Crime in England and Wales has increased over the past year, new figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) reveal.
This follows recent questioning of the ONS survey’s legitimacy by Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK.
This morning, the Office for National Statistics released updated Crime figures for March 2025, indicating a 7% year-on-year increase in headline crime across England and Wales, despite a general decrease over the decade. Headline crime includes theft, robbery, criminal damage, fraud, computer misuse, and violence with or without injury.
The increase over the last year was primarily driven by a surge in fraud, which reached its highest recorded level of 4.2 million incidents in the year ending March 2025.
During the same period, 7.8% of individuals aged 16 and over reported experiencing domestic abuse, 2.9% stalking, 1.9% sexual assault, and 8.6% some form of harassment. No statistically significant change was recorded across these categories from the year before.
Additionally, offences involving knives or sharp instruments, firearms, robbery and homicides all saw a year-on-year decrease.
The Polimapper data team has visualised these Crime Survey figures by Police Force Area across England and Wales.
Cleveland recorded the highest number of criminal offences (excluding fraud) per 1,000 people, with 122 incidents. This compares to 105 crimes per 1,000 handled by the Metropolitan Police. Conversely, Wiltshire reported the lowest crime rate at 53.3 crimes per 1,000 people.
About this map
The visualisation below shows the crime survey statistics by Police Force Area and offence type in England and Wales.
To explore statistics in your area double click on the map or click here to launch the full page version.
Geodata context
As part of his campaign pledge to halve overall crime within the first five years of a Reform UK government, Nigel Farage has discredited ONS figures. He argues that crime data extends far beyond the Crime Survey for England and Wales, asserting that crime has rocketed since the 1990s.
Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform Party: “Reform will be the toughest party on law and order and on crime that this country has ever seen.”
“We will aim to cut crime by half in the first five years of a Reform government. We will take back control of our streets. We will take back control of our courts, of our prisons.”
In its 2024 manifesto, the Labour party pledged to tackle crime, committing to a new neighbourhood policing guarantee and halving violence against women and girls within a decade.
Ellie Reeves, Labour chairwoman and MP for Lewisham West and East Dulwich: “Reform is more interested in headline-chasing than serious policy-making in the interests of the British people”.
“Farage’s Reform MPs voted against the Labour Government’s landmark Crime and Policing Bill which tackles antisocial behaviour, shoplifting, violence against women and girls, knife crime, and child abuse.”