The number of homicides involving a knife or sharp instrument recorded annually by police in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level for 35 years.
Some 176 knife homicides were logged by forces in 2025/26, down 14% from 204 in the previous 12 months.
This is the lowest number since 175 were recorded in 1990/91, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It is also more than a third lower (38%) than the peak of 282 in 2017/18.
Overall homicide total at century low
The drop in knife-related killings helped push the overall homicide total to “the lowest level seen this century”, the ONS said.
Forces in England and Wales recorded 499 homicide offences in 2025/26, down 7% from 539 in the previous year.
The total number of knife offences has also fallen, with 48,774 logged by police in the 12 months to March, down 8% from 53,096 in 2024/25.
Regional variations and minister's comment
More than half of forces (25 out of 44) recorded a year-on-year fall in knife crime in 2025/26.
They include the three largest forces: the Metropolitan Police, where offences dropped 15%, Greater Manchester, down 17%, and West Midlands, down 15%.
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 4% 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% in the last year alone, and almost one in four shop theft offences now lead to a charge.”
Shoplifting and recording changes
Some 507,086 shoplifting offences were recorded by forces in England and Wales in 2025/26, down from a record 530,324 in 2024/25.
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 crime figures and survey data
Overall, police forces recorded 5.24 million offences in England and Wales in 2025/26, excluding fraud and computer misuse, down 1% from 5.31 million in 2024/25.
The total is slightly below the pre-pandemic year of 2019/20 (5.30 million), but up from a decade earlier in 2015/16 (3.90 million).
Increases in the number of offences over the last 10 years “have been largely influenced by improvements in recording standards”, the ONS said.
As such, police-recorded crime “is not considered a reliable indicator of overall crime trends”.
Separate figures from the ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales suggest people aged 16 and over experienced 9.62 million incidents of crime in 2025/26, with “no statistically significant change” from 9.45 million in 2024/25.
This is 14% lower than the 11.22 million incidents in 2016/17, the earliest comparable year.
The survey “provides a reliable measure of crime trends for the population, and the offence types it covers” because it is not affected by police reporting or recording changes, the ONS added.
It covers a range of personal and household victim-based crime, but does not include sexual offences, stalking, harassment and domestic abuse, which are presented separately.
Billy Gazard of the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice said: “While the crime survey paints a relatively stable picture, there has been an increase in theft from outside homes in the past year, as well as more victims reporting fraud.
“There has also been an increase in experiences of anti-social behaviour.
“Many aspects of police recorded crime have fallen – homicide is at the lowest level seen this century, with a decrease in knife homicides driving the fall in the past year.
“Gun crime is at levels last seen a decade ago, while knife crime is below pre-pandemic levels.”
The crime survey suggests there were 3.80 million victims of fraud in England and Wales in 2025/26, up from 3.44 million in the previous year, while the number of incidents of household theft from outside homes rose from 622,000 to 765,000.
