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In 2024/25, London had the highest homicide rate of any region of the United Kingdom, at ****Ìýhomicides per million people, followed by the East Midlands at ***homicides per million people.ÌýOn a more local level, and when just looking at England and Wales, London's homicide rate was however below that of four other police force areas during this time period.

Are homicides declining in the UK?

When compared with the early 2000s, there are far fewer homicides across the UK. In England and Wales, the number of homicides has fallen from in 2002/03, to *** in 2024/25. In Scotland, homicides fell from *** to ** in the same time period, while in Northern Ireland, there were ** homicides in 2023/24, compared with ** in 2002/23. This decline was not consistent, however, with a noticeable uptick in homicides towards the end of the 2010s, particulary in England and Wales. As whole though, homicide rates across all three legal jurisdictions in the UK are far lower than twenty years earlier.Ìý

Types of crimes rising in 2025

Although homicides have fallen to relatively low levels in 2024/25, overall crime remains quite high. Types of crime that have increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic in particular include shoplifting which reached a peak of ** offences in England and Wales in 2024/25. Although overall thefts have fallen, theft from the person offences (such as pickpocketing or snatching of property) reached a high of ** offences in the same reporting year. Sexual offences also peaked in 2024/25, reaching ** offences, compared with * in 2012/13.Ìý