UK Safety and Security Trends for 2026

As we move into 2026, safety and security remain front-of-mind concerns for people and enterprises across the UK, from workers navigating workplace hazards to households and businesses facing ever-changing forms of crime.

Drawing on the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) latest annual workplace statistics alongside the Office for National Statistics (ONS) crime bulletin for England and Wales, our latest blog post highlights the most important trends shaping risk, prevention, and resilience for ordinary people and organisations alike.

Workplace Safety: Persistent Risks and Emerging Health Trends

The HSE’s Health and Safety at Work Summary Statistics for 2024–25 (published November 2025) provides a comprehensive picture of occupational risk across Great Britain. Key figures include: 

• 1.9 million workers suffered from work-related ill health (new or long-standing) in 2024/25. In the previous year around 1.7 million workers reported work-related ill health, meaning the figure has increased by approximately 200,000 in 2024/25. This suggests that work-related health issues, especially chronic or recurring conditions, are not only persistent but increasing, driven largely by mental health factors.

• 964,000 people experienced work-related stress, depression or anxiety, making mental health the single largest contributor. The 2023/24 figure was 776,000, indicating a year-on-year increase of around 188,000 cases of work-related mental health issues. Mental health issues continue to be the largest single contributor to work-related ill health and this trend has notably escalated compared with the previous year.

• 680,000 working people sustained a non-fatal injury at work. This is a significant increase from 604,000 in the previous year. Self-reported non fatal injuries rose while formally reported incidents declined, indicating variations related to reporting sources and incident classification.

• There were 124 workplace fatalities recorded under RIDDOR regulations (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations), down from 138 in the previous year. Thankfully, fatal injuries have continued to decline, reflecting ongoing improvements in physical safety in workplaces.

• Working days lost to ill health and injury totalled more than 40 million, a major economic and productivity burden for UK enterprises. In the previous year the figure was around 33 million days.

• The estimated annual cost of workplace injuries and ill health was £22.9 billion. The estimated cost in 2023/24 was £21.6 billion. The increase in both lost working days and higher economic cost reflects the real impact on businesses and the economy.

What This Means for 2026 

The latest statistics from the HSE present a valuable assessment showing where improvements are clearly being made along with aspects of workplace health and safety that remain a cause for concern.

Mental Health at Work is a Top Priority

Although traditional workplace injury rates (such as slips, trips, falls and manual handling injuries) continue, mental health issues now dominate occupational risk profiles. The sheer scale of stress-related illness, totalling nearly one million cases, demands more proactive organisational wellbeing strategies. These should include psychosocial risk assessments, flexible working policies, and robust mental health support systems. Industries with higher than average rates of work-related stress, anxiety or depression include Public Administration, Defence, Human Health, Social Work and Education.

Physical Hazards Remain a Primary Concern

With hundreds of thousands of non-fatal injuries along with a significant number of workplace deaths still occurring annually, traditional safety measures such as effective risk assessment, safe systems of work, and high-visibility training, are still essential for employers and employees. 

Slips, trips and falls on the same level account for 30% of non-fatal workplace injuries, followed by handling, lifting or carrying injuries (17% of reports), being struck by a moving object (10%), acts of violence (10%) and falls from a height (8%). Statistics and reports show there are still many ways in which workplaces and working practices can be made safer.

Costs of Work-Related Illness and Injury Are Substantial

The economic toll, in lost working days and healthcare costs, continues to rise. This highlights the important fact that workplace safety isn’t just a compliance issue, its also a significant business risk and productivity concern. 

Around 28% of the cost impact is due to injury while 72% is the result of ill health. The overall cost of £22.9 billion over 2023/24 was born by employers, the government and individual workers. Employers suffered a loss of £4.3 billion, the government lost £5.2 billion and individual workers lost as much as £13.4 billion. Reversing the apparently growing rate of work-related ill health is clearly a priority.

Crime Trends: The Evolving Landscape of Risk in Daily Life

The latest ONS Crime in England and Wales: year ending June 2025 bulletin (published 23 October 2025) provides the most recent picture of crime across UK households, individuals and businesses. 

Headline Crime Trends

A "headline crime" refers to specific categories of offenses, primarily used by statistics bodies like the UK`s Office for National Statistics (ONS), that are tracked to give an overall picture of crime trends, typically including theft, robbery, criminal damage, fraud, computer misuse, and violence (with or without injury).

