be found in the following publications:

Public perceptions of crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2016

An article covering public perceptions of crime and worry about crime at both the national and local level, using data from the CSEW.

Latest crime statistics quarterly bulletin

Crime against households and adults using data from the CSEW and police recorded crime.

Crime in England and Wales: coronavirus (COVID-19) and crime tables

Information from a module of questions included in the TCSEW around perceptions of crime, the police and anti-social behaviour during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Data on children's online activity are also presented. These tables have now been discontinued.

Crime in England and Wales: Annual supplementary tables

Data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on perceptions of the police, criminal justice system, crime, and anti-social behaviour. Also contains data on prevalence of intimate personal violence.

Back to table of contents

6. Statistics about crime and specific geographic breakdowns

Police force area

Police recorded crime is available for each police force area. There are 44 police forces within England and Wales (including the British Transport Police).

Police force area data tables

The number of police recorded crimes, percentage change from previous year and rate per 1,000 population by offence group, firearms, knife and sharp instrument, fraud and anti-social behaviour offences by police force area.

Community Safety Partnership and local authority

Recorded crime data by Community Safety Partnership area

Recorded crime figures for Community Safety Partnership areas, which equate in most cases to local authorities. Contains the number of offences for the last two years, percentage change between these two time periods and rates per 1,000 population for the latest year.

Other breakdowns

CSEW open data tables

A set of six datasets, which include personal and household crime incidence, and prevalence and perceptions broken down by region and other demographic characteristics.

Home Office police recorded crime open data tables

These tables, published by the Home Office, contain police recorded crime figures broken down by Community Safety Partnership, quarterly period and individual offence code.

Crime Severity Score

Crime Severity Score (Experimental statistics)

The Crime Severity Score dataset has been developed as an additional measure to supplement existing ONS statistics on crime, for police force areas and Community Safety Partnerships. This measure weights different types of crime according to severity, with more serious crimes carrying a higher weight to better reflect the level of harm to society and demand on the police caused by crime. The data tool enables production of summary charts on trends and comparisons between areas.

Back to table of contents

7. Statistics about crime and specific demographic breakdowns

Many of our tables contain data broken down by both personal and household characteristics. Personal characteristics include such characteristics as age, sex, ethnicity, marital status and employment. Household characteristics include such characteristics as household structure, tenure, household income and accommodation type.

The following datasets contain data with these specific demographic breakdowns:

Annual trend and demographic tables

These tables are mainly based on CSEW data and show breakdowns of victimisation over time and by various demographic characteristics.

Crime in England and Wales: Annual supplementary tables

Data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on perceptions of the police, criminal justice system, crime and anti-social behaviour. Also contains data on prevalence of intimate personal violence.

Back to table of contents

8. Other sources of crime and justice statistics

Home Office (HO)

Statistics on hate crime, racist incidents, crime outcomes, crimes against businesses and drugs misuse. Also includes arrests made by the police and other powers, number of police officers and other aspects of police personnel; HO also publish police recorded crime by Community Safety Partnership (CSP) area within their police recorded crime open data tables.

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)

Quarterly bulletins of datasets and summaries relating to overall prosecution figures, police referrals and charging rates for offence types such as domestic abuse, sexual assault and abuse, and hate crime.

Ministry of Justice

Statistics for England and Wales on the courts, prison population, perpetrators, and reoffending.

Police.uk

The Police.uk website includes police recorded crime data for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Police.uk website provides street level recorded crime counts presented using a crime mapping tool. This allows you to view crime maps for a specific area (for example, your own neighbourhood) and gives a count of crimes in that area as well as an indication of the street location where the crime occurred.

Crime statistics for Scotland are collected and published separately. The latest police recorded crime data for Scotland can be downloaded from the Scottish Government website.

The latest police recorded crime data for Northern Ireland can be downloaded from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) website.

Back to table of contents