Police forces in England and Wales have recorded the highest number of rapes and sexual offences over a year, official figures released on Thursday show.
There were 63,136 rapes recorded in the year to September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), up 13% from the previous period (56,119).
This was the highest recorded annual figure to date and included 17,419 offences between July and September – the highest quarterly figure.
The highest number of sexual offences was also recorded in the 12 months to September (170,973), a 12% increase compared with 152,620 in the same period the previous year. This was driven by “noticeable increases since April 2021”, the ONS said.
Rape accounted for 37% of all sexual offences recorded by police.
The ONS said the latest figures may reflect a “number of factors”, including the “impact of high-profile incidents, media coverage and campaigns on people’s willingness to report incidents to the police, as well as a potential increase in the number of victims”, and it urged caution when interpreting the data.
The figures cover the months after the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in March.
She was attacked and killed by a Metropolitan police officer, Wayne Couzens, prompting a national debate about sexual violence, the safety of women and the response from government, police and prosecutors.
A statement from the ONS said: “The overall trend is also currently difficult to disentangle from the impact of lockdowns. Offences recorded by the police dropped noticeably during the spring 2020 lockdown before rebounding to previous levels in the July to September 2020 quarter.
“The winter 2020 to 2021 lockdowns saw a smaller reduction in the number of sexual offences recorded by the police but a greater level of increase in these offences in the subsequent quarters.”
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said the figures show the Conservatives had no grip on law and order.
“The government is refusing to adopt Labour’s plans to improve community safety and security – including for all police forces to have specialist rape investigation units, violence against women and girls to be a strategic policing priority, more police to be back out into local neighbourhoods or a proper plan to tackle online fraud. The result is that under the Conservatives more and more criminals are getting away with their crimes, and it is victims who are paying the price. Communities deserve better,” she said.
Diana Fawcett, chief executive at the charity Victim Support, said she was “extremely concerned” that sexual offences had not only increased but reached a record high. “Lockdown restrictions and the turmoil of the pandemic have made the past few years an especially difficult time for survivors of sexual abuse.
“We have also seen a rise in the number of survivors seeking support, in particular following the easing of national lockdowns. This may reflect rises in these offences, though it may also be the case that more survivors are reporting these crimes. It is vital that those who do come forward are treated with respect and given high quality support every step of the way through the criminal justice system.”
The latest statistics also show a fall in the number of crimes resulting in a suspect being charged. Between October 2020 and September 2021, the percentage dropped to 6% from 7.3% the previous year.
Police records also show “that over the last six months, certain offence types are returning to, or exceeding, the levels seen before the pandemic”, the ONS said. An increase in fraud and “computer misuse” offences during the pandemic “more than offset the reductions seen for other types of crime”.
Police recorded 5.8m crimes in England and Wales in the 12 months to September, a 2% increase compared with the previous year of 5.7m. Excluding fraud and computer misuse, the overall figure falls 1% to 4.9m.
There were 872,911 offences (not including fraud crimes) flagged as domestic abuse-related for the 12-month period, representing a 5% increase from 835,319 offences in the previous year.
The ONS said it “cannot conclude whether there has been an increase in the number of victims of domestic abuse” because of changes in the way the crimes are reported and recorded, but added: “Data from victim services suggests that experiences of domestic abuse may have intensified during periods of national lockdown and that victims faced difficulties in safely seeking support under these conditions.”
A press release from the Home Office about the latest figures did not mention rape or sexual assault, instead claiming that the latest statistics show that the government’s crime plan is working.
Priti Patel, the home secretary, said in a statement: “This Government continues to cut crime through our Beating Crime Plan, which brings together record resources to drive police recruitment and target the very crimes that blight too many of our communities.”
