Crime in England and Wales: year ending June 2020

ONS commented on the release of new data

"Decreases in crime levels during the year ending June 2020 were mainly driven by changes in society after coronavirus lockdown restrictions were put in place. The most substantial reductions were seen in theft and robbery offences during the April to June quarter. There are indications that crime levels in June were moving back towards pre-lockdown levels.

“Police recording of drug offences increased sharply throughout the April to June period, reflecting proactive police activity as overall crime levels reduced. Anti-social behaviour incidents also increased. These include reported breaches of lockdown restrictions to the police.”

This publication reports on crime in the 12 months to year ending June 2020. The last quarter of this 12-month period was affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and related lockdown restrictions. Further information can be found in Section 15, Measuring the data.

Main points

For the 12-month period to year ending June 2020:

• Findings from the Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW) estimated that there were approximately 11.5 million offences in the last 12 months in England and Wales; although not directly comparable, this was similar to levels estimated from the face-to-face Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) in recent years.

• Total police recorded crime decreased by 4% in England and Wales to approximately 5.8 million offences in the 12 months ending June 2020; police reported crime levels were relatively stable from July 2019 to March 2020 and the annual decrease was mainly driven by substantial falls during the April to June 2020 period, particularly in theft offences.

Go to ONS release