Guide to finding crime statistics

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) 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 is primarily an interviewer-administered face-to-face victimisation survey in which people (aged 16 years and over) resident in households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of a selected range of incidents in the 12 months prior to the interview. For the population and offence types it covers, the CSEW generally provides the better measure of trends on a consistent basis over time, because it is unaffected by changes in levels of reporting to the police or police recording practices. The survey excludes crimes against commercial or public sector bodies, tourists, or those living in communal establishments (such as care homes, student halls of residence, and prisons). 

• CSEW headline crime captures a range of personal and household victim-based crime in the interviewer-led parts of the survey, including theft, robbery, criminal damage, fraud, computer misuse and violence with or without injury. Experiences of sexual assault, stalking and harassment are presented separately in our statistics. Standalone survey modules are used to gather information from respondents about these highly sensitive crimes. Therefore, data are captured and processed separately and are not directly comparable. 

• 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). 

Long term trends in crime are presented within our Crime in England and Wales quarterly bulletins. The following tables contain more detailed information on trends and are published alongside each quarterly Crime statistics bulletin, except for the "Annual supplementary tables", which are published annually alongside the year-ending March quarterly bulletin and "Nature of crime tables": 

Latest crime statistics quarterly bulletin appendix tables
Trends in Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) crime experienced by adults and children aged 10 to 15 years and Home Office police recorded crime, by offence type. Also includes trends in offender relationship of CSEW violence. 

Crime in England and Wales: Annual supplementary tables
These tables are mainly based on CSEW data and present additional data on experience of crime, perception of crime, and anti-social behaviour. 

Nature of crime tables
These tables are based on findings from CSEW interviews and give a picture of the nature of burglary, theft, criminal damage, fraud and computer misuse, 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.

Historical crime data
Historical crime data are published by the Home Office. These datasets give individual offence data from the year ending December 1898 to the year ending March 2015 and individual offence data by police force area from the year ending December 1990 to the year ending March 2015.

Our Crime trends in England and Wales and how to measure them article explains the different ways we measure crime and which measure is best for different crime types.

Information on further sources of crime statistics published by departments other than the ONS can be found in Section 7 of this guide.

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 2024
Includes an overview article and separate articles covering prevalence and trends, victim characteristics, domestic abuse and the criminal justice system, and how domestic abuse data are captured through the criminal justice system. Also includes our appendix tables and a data tool. 

Redevelopment of domestic abuse statistics: research update May 2025
An update on the ongoing research to redevelop statistics on domestic abuse from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). 

Developing a combined measure of domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking, England and Wales: July 2025
This article outlines the process used to develop a combined measure of domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking, using data from the CSEW for the years ending March 2024 and March 2025. 

Violence against women and girls: research update November 2023
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 2024
An overview article of the extent of violent crime, including the latest appendix tables, the Stalking: findings from the Crime Survey for England and Wales dataset, and the Offences involving the use of weapons dataset for year ending March 2024. 

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 

Nature of crime tables: robbery 

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. 

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. 

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 and CSEW crime. These tables also include more detailed data on firearms, knife and sharp-instrument offences, and crime such as violence, fraud and anti-social behaviour. 

Definitions of specific crime types 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 and CSEW crime. These tables also include more detailed data on firearms, knife and sharp-instrument offences, and crime such as violence, fraud and anti-social behaviour. 

Definitions of specific crime types 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). 

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 and CSEW crime. These tables also include more detailed data on firearms, knife and sharp-instrument offences, and crime such as violence, fraud and anti-social behaviour. 

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

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 and CSEW crime. These tables also include more detailed data on firearms, knife and sharp-instrument offences, and crime such as violence, fraud and anti-social behaviour. 

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, and crimes flagged as child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation by police force area (year ending March editions only). 

Crime in England and Wales: Annual supplementary tables
These tables are mainly based on CSEW data and present additional data on experience of crime, perception of crime, and anti-social behaviour.

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 an 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 UK crime and justice statistics database where you can filter on the crime harm topic. 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 March 2024
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 appendix tables. 

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 and CSEW crime. These tables also include more detailed data on firearms, knife and sharp-instrument offences, and crime such as violence, fraud and anti-social behaviour. 

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

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 due to restrictions on face-to-face interviewing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Face-to-face interviewing for children aged 10 to 15 years re-started in April 2022. A limited set of statistics on crime experienced by children is available for the year ending March 2023, year ending March 2024 and year ending March 2025. 

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 and CSEW crime. These tables also include more detailed data on firearms, knife and sharp-instrument offences, and crime such as violence, fraud and anti-social behaviour. 

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. 

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.

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. 

Bullying and online experiences among children in England and Wales: year ending March 2023
Estimates of the prevalence and nature of bullying and online experiences among children using data from the 10- to 15-year-olds's Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW.)

Questions in the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) 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: Annual supplementary tables
These tables are mainly based on CSEW data and present additional data on experience of crime, perception of crime, and anti-social behaviour.

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
Police recorded crime figures by Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership areas, which in most cases equate to local authorities. Contains percentage change from previous year and rate per 1,000 population by offence group, and includes firearms, knife and sharp instrument, fraud, and anti-social behaviour offences by police force area.

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.

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: 

Crime in England and Wales, victim characteristics: year ending March 2023
Risk of victimisation using Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) data, including crime experiences of non-household populations using administrative data. 

Crime in England and Wales: Annual supplementary tables
These tables are mainly based on CSEW data and present additional data on experience of crime, perception of crime, and anti-social behaviour.

Home Office (HO) 
Statistics on hate crime, racist incidents, crime outcomes and crimes against businesses. 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.

Crime in England and Wales QMI
Quality and Methodology Information for crime levels and trends in England and Wales, detailing the strengths and limitations of the data, methods used, and data uses and users. 

Improving crime statistics for England and Wales
Latest update on the progress being made to improve crime statistics for England and Wales. 

User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales
This user guide contains detailed information on the datasets used to compile quarterly statistics on crime levels and trends in England and Wales published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Contains definitions of specific offence types and classifications.