Police-recorded crimes have hit a new 20-year high in England and Wales but the number of resulting charges has plummeted, which Labour has blamed on a “shameful lack of leadership from the Conservatives on law and order”.
Driven by a sharp rise in offences including fraud, rape and violent attacks, a total of 6.3 million crimes were recorded in the year to March 2022 – per cent higher than the previous all-time high of 6.1 million in 2019/20.
