Homicide (police-recorded) was 499 offences in the year ending March 2026, down 7.4% (40) from 539 in the year ending March 2025.
▼ 7.4% · −40 against Year ending March 2025 (year on year)
ONS count
Year ending March 2026
published 23 July 2026
Table A5a
row “Homicide [notes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]”
column “Apr 2025 to Mar 2026”
cell value 499
Year ending March 2026 is the lowest figure in the published series: 499. Rule: lowest of the 24 periods published here (Year ending March 2003 to Year ending March 2026).
Year ending March 2003 to Year ending March 2026
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value
Joins Police-recorded homicide, 1898 to 2001/02 to the current series. The line is broken where the publisher changed method; the two sides are not directly comparable.
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestOne point a year is drawn; the source publishes overlapping year-ending figures, and every one is in the history table and CSVDashed line: change in coverage or methodShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value
Offences of murder, manslaughter and infanticide recorded by the police in England and Wales in a 12-month period.
What this doesn’t measure
The Home Office Homicide Index, which is the definitive count after cases are reclassified, or deaths from dangerous driving.
Important caveat
Police-recorded crime counts offences reported to and recorded by the police. It is affected by whether people report crime and by changes in police recording practice, so it does not measure all crime that happens. The Crime Survey for England and Wales is the better guide to long-term trends in the crimes it covers. Police recorded crime is not designated as National Statistics.
When the way this was measured changed
A series can move because the thing being measured changed, or because the way of measuring it changed. Each change below is marked on the chart, and says what the figures meant on either side of it.
April 1998 · methodology change
Before
Offences counted under the Home Office Counting Rules as they stood before April 1998.
After
Offences counted under the widened 1998 Counting Rules, which increased the number counted.
Home Office: "the change to the Home Office Counting Rules for recorded crime had the effect of increasing the number of crimes counted. Numbers of offences for years before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable."
April 2002 · methodology change
Before
Recording practice as it stood before the National Crime Recording Standard.
After
Recording under the National Crime Recording Standard, which increased the number of crimes recorded.
Home Office: the National Crime Recording Standard "had the effect of increasing the number of crimes recorded by the police. Therefore, following the introduction of the Standard, numbers of recorded crimes are not comparable with previous years."
Revision history
No period of this series has been revised since it was first ingested here. Revisions are recorded automatically when a later release publishes a different figure for the same period.
Change during each government, from the level inherited to the last complete period before it left office. Describes the period; does not attribute cause.