Crime in England and Wales Is Rising at Fastest Rate in a Decade - New York Times

LONDON — A man was thrown onto a busy road and repeatedly stabbed by gang members after leaving a concert in South London. A teenage boy was attacked and killed by two machete-wielding assailants, and two moped riders carried out five acid attacks across East London within 90 minutes.

These are just a tiny fraction of the violent crimes carried out across England and Wales over the past month, creating the perception that the region is in the grip of a crime wave. That idea was reinforced on Thursday with a report by the Office for National Statistics showing that in the last year, the crime rate has risen at its fastest clip in over a decade.

The overall number of recorded crimes rose by 10 percent, the report said, with an 18 percent increase in violent crimes and a 26 percent increase in the murder rate. Some, but not all, of that can be attributed to improved recording practices by the police, experts say.

“The latest figures show the largest annual rise in crimes recorded by the police in a decade,” said John Flatley, the head of crime statistics and analysis at the Office for National Statistics. “While ongoing improvements to recording practices are driving this volume rise, we believe actual increases in crime are also a factor in a number of categories.”

When it comes to crimes committed with guns, up by 23 percent, and knife crime, which spiked by 20 percent to its highest level in seven years, experts say the increases go well beyond recording practices.

“We are concerned about the trend of young people carrying knives to settle their differences,” said Steve O’Connell, the chairman of the London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee. “More young people are carrying out serious violence and the police are good at catching them after the act, but we need to take more preventative measures.”

Amber Rudd, the home secretary, announced last week that the delivery of knives bought online to private addresses would be banned as part of new measures to tackle knife crime.

The Office for National Statistics found that the police over the last year recorded nearly five million crimes, 458,021 more than the previous year.

Another factor that may have contributed to the increase, experts say, are austerity-induced budget cuts, with the ranks of police officers falling by nearly 1,000 in England and Wales, according to figures published by the Home Office.

“There may not be a direct correlation between funding cuts and the rise in crime, but it’s certainly a factor, and we need more money in London and have been urging the government to increase our funding settlement,” Mr. O’Connell said.

The number of serious assaults such as robbery and theft also increased, but statisticians noted that these crimes should be read in the context of improved recording practices.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales, a face-to-face survey based on the experiences of 35,000 adults, showed a 7 percent drop in overall crime. Analysts say the main reason for the differing results is that the Crime Survey omits a range of police recorded crimes, including shoplifting and possession of weapons.

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