Police-recorded crime (excluding fraud) was 5,235,213 offences in the year ending March 2026, down 1.4% (72,220) from 5,307,433 in the year ending March 2025.
▼ 1.4% · −72,220 against Year ending March 2025 (year on year)
ONS count
Year ending March 2026
published 23 July 2026
Table A5a
row “TOTAL RECORDED CRIME - ALL OFFENCES EXCLUDING FRAUD AND COMPUTER MISUSE [note 59]”
column “Apr 2025 to Mar 2026”
cell value 5235213
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 crime, 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
The number of offences recorded by police forces in England and Wales in a 12-month period, excluding fraud and computer misuse.
People often confuse this with
Police recorded crime ≠ Crime Survey estimateRecorded crime counts offences the police record. The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates crimes experienced by households, including those never reported. Recording practice changes move the police figure without any change in crime; the survey does not cover crimes against businesses or homicide.
What this doesn’t measure
Crime that was not reported to the police, fraud and computer misuse, or crime in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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." 1998/99 is shown on the new rules.
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: "Introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) across England and Wales on 1 April 2002 ... Broadly, the NCRS 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." The modern series begins in the year ending March 2003 and excludes fraud.
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.