The UK’s Crazy Crime Statistics

Is it really getting worse?

Photo by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash

With the UK General Election coming up, I keep hearing people mention rising crime — but is it actually rising?

And should we be worried?

Let’s dive in…

Crime Has Increased

It is true that since 2014, crime has been steadily increasing in the UK, across England & Wales (where I live).

That’s the red line.

Source = https://www.statista.com/statistics/1030625/crime-rate-uk/

Of course, it’s a blip for the lockdown year between 2020 & 2021 — that explains it going down somewhat. But if that was omitted as the ‘force majeure’ that it was, then it’s been getting worse for a while.

The UK’s Crazy Crime Statistics

In the ONS’s latest report on crime:

• Offences involving firearms have increased by 9%
• Offences involving knives have increased by 7%
• Robbery increased by 13%
• Theft increased by 18%
• Shoplifting increased by 37%