ONS Crime Statistics Reflect Impact of Pandemic

The latest quarterly crime report, published by The Office for National Statistics, provides interesting insight into the crimes and threats faced by the public and how these have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some of the main takeaways. Patterns of crime in England and Wales for the year ending September 2021 have apparently been “significantly affected ” by the coronavirus pandemic and Government restrictions on social contact, according to the ONS report. Crime data is derived from two primary sources. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) along with the Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW). The telephone based survey system was established in May 2020 to overcome the pandemic-based suspension of face-to-face interviewing and enable the continued collection of crime trend data. Police Recorded Crime Fluctuations The ONS report notes how police recorded crime has fluctuated throughout the reporting period and this conceals a lot of the variation by crime type. It notes that most of the observed fluctuations can be attributed directly to the introduction and subsequent easing of UK lockdown restrictions. The police are reported to have recorded a total of 5.8 million crimes across England and Wales in the year up to September 2021. This represents a 2% overall increase on the previous year’s figures. But if fraud and computer misuse crimes are discounted then the number of offences decreased year-on-year, by around 1%. The report notes how the total police recorded crime in the first part of the reporting year was lower than the two preceding years. It also notes that this period coincides with national lockdowns and the reintroduction of tighter pandemic related restrictions on social contact. February 2021 saw the lowest number of recorded offences in a single month (333,740) but as national restrictions were eased the number of recorded crimes began to increase from March 2021 onwards. Recorded crime between July and September 2021 was 6% higher than the same period in 2020. Violent Crime Down - Fraud and Sexual Offences Up The data shows that instances of violent crime, including homicide and knife crime, decreased over the reporting period. However, instances of fraud, “computer misuse” and sexual offences are noted to have significantly increased. In fact its the significant increase in fraud and computer misuse (47%) that underpins the overall reported increase in crime of 14% for the reporting period. cyber crime increase Cybercrime is Increasing Cybercrime related fraud is recognised as a serious and growing threat which the Government aims to tackle with new legislation as part of their £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy. Fewer Theft Offences The report notes a significant, 18% decrease in theft offences. This reduction is directly attributed to lockdowns and pandemic related restrictions that kept people at home. The telephone crime survey indicated that the largest decrease of 53% was seen for the “theft from the person” offence. This was followed by a 26% decrease in vehicle-related offences and a 23% decrease in bicycle theft offences. Police recorded theft offences reflected similar patterns with an overall year-on-year decrease of 14%. Burglary is noted to have fallen by 21%; theft from a person was down by 20%; vehicle offences decreased by 14% and shoplifting fell by13%. burglaries down Burglaries Down by 21% Notably, there was a recorded 9% increase in metal theft offences over this period. But this has been attributed to improved recording of catalytic converter theft by the Metropolitan Police. Likelihood of Victimisation Data regarding the “likelihood of victimisation” varies by crime type and (as indicated by the telephone survey) by demographic characteristics. Its comforting to note that latest estimates show that 8 in 10 adults did not experience any of the crimes covered by the TCSEW in the year ending September 2021. Data indicates that people in the 45 to 54 year old age group are most likely to have fallen victim to crime over this period. But there were noted differences for men and women. For men, the highest reported age group was from 35 to 44 years old while for women it was the 45 to 54 year old group. Ethnicity demographics indicate the highest percentage (38%) of victims are Arab citizens in England and Wales. This is followed by 29.2% for Bangladeshis and 29.2% for Pakistanis. It is notable that black people, including African, Caribbean and black British, had a 26.5% chance of becoming a crime victim while white people had a 20.8% victim rate. Disabled members of the community are noted to have had a higher risk of becoming crime victims with a rating of 24.8% compared with 20.5%. And people who identify as bisexual are indicated to have had a 34.3% chance of being a crime victim. This compares with 34.6% for gay or lesbian people and 22.1% for heterosexuals. Emerging Crime Trends This latest crime statistics report notes that while reported incidents for certain types of crime, such as theft, have decreased during the pandemic, other types of crime are now returning to pre-pandemic levels and in some cases exceeding them. It notes that this pattern is not yet apparent from the telephone survey data - but is very clear from police data which is more up to date. It notes how fraud and computer misuse offences have not followed the apparent lockdown-related pattern seen for theft offences. It highlights that 5.1 million fraud offences were recorded in the year ending September 2021 representing a massive 36% increase compared with the year ending September 2019. Fraudsters are reported to have taken advantage of changes brought about by the coronavirus pandemic including increased online shopping and home deliveries. For example, advance-fee fraud offences have included scams in which victims transferred funds to fraudsters for postal deliveries. It is anticipated that various forms of fraud, especially online scams, are likely to increase, prompting everyone to be very vigilant and always use rigorous online security measures. If you have any questions about your security needs or if you have any special requirements remember that we are here to help. Give us a call on 01273 475500 and we’ll provide you with free, expert advice.

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