POLICE-recorded crime has risen by 10% across England and Wales – the largest annual rise for a decade – according to the Office of National Statistics reports The Guardian.
The latest crime figures for the 12 months to March also show an 18% rise in violent crime, including a 20% surge in gun crime and knife crime.
The official figures also show a 26% rise in the murder rate to 723 homicides, which includes the 96 cases of manslaughter at Hillsborough in 1989.
More alarmingly the official statisticians say the rise in crime is accelerating, with a 3% increase recorded in the year to March 2015, followed by an 8% rise in the year to March 2016, and now a 10% increase in the 12 months to this March.
The accelerating rise in crime comes as Home Office figures show a further fall of 924 in the past year in the number of police officers to 123,142 in England and Wales. This is the lowest number of officers in England and Wales since 1985.
Police numbers have fallen by 20,592 since 2010.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/20/official-figures-show-biggest-rise-crime-in-a-decade
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