Steve Doughty, Social Affairs Correspondent for The Daily Mail
The bleak truth about Wild West Britain was revealed yesterday in damning new official crime figures.
The number of violent street robberies reported to police rose by nearly a third last year.
And amid public horror over bloodshed on our streets, the number of killings jumped by 12 per cent.
The total of 701 homicides – a figure that does not include the victims of the Manchester and London Bridge terror attacks – is nearly a third higher than those recorded just four years earlier.
And while knife crime and murder was concentrated in London and the major cities, robbery and mugging was rapidly on the rise in suburban counties and the shires, with increases of more than a third in Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Hertfordshire, and of two thirds in North Wales.
The Office for National Statistics figures – covering England and Wales for the year to the end of March – found that robbery soared by 30 per cent, amid concern over a wave of moped-gang snatches on city streets; burglaries recorded by police increased by 6 per cent; recorded knife crime rose 16 per cent, and police recorded 5.5 million offences in total, a rise of 13 per cent on the previous year.
It was the fourth year in succession of rising homicide, and four out of ten killings stemmed from knife attacks.
Alex Mayes, of the Victim Support charity, said: ‘It is truly shocking to see these rises in homicides and violent crime such as knife crime.
‘While overall crime levels are generally stable, these increases in some high-harm crimes are concerning. Too many lives are being shattered by these violent crimes.’
Javed Khan, of children’s charity Barnardo’s, said the knife crime figures ‘make sombre reading’.
He added: ‘From our work with the most vulnerable children and young people, we know that the reason they get involved in knife crime or gangs can be complex, but action to help stem the increase is vital.’
Matthew Scott, of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, acknowledged the gravity of the figures.
‘The public will be alarmed that police recorded crime continues to rise, up 13 per cent across England and Wales,’ he said.
‘Where there are genuine increases in serious violence, PCCs will be working with their chief constables to ensure effective plans are in place to tackle the underlying causes and keep communities safe.
‘At the same time many police forces are still going through the process of amending their crime recording practices which makes comparisons with previous years’ data difficult when it comes to lower-harm offences.’
Ministers and senior police officers maintained that the chance of becoming a victim of crime remained very low, despite the crime survey finding that one in five adults – about nine million people – were targeted by criminals over the year.
Police minister Nick Hurd said: ‘The ONS is clear that the likelihood of being a victim remains low, however, every violent crime is a significant concern and the Government is taking decisive action to tackle it.
‘We recognise that crime is changing and that police demand is becoming increasingly complex.
‘The statistics show that there has been a societal shift towards victims reporting “hidden” crimes to the police and we welcome that more victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence are feeling empowered to come forward.’
The ONS report also showed widespread computer crime, including serious thefts.
There were nearly 50,000 cases of ‘authorised push payment’ fraud in which victims are tricked into paying money from their account to one run by a gang.
On average each individual hit by a computer money con lost £2,784, and businesses typically lost £24,355.
A total of £236 million was stolen last year in computer finance scams.