Crime outcomes in England and Wales 2023 to 2024 (2024)

Frequency of release: Annual

Forthcoming release: Research and statistics

Home Office responsible statistician: John Flatley

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Key findings

This bulletin reports on investigative outcomes that police forces have assigned to notifiable offences recorded in England and Wales (excluding Devon and Cornwall; see Section 1.2) between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024. Findings are presented separately for victim-based and non-victim-based offences (see Section 1.3 for definitions).

The distribution of outcomes varies greatly between these 2 groups, with some outcomes more relevant to particular offences. In addition, the distribution of outcomes varies because some offences take longer to investigate than others, leading to a higher proportion of offences in the category ‘outcome not yet assigned’. As investigations are closed this will lead to changes in the distribution of outcomes for such offences, which can be seen in subsequent releases of data tables on a quarterly basis.

Police recorded crime (excluding fraud and Computer Misuse Act (CMA)) offences

Police recorded crime levels in England and Wales (excluding fraud and computer misuse) fell by 3% in the year ending March 2024 compared with the previous year (down from 5.6 million to 5.4 million offences^{[footnote 1]}). This is a reversal of the rising trend seen in the year ending March 2014, when 3.5 million offences were recorded (see ‘Crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2024’, ONS). The majority of the offences were victim-based offences (4.5 million, which a decrease of 2% compared with the previous year, at 4.6 million). The remaining 0.8 million offences were non-victim-based offences (similar to 0.9 million the previous year).

Around 4.9 million of the offences (excluding fraud and CMA) recorded in the year ending March 2024 were assigned an outcome, a decrease from 5.0 million the previous year (as first published in July 2023). Volumes of investigations closed for both victim-based and non-victim-based offences declined during the pandemic year ending March 2021 but are now in line with those seen before this period. For victim-based offences, 4.1 million were closed in the year ending March 2024, compared with 3.4 million in the year ending March 2021 and 3.9 million in the year ending March 2020. For non-victim-based offences, around 740,000 were closed in the year ending March 2024, compared with around 750,000 in the year ending March 2021 and around 670,000 in the year ending March 2020.

Within this, the volume of charge/summons outcomes assigned to offences (excluding fraud and CMA) increased from around 312,000 to around 341,000 (a 9% rise). This also represented a very small increase in the charge/summons rate, with 6.4% of offences recorded in the year ending March 2024 being resolved this way, compared with 5.7% the previous year, which follows a long-term downward trend. The proportion of offences not yet assigned an outcome is similar to that from the previous year (8.2% and 8.0% respectively).

Outcomes assigned to victim-based offences

Victim-based offences are those where the offence has been committed directly against an individual person or organisation, such as a business, (see Section 1.3). While there is substantial variation within this group, investigations for these offences are typically closed within a shorter timeframe. Such offences are also less likely to result in a formal or informal criminal justice outcome compared with non-victim-based offences because the latter have a higher evidential basis for recording.

Looking at outcomes assigned to victim-based offences in the year ending March 2024, the key findings were:

• following a long-term downward trend, there was a slight increase in the proportion of victim-based offences assigned a charge/summons outcome (up to 5.5% from 4.8% the previous year), which is the highest proportion since the year ending March 2015 (13%); charge/summons outcomes were also assigned within a quicker timeframe, at an average of 40 days compared with 46 days the previous year

• for violence against the person offences, there was a small increase (of one day) in average days taken to assign outcome compared with the previous year (from 23 to 24 days), which continues an increasing trend; this was influenced by increases in the average time taken to assign out-of-court disposals (an increase of 6 days from 37 to 43 days for formal disposals and an increase of 1 day from 33 to 34 days for informal disposals)

• as in previous years, rape offences assigned a charge/summons outcome took the longest time to investigate (an average of 423 days compared with 55 days for violence against the person offences and 28 days for theft offences) and were thus less likely to result in a charge/summons at the year-end (2.6% of offences); subsequently, this proportion is expected to increase over time, as shown in Figure 2.7, with the charge rate for rape offences recorded in March 2023 having increased from 2.1% as first published in July 2023 to 3.9% when published in July 2024

• the latest data for domestic-abuse-related violence published by ONS relate to the year ending March 2023 and showed that domestic-abuse-related violent offences were more likely to result in a charge/summons outcome than non-domestic-abuse-related violent offences (6.3% and 4.9% respectively); in contrast, reflecting the victim-offender relationship, domestic-abuse-related violent offences were much less likely to be closed due to no suspect having been identified (1.2% and 20.2% respectively)

• on average, residential burglary offences took 18 days to be closed, with the majority (73.3%) being closed due to no suspect having been identified while the proportion assigned a charge/summons outcome remained low, at 4.3% (a slight increase compared with 3.9% the previous year)

• a similar pattern was seen for vehicle theft offences, where most were closed with no suspect identified (83.8%) and only 2.2% resulted in a charge/summons outcome

• shoplifting offences were more likely to result in a charge/summons outcome (16.4% were closed this way in the year ending March 2024) than many other victim-based offences due to the availability of evidence (for example, offender apprehended with stolen goods by store detectives and presence of CCTV)

See Section 2 for more detailed findings.

Outcomes assigned to non-victim-based offences

Non-victim-based offences are those where the offence has not been committed directly against an individual but against society (see Section 1.3). While there is variation within this group, investigations for these offences are typically completed within a shorter timeframe and are more likely to result in a charge/summons outcome compared with victim-based offences.

Looking at outcomes assigned to non-victim-based offences in the year ending March 2024, the key findings were:

• around one in 10 (11%) non-victim-based offences were assigned a charge/summons outcome at the time of analysis (a slight increase from 10% the previous year) though these were assigned within a slightly slower timeframe, at an average of 46 days compared with 44 days the previous year

• the majority of drug possession offences related to cannabis (71%) and such offences were often closed with Cannabis Warnings or Community Resolutions (2% and 47% respectively were closed this way)

• as a result, the proportion of drug offences assigned a charge/summons outcome was lower for cannabis possession offences (16%) than for other types of drug offences (31% for other controlled drugs and 26% for all other drugs); on average, it took 61 days to assign a charge/summons outcome to drug offences

• possession of weapons offences were more likely to be assigned a charge/summons outcome than other non-victim-based offences, with 28% of cases closed this way, taking an average of 21 days to close

• most public order offences (47%) were closed due to evidential difficulties, while only 7% received a charge/summons outcome; on average, overall public order offences were closed in 17 days

See Section 3 for more detailed findings.

Fraud and Computer Misuse Act (CMA) offences

Levels of recorded fraud and CMA offences have also been following an upward trend since the NFIB first started to take over responsibility for recording fraud centrally in April 2011 (see ‘User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales’, ONS). This trend has continued in the year ending March 2024, with increasing levels of both fraud and CMA offences (up 7% and 53% respectively). For more detailed commentary on police recorded crime trends, see ONS’ ‘Crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2024’.

Outcomes assigned to fraud and CMA offences

Data for fraud and CMA offences is provided by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) as these offences are recorded centrally. Fraud and CMA offences are presented separately as they differ in their nature and investigation and the reporting of outcomes differ to those relating to other crime types as they are based on the number of outcomes recorded within a year regardless of when the offence occurred (see Section 1.8).

The data for the year ending March 2024 showed:

• there was an increase of 30% in the number of fraud and CMA offences referred to the police for investigation compared with the previous year, driven by fraud (up 37%), in contrast there was a decrease in the number of CMA offences referred for investigation (down 4%)

• the reverse was true for outcomes, where there was a decrease in outcomes assigned to fraud offences (down 15%) and an increase in outcomes assigned to CMA offences (up 15%)

See Section 4 for more detailed findings.

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview

This bulletin reports on investigative case outcomes that have been assigned to notifiable offences recorded by the territorial police forces in England and Wales. It covers all territorial police forces, except for Devon and Cornwall Police and Greater Manchester Police for certain years (see Section 1.2).

In April 2013, the Home Office introduced the current crime outcomes framework, replacing a more narrow-focused one based on ‘detections’ (see Technical annex for further information).

As well as this annual publication, the Home Office also publishes quarterly outcomes tables, without commentary. These are published in the Crime outcomes in England and Wales statistics collection.

Aggregated crime and crime outcomes data is also published alongside justice outcomes data from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the Criminal Justice System Delivery Data Dashboard. For more detailed background on the outcomes framework and how it was developed, see Annex A6 of the Technical annex.

1.2 Data issues

Following the implementation of a new IT system in July 2019, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were unable to supply data for quarters from July 2019 to March 2020. Trends reported in Sections 2 and 3 for 2019 to 2020 or earlier years exclude GMP, to allow like-for-like comparison.

Also, following the implementation of a new IT system in November 2022, Devon and Cornwall Police were unable to supply outcomes data for the quarters October 2022 to March 2024. Devon and Cornwall figures are excluded in Sections 2 and 3 when comparing trends to previous years.

The Metropolitan Police have provided a manual data submission for the month of March 2024 (due to changing to a new IT system) as they were not able to submit data returns via the Home Office Data Hub (HODH).

The above issues do not impact on commentary in Section 4 as data on fraud and CMA offences is provided separately to those for other offence types (see Section 4 for further information).

1.3 Victim-based and non-victim-based offences

Previous publications included separate sections on trends in crime outcomes and timeliness of assigning outcomes. This year, the 2 sets of commentary have been merged to present the overall narrative more clearly. Chapters have this year been split to report on findings for victim-based and non-victim-based offences separately, as types and timeliness of outcomes assigned naturally differ between these 2 broad offence categories:

• victim-based – crimes which are reported by an individual victim, or business. These comprise: violence against the person, sexual offences, theft, robbery and criminal damage and arson

• non-victim-based – crimes which do not have a direct individual victim but are instead committed against society; an offender may have already been apprehended at the time of recording the offence (for example, an offender in possession of drugs). These comprise: public disorder, drug offences, possession of weapons and other items, handling stolen goods and other miscellaneous offences committed against the state

How crimes are resolved varies considerably by the type of crime and reflects a range of factors including: the nature of the offence, differing police priorities and the varying challenges in gathering evidence. For example, it will generally be far more difficult to identify a suspect for a criminal damage offence that was not witnessed or caught on CCTV, than one where such intelligence is available.

In contrast, for some crimes, such as drug possession offences, the police may apprehend the offender at the time the crime comes to their attention, making a formal or informal criminal justice sanction much easier to achieve. Similarly, for an offence where substantial forensic evidence exists, it will be easier to proceed to a charge than for one where such evidence does not exist. The willingness of victims or witnesses to engage with the police can also vary by type of offence and the relationship between the victim and the offender.

1.4 The full outcomes framework

Since its introduction in April 2014, the framework has developed to cover a broader range of outcome types for police forces to use. Detailed descriptions of each outcome type can be found in the Technical annex.

The main recorded crime data presented in this report provide a snapshot, at the time of analysis, of the current case status of offences recorded during the year ending March 2024.

The outcomes of some cases, especially those recorded towards the end of the financial year, may be subsequently revised once investigations have been completed, or new lines of enquiry have been opened. While all crimes will eventually have an outcome, this may take considerable time for some offences, particularly so for rape and other sexual offences.

At any given point, police forces will be undertaking crime investigations to which they will not yet have assigned a final outcome. Police forces will therefore submit revised data to the Home Office as investigations are completed and some data previously published will be revised in subsequent releases.

As such, for those offences where there are a significant volume of investigations still open, the data (as first published) does not present a complete picture of police performance. This is illustrated in Figure 2.7 with the case of rape offences where the proportion of investigations resulting in a suspect being charged rises over time and also in a new data table Table 2.5 showing the progression of cases, from their status as first published, alongside this release to allow users to view this at offence group level.

It is currently not possible to provide this information for fraud and CMA offences as the data provided by NFIB reflect outcomes recorded in the year, which may relate to offences recorded in previous years. It is not possible to track the progression of fraud and CMA offences over time.

1.5 Outcome groupings in this bulletin

Some of the tables and charts in this bulletin show grouped outcomes to simplify presentation. For transparency, open data tables are also published that show the full range of police outcomes. These are accessible from the Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables.

For statistical purposes, all recorded crimes are assigned one outcome type. Please refer to the Home Office Counting Rules for information on recording outcomes.

Table 1.1 shows the grouping of outcomes used in this report. These were structured taking into account user feedback following a consultation in 2014.

Table 1.1: Grouping the outcomes framework from April 2013 onwards (outcomes one to 22)

Notes:

1. Outcome 19 applies to fraud offences recorded by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau only, which are reported on separately in Section 4.

See Section 6 of the Technical annex for detailed descriptions of each outcome type.

Data on outcomes 1a, 2a and 3a have been included in open data and summary tables since late 2023, following quality assurance checks by Home Office analysts which deemed the data for publication.

