Police recorded crime rises 13% - ONS
1 min read
A spike in violent crime contributed to an overall rise of 13% in recorded incidents in the year to June, statistics published today revealed.
Crimes classed as violent were up 19%, with a particular surge in knife offences, which saw a 26% rise.
Overall there were 5.2 million incidents recorded, compared to 4.6 million in the year to June 2016.
The Office for National Statistics urged caution, saying that some of the rise could be put down to better recording by the police.
The most recent crime survey for England and Wales also suggests the overall crime rate is falling.
However, ONS statistician John Flatley said today's figures did show a rise in incidents.
"While improvements made by police forces in recording crime are still a factor in the increase, we judge that there have been genuine increases in crime – particularly in some of the low incidence but more harmful categories," he said.
"Police figures cannot provide a good measure of all crime in society, since we know that a large volume of it never comes to their attention. The recent increases in recorded crime need to be seen in the context of the overall decline in crime indicated by the Crime Survey for England and Wales."
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