FOI ref: FOI-2024-2166
You asked
I would like to request, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, any datasets relating to cybercrime levels and figures from 2019 to present, as well as a breakdown of the nature of cybercrimes (e.g. hacking or computer viruses) committed in this period.
I would also like to request any datasets relating to police response, and prosecution statistics for the same figures (cybercrime from 2019 to present).
We said
Thank you for your request.
We publish data relating to crime statistics from two main sources: the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and police recorded crime. ‘Cybercrime’ is not a specific crime type that either source produce data on. They also do not contain information on prosecutions and convictions relating to cybercrime.
However, the CSEW does include estimates for incidents of computer misuse, including computer viruses and unauthorised access to personal information (hacking). Please note that this data relates to England and Wales only, not the whole of the UK. Please also note that the CSEW only measures crime experienced by people aged 16 and over living in private households not by businesses.
The Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables year ending March 2024 release, Table A1, shows the CSEW estimates for computer misuse incidents were:
Year ending March 2019 = 966,000
Year ending March 2020 = 876,000
Year ending March 2023 = 745,000
Year ending March 2024 = 1,022,000
In this table, Computer misuse offences are further split into Computer virus offences. The number of incidents estimates were:
Year ending March 2019 = 444,000
Year ending March 2020 = 360, 000
Year ending March 2023 = 123, 000
Year ending March 2024 = 139, 000
Computer misuse is also broken down by Unauthorised access to personal information (including hacking). The number of estimates were:
Year ending March 2019 = 522,000
Year ending March 2020 = 516,000
Year ending March 2023 = 622,000
Year ending March 2024 = 883,000
Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the CSEW was paused for the year ending March 2021 and year ending March 2022 and a telephone operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW) was implemented. The TCSEW data is not directly comparable with estimates from the CSEW.
Further information on the nature of computer misuse incidents is available in our Nature of fraud and computer misuse in England and Wales appendix tables.
We also publish the number of police recorded computer misuse offences in Crime and England and Wales: Appendix tables (Table A4). Statistics on crime outcomes in England and Wales are published by the Home Office.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) are primarily responsible for data on convictions and prosecutions. The Crown Prosecution Service can be contacted by email at enquiries@cps.gov.uk. The Ministry of Justice may also be able to assist you. They can be contacted by email at ESD@justice.gov.uk.
If you have any further crime-related enquiries, the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice can be reached at the following e-mail address: CrimeStatistics@ons.gov.uk.