The Crime Survey found 17.1% of adults in England and Wales were victims of crime in the year to March 2026, or 9.6% excluding fraud and computer misuse
Share of adults who were victims of crime at least once in a year, in total and by type, England and Wales, 1981 to 2026. Per cent.
Latest figures
| Series | Period | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Excl. fraud and computer misuse | Year to March 2026 | 9.6% |
| All crime | Year to March 2026 | 17.1% |
| Violence | Year to March 2026 | 1.3% |
| Theft | Year to March 2026 | 7.0% |
| Criminal damage | Year to March 2026 | 1.9% |
| Robbery | Year to March 2026 | 0.1% |
| Fraud | Year to March 2026 | 7.8% |
| Computer misuse | Year to March 2026 | 1.4% |
Findings
- 9.6% of adults were victims of crime in the year to March 2026, the lowest since records began in 1981
- 7.8% of adults were victims of fraud in the year to March 2026, against 9.6% who were victims of any other crime
Notes
- The Crime Survey asks a sample of people aged 16 and over about crimes they or their household experienced in the last 12 months, including crimes not reported to the police. It doesn't cover crimes against businesses, children under 16, or people living in institutions such as care homes.
- Each line is the share of adults who were a victim at least once: of a crime against them personally, or of a crime against their household (such as burglary or criminal damage) where they live. Shares, unlike counts, aren't pushed up by a growing population. Someone who was a victim several times counts once.
- Theft covers theft from the person and household theft such as burglary; violence includes violence with and without injury. Criminal damage is the share of households. Serious but rare crimes such as homicide are measured better by police recorded crime; see the Crime Severity Score chart.
- Fraud and computer misuse have been counted only since the year to March 2017, so long-term trends use the figure excluding them. The ONS says the total including them should not be compared with earlier years.
- Before 2002 the survey asked about the previous calendar year and was not run every year. The survey was suspended for the years to March 2021 and 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, so there is a break in the lines.
Sources
More on crime
- Police recorded crime in England and Wales had a Crime Severity Score of 16.3 in the year to March 2025, from 87 offences per 1,000 people
- England and Wales had 8.6 homicides per million people in the year to March 2025, and 54 hospital admissions for assault with a sharp object per million in the year to March 2026