Stable Overall Crime Levels

Estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) showed around 9.3 million incidents of headline crime in the year to June 2025, This represents no statistically significant change from the previous year. 

Significant Reductions in Serious Violence

• Homicides recorded by police fell to 518 in the year ending June 2025, a 6% decrease on the prior year and the lowest count since police recording standards began in 2003.
• Knife-enabled crimes overall also decreased, including homicide involving knives.

These trends reflect progress in reducing some of the most severe forms of violent crime. 

The Metropolitan Police has reported that 97 homicides were recorded in London over 2025, the lowest number since 2014 and a notably lower rate than other major cities such as New York, Berlin and Milan. Teenage homicide reached record levels in 2021 when 30 young people tragically lost their lives, but this number is reported to have fallen to the lowest level recorded since 2012 with 8 teenagers killed in 2025. 

The recorded decrease in knife enabled crimes is attributed to a number of factors. Intense, focused policing operations, in which dedicated taskforces were established in late 2024 and throughout 2025 to tackle knife-enabled robberies in high-risk areas, have been measurably effective. Intelligence led targeting and high visibility patrols, focusing on known problem areas, have reduced knife-enabled robberies year-on-year by around 10% in these areas, with some regions (e.g., West Midlands) seeing drops of up to 30%. 

Government-backed knife surrender and amnesty schemes have also contributed to fewer weapons on the streets. The Home Office reported record numbers of knives removed through surrender bins, mobile vans and compensation incentives, with tens of thousands of blades taken off the streets in 2025.

And police forces have increasingly deployed knife detection technology and proactive stop & search activities. Knife arches and intelligence-driven operations have been used in hotspot areas, making it harder for would-be offenders to carry concealed blades without detection. 

Property Crime and Theft Show Mixed Dynamics

• Burglary offences (residential and non-residential) declined by around 10% year-on-year, a positive sign for home security. Many people have taken valuable steps to enhance their home security such as installing CCTV cameras, security lighting and bolstering locks around their homes and outbuildings.
• Shoplifting increased with an increase in police-recorded incidents. This is a worrying trend that has persisted since the pandemic. One of the widely recognised factors contributing to year-on-year escalation in shoplifting is economic hardship and the cost of living. Another is organised, professional theft involving organised crime gangs targeting high value items that can be easily resold.
• Theft from the person also rose modestly. Theft from the person is the stealthy or opportunistic taking of property from someone`s possession without their consent, but without using force or threats, which would make it robbery. It typically involves pickpocketing or snatching items like bags or phones while the victim is unaware or distracted, relying on speed or stealth rather than violence.

Fraud Continues to Escalate

The CSEW estimates 4.1 million fraud incidents in the year to June 2025, a 14% increase on the previous year, driven mainly by bank and credit account fraud. Many of these incidents involved a financial loss, though victims reported a high reimbursement rate.

Cybercrime and Computer Misuse

Computer misuse incidents declined in the survey period, but continued to impact individuals and businesses. These statistics need to be considered alongside other cyber threat metrics not covered by the CSEW. While the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is very useful for understanding trends in computer misuse and other cyber issues from a victim-reporting perspective, it doesn’t capture the full scale or diversity of cyber threats affecting individuals, businesses, public bodies and critical infrastructure.

Implications for Public Safety and Security in 2026

Crime statistics present a mixed picture with some forms of crime declining while others are escalating. Its important not to become complacent and to always remain sensibly risk-aware and take steps to strengthen security wherever possible.

Ordinary People: Be Crime-Aware Without Panic

Personal security is informed by remaining aware of crime risks and taking sensible precautions to mitigate those risks. 

• Secure your property: Despite declines in burglary, shoplifting and other property offences remain elevated compared with pre-pandemic levels, requiring good physical security (e.g. locks, alarms, neighbourhood watch involvement). We regularly publish helpful articles covering physical security precautions and offer a wide range of highly effective physical security solutions for domestic and business applications.

• Protect digital life: With fraud increasing sharply, protecting personal financial information and monitoring accounts regularly is essential. Cyber criminals are continuously developing cunning ways to steal personal data and gain access to valuable accounts. Establishing and maintaining strong cyber security practices is vitally important for everyone. 

