Overall, recorded crimes are up 14%. However, the separate Crime Survey, based on people’s experiences, suggests crime continues to fall. This survey, based on interviews with 35,000 households in England and Wales, includes crimes that people do not report to police. The latest police figures from 44 forces show that robbery is up 29%, sex offences are up 23%, knife crime is up 21%, and violent crime is up 20%. There were 37,443 knife crimes and 6,694 gun crime offences recorded in the year to September.

The number of offences involving a knife or a sharp instrument had been falling since 2011 but started rising again over the past three years. These crimes tended to be concentrated in cities, in particular London which saw the largest increase (38%) in knife crime.