Police forces recorded 6.6 million crimes in England and Wales in the past year, official figures show, including a sharp increase in shoplifting.
The total is up from 6.1 million in the pre-pandemic year of 2019-2020, and from 4.2 million a decade earlier in 2014-2015, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The figures published by the ONS used data collected as part of the Crime Survey for England and Wales. It showed the number of crimes against individuals and households in England and Wales rose to around 9.4 million in the year ending March 2025.
The number of shoplifting offences surged to the highest figure since current police recording practices began in 2003. Some 530,643 offences were logged in 2024/25, up 20 per cent from 2023/24.
Theft from the person offences also remain at record levels, with 151,220 recorded by forces in the year to March, up 15 per cent from 131,584 in the previous 12 months.
Meanwhile, the number of homicides dropped by six per cent to 535 offences, the lowest level recorded in more than a decade.
The Independent has put together the maps below showing total crime, homicides, sexual offences and shoplifting broken down by police force areas in England and Wales:
The Metropolitan Police recorded the highest number of crimes last year, with 942,674 offences logged across London.
Greater Manchester Police followed with just over 319,000 offences, while West Midlands Police came third highest with nearly 309,000.
At the other end, City of London Police, covering the small financial district, recorded just over 9,000 crimes, the lowest of any force.
Cumbria Constabulary had around 37,000 offences, and Dyfed-Powys in Wales logged about 38,000.
The Metropolitan Police also saw the highest number of homicides, with 104 killings over the year. West Midlands Police recorded 31, and Greater Manchester Police reported 27.
The country’s biggest police force also saw the highest number of sexual offences, with more than 55,000 recorded incidents. West Yorkshire Police came next with around 46,000, followed by Greater Manchester Police with almost 43,500.
Shoplifting was also concentrated in the largest metropolitan areas. London again topped the list with nearly 94,000 offences, West Midlands Police recorded around 32,700, and West Yorkshire Police logged roughly 22,700 incidents.
Retail bosses have warned that official statistics are likely to be the tip of the iceberg, and that shop owners need to see immediate results as ministers have pledged thousands more officers for neighbourhood policing.
The ONS said that because these estimates are still in development and are subject to change, caution should be taken when making comparisons between the two years, and it is not possible to say whether the difference is statistically significant.
Home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This summer our new neighbourhood policing guarantee means over 500 town centres are getting extra neighbourhood patrols and action on town centre crime, and we are delivering the first 3,000 increase in neighbourhood officers and PCSOs in communities by next spring.”
The Crime Survey for England and Wales covers a range of personal and household victim-based crime, including theft, robbery, criminal damage, fraud, computer misuse and violence with or without injury, but does not include sexual offences, stalking, harassment and domestic abuse, which are presented separately.
Experiences of theft, criminal damage and violence with or without injury, as measured by the ONS survey, have been on a broad downwards trend since the mid-1990s.