• Violence reduction news is good, but ongoing vigilance is essential, especially in urban areas and nightlife settings. The Drinkaware Monitor survey shows that the proportion of adults reporting having their drinks spiked has declined slightly from 2.2% in 2023 to 1.8% in 2025, equating to nearly 1 million UK adults in the last year. But in London, police data obtained by local officials show a clear year-on-year rise in recorded spiking-related incidents from 2,140 recorded incidents in 2023/24 to 2,633 recorded incidents in 2024/25, an approximate 23% increase year-on-year in the capital. Its important to be aware that up to 90% of spiking incidents go unreported, often because victims feel nothing will be done or don’t remember enough to report.

Businesses: Security as a Strategic Priority

• Retailers and hospitality venues face persistent theft and fraud risks, with shoplifting often affecting profit margins and staff safety. Pre-pandemic there were around 450 incidents of violence toward retail workers per day. This has massively escalated to in excess of 2000 violence incidents every day, according to some surveys.

• Cybersecurity is a core business risk. As fraud and digital threats rise, companies must invest in robust incident detection, training and response infrastructures. Phishing and social engineering attacks are the most common and disruptive cyber risks for UK SMEs.

• Partnerships with law enforcement and community safety partners can improve prevention, reporting and response outcomes. These relationships can deliver practical, measurable benefits for UK SMEs, especially in retail, hospitality, logistics, offices, and trades.

Bridging Safety & Security: Workplace, Community and Digital Domains

The safety and security landscape in 2026 points to a complex interplay between physical safety, psychological wellbeing and digital security. Key overlapping themes include the following:

Mental Health & Wellbeing Are Central

Whether measured in lost working days or in community resilience, mental health has a direct impact on both productivity and personal safety. Employers and policymakers need to prioritise wellbeing initiatives that are measurable and embedded in organisational culture. 

The Rise of Fraud and Digital Threats

Traditional crime prevention alone isn’t enough. As financial and online fraud increases, digital literacy and cybersecurity hygiene are now core aspects of both personal and business safety and security. 

Community Safety and Crime Reporting

Engaging communities in safety partnerships, neighbourhood schemes, and open reporting can help address underreporting of incidents and improve trust in justice and response systems, both for workers and wider society. 

Practical Steps for 2026

So what can we learn from the surveys and statistics provided from the HSE and ONS? Here’s a summary of the key take-aways.

For Individuals and Families

• Use  practical crime prevention tools and strategies: Pay attention to security basics to boost security such as high quality locks, alarms, lighting and CCTV cameras. Ensuring basic physical security is robust and well maintained is vital and taking action to routinely inspect, assess and enhance property security provides peace of mind.
• Protect digital identities: Making certain to always use strong passwords, multi-factor authentication and paying attention to fraud alerts helps to keep digital accounts safe and secure. Cyber security in 2026, with growing use of AI and deepfakes by criminals, will be increasingly important.
• Stay informed: People need to promptly report incidents to local police forces, even if they think they are trivial. These reports can help inform others in the community about local crime trends. Establishing partnerships with local police and forming neighbourhood watch groups helps keep people informed and supports the most vulnerable who can be more susceptible to crime.

For Employers and Businesses

• Invest in mental health support: Latest statistics highlight the importance of employee assistance programmes and risk assessments. Staff mental health and well-being should be a top priority for all employers.
• Strengthen physical and cyber security: Cyber security in the workplace requires regular training and clearly defined incident response plans. The physical security precautions around business premises should be routinely reviewed and strengthened wherever possible. Security awareness and training needs to be a top priority for all enterprises.
• Collaborate with partners: Partnering and collaborating with local authorities, police and trade bodies to stay ahead of emerging threats, is very valuable. Gaining support from knowledgeable people can provide expert insight and guidance that will help ensure businesses remain secure in 2026.

Overall Outlook for 2026

The latest data and statistics from the HSE and ONS reveals a safety and security landscape that is mixed and continuously evolving. While serious crime has declined and workplace fatalities are falling, mental health, ill-health and fraud are clearly emerging as significant risks for individuals and organisations. Preparing for what’s coming in 2026 requires the development of comprehensive strategies that cover physical safety, psychological wellbeing and robust digital resilience in order to empower safer, secure workplaces, stronger communities, enabling people to feel safer and more secure.

If you have any questions about your security needs, or if you have any special requirements, remember we are here to help. Give us a call on 01273 934739 and we’ll provide you with free, expert advice.

For more information on UK Safety and Security Trends for 2026 talk to Insight Security