Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals shoplifting cases hit a record high in 2024, while there were almost 55,000 knife crime incidents recorded in England and Wales
Shoplifting cases hit a record high in 2024, while knife crime rose to almost 55,000 cases in England and Wales, alarming new crime data shows.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed thefts from shops shot up by 20% compared to the previous year. There were 516,971 offences reported to police in 2024 – the first time it has topped half a million.
Meanwhile statisticians found a 50% rise in pickpocketing and items being snatched – reaching the highest level on record – and a 33% increase in fraud cases. There were 54,587 incidents logged involving a knife or sharp instrument, up 2% from the previous year.
And the grim data showed around one million people were sexually assaulted, and around two million experienced domestic abuse. Labour has blamed the previous Government for decimating neighbourhood policing.
Ministers have pledged an injection of 13,000 officers and PCSOs by 2029, with the first 3,000 by next March. Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “This Labour Government will not tolerate the criminality blighting our communities. That’s why we’re putting almost 3,000 more bobbies on the beat in neighbourhood roles this year, and under our leadership, these crimes will receive the attention they deserve.
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“We are already starting to reverse the Tories’ decade of decline on charge rates.” She added: “Today’s figures are yet more evidence of the damage done by destroying neighbourhood policing as the Tories did over 14 years.”
A new Crime and Policing Bill will reverse the Conservatives’ decision to make shop thefts worth below £200 a summary offence. Critics say this fuelled a dramatic rise in cases, with shoppers forced to pay more as a result.
Labour has vowed to cut knife crime and violence against women and girls by half in a decade.
The number of offences involving possession of an article with a blade or point was 28,150 – up 1% from 27,892 and higher than the pre-pandemic figure of 23,264 in 2019/20. There were homicides involving a knife, down 16% from 258 in 2023.
Billy Gazard of the ONS said: “While police-recorded offences involving knives and sharp instruments have increased, there has been a marked decrease in firearms offences. However, shoplifting offences continue to rise, reaching half a million offences in the year ending December 2024, the highest on record.”
But the data shows the number of homicides recorded by police in England and Wales fell to its lowest level in a decade. Some 535 offences were recorded in 2024, down 5% from 563 in 2023 and the lowest figure since 533 in the 12 months to March 2014.
Overall, police recorded 6.64 million crimes in England and Wales in 2024, down by 1% from 6.68 million in 2023. Separate Home Office figures showed the proportion of all offences recorded during the latest period which resulted in a charge or summons was 6.9%, up from 6.2% in 2023.
The proportion of investigations into crimes recorded by police in the same period which were completed with no suspect identified stood at 39%, compared with 40.6% in the previous year.
Lib Dem home affairs spokeswoman Lisa Smart MP said: “It is completely scandalous that every single day, thousands of victims are denied the justice they deserve. This is the Conservative’s legacy of failure of crime.
“Every community should feel safe, and that means that if they are a victim of a crime, they can be confident that they will get the support they need. The Government cannot afford to dither and delay, they must crack down on unsolved crimes. This starts with a return to real community policing, to keep our neighbourhoods safe.”
Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp hit back: “It is disturbing to see an increase in knife crime in the Labour-run areas of London and Greater Manchester. This means that almost half of all knife crime is taking place in just three Labour-run areas – London, Greater Manchester, and the West Midlands.”
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