1.6 Future changes to the outcomes framework

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act 2023 introduced a simplified, strengthened 2-tier out-of-court-disposal (OOCD) framework of 2 new cautions to apply to offenders aged 18 and over. The Diversionary Caution (upper tier) and Community Caution (lower tier) will replace the existing mix of OOCDs with a tougher, more consistent framework of out of court sanctions across England and Wales. As part of this change, the use of penalty notice for disorder (PND) and cannabis/khat warnings would be discontinued. Police would still be able to use community resolution.

Failing to complete an adult community caution could result in a fine and failure to complete a diversionary caution could result in formal proceedings being taken against the suspect including a charge and appearance at court. This progression makes it clear to offenders that their actions have consequences. Offenders must admit their offence to be eligible for the new cautions, which means taking responsibility for their actions and engaging with their punishment.

In addition to the above, there has been growing demand from users of these statistics for us to combine outcomes into broader categories to inform the judgement of police performance. As we finalise these proposals, we will consult with users before introducing changes to the presentation of future statistics.

1.7 Supplementary data tables

The chapters in this bulletin discuss key topics of interest related to the outcomes data. Data presented in these chapters, as both charts and tables, is available online via the bulletin tables published on the GOV.UK website.

In addition to the tables found in the main bulletin, a number of supplementary tables are available here, which provide additional data on the topics discussed, plus data on areas not covered. Alongside the outcomes data, data on transferred and cancelled records are also published.

1.8 Outcomes for offences that were recorded in the reporting period

This is the principal method used to present outcomes data in Section 2 and Section 3 of this bulletin; it looks at outcomes for offences recorded in the reporting period (previously referred to as ‘Outcomes for offences recorded in quarter’ in linked data tables) in which the offence was recorded. It allows the distribution of outcomes to be shown for individual crimes that were recorded in the reporting period. At first publication, as some investigations are ongoing there will be crimes which do not yet have an assigned outcome. As investigations close, outcomes will be finalised and revised in subsequent quarterly data tables.

It is not possible to present outcomes data for fraud and computer misuse offences in this format, as the data provided by the NFIB cannot be linked to offences (for more information, see Section 4).

1.9 Outcomes for investigations closed in the reporting period

This measure relates to outcomes to investigations closed in a particular reporting period (such as a calendar quarter or year) regardless of when the associated crime was recorded (previously referred to as ’Outcomes recorded in quarter’). As such, it will include outcomes for cases initially recorded in a previous year. It is the method applied to fraud data (for more information, see Section 4). Ratios can be calculated showing the number of outcomes recorded in the year as a proportion of all crimes recorded in the same year. This is how rates were presented before it was possible to link individual crimes with their outcomes.

This approach provides a fuller measure of police activity in relation to crime in a given year. However, comparing the number of outcomes with the number of recorded offences in this way should be done with caution, since rates could appear to change from one year simply because of a shifting balance between crimes and outcomes recorded over time. For example, some crime types could show a rate of over 100 per cent against a particular outcome, which is sometimes the case for relatively low volume crimes.

1.10 Outcomes where a charge or caution has been made for an alternate offence to the one that was recorded

In response to feedback from users, data on outcomes assigned to alternative offences were first published in the year to June 2023 data tables. This is the first time findings for these outcome types have been reported in the commentary.

The Home Office Counting Rules require the police to record offences based on the crime that has been committed. However, sometimes the police or Crown Prosecution Service may decide to charge a defendant with an alternative offence. This is much more common for victim-based offences than non-victim-based offences. Approximately 12% of all charge outcomes recorded for victim-based offences in the year ending March 2024 were for an alternative offence, compared with 5% for non-victim-based offences. From the data held centrally by the Home Office it is not possible to identify the specific alternative offence that has been charged.

2. Victim-based offences

This chapter reports on those crimes described as victim-based (excluding fraud and Computer Misuse Act offences; see Section 4), that is where the offence has been committed directly against an individual victim. This could be an individual person or a business or other organisation. Victim-based crimes differ from non-victim-based crimes, not only in terms of the make-up of these offences but also in terms of the distribution of outcomes these offences typically receive. Victim-based offences comprise: violence against the person, sexual offences, theft, robbery and criminal damage and arson (see Section 1.3). Figures presented in this chapter exclude Devon and