Antisocial behaviour rose last year while household thefts surged by more than a fifth amid a wave of parcel theft. Nearly 41 per cent of people witnessed or suffered antisocial behaviour in the year to March, compared to around a third in the previous 12 months. There was a 21 per cent spike in household theft - to around 791,000 incidents - because of an increase in the number of items stolen from outside homes. Parcel theft is likely to be one factor behind the rise, with criminals increasingly targeting packages left on doorsteps by online couriers. Figures for police-recorded crime collated by the Office of National Statistics for England and Wales also showed a four per cent rise in sexual offences. Elsewhere the picture was more positive, with homicides down by seven per cent to 499 and knife offences and gun crime decreasing by eight per cent. Some 176 knife homicides were logged by forces in 2025/26, down 14 per cent from 204 the previous 12 months and the lowest level for 35 years. The drop in knife-related killings helped push the overall homicide total to 'the lowest level seen this century', the ONS said.
Crime and policing minister Sarah Jones said the figures showed the Government was 'turning the tide on the crimes that blight communities', but acknowledged that 'too many people still worry about crime on their high street'.Referring to the number of police-recorded shoplifting offences, which are down four per cent year on year, she added: 'After years of neglect, we are making a difference.'This is what happens when retail crime is finally treated with the seriousness it deserves.'Charges are up 19 per cent in the last year alone, and almost one in four shop theft offences now lead to a charge.'Police-recorded shoplifting fell by four per cent. But with more than half a million offences last year it remains higher than in 2023/24. The ONS said reporting rates for shoplifting are 'known to be very low', adding that police are 'actively encouraging the reporting of all incidents and the submission of supporting evidence, such as CCTV, to strengthen intelligence, identify offenders, and link related offences'.The drop may reflect a change in the way shoplifting offences are recorded by police forces.A clarification issued to forces by the Home Office in April 2025 said that where someone has entered a retail premises, steals, then either uses or threatens violence against staff or other people, the offence should be recorded as robbery of business property, not shoplifting.This change may also account for the steep increase in offences classed as robbery of businesses, which have nearly doubled from 15,546 in 2024/25 to 29,669 in 2025/26.Overall, police forces recorded 5.24 million offences in England and Wales in 2025/26, excluding fraud and computer misuse, down one per cent from 5.31 million in 2024/25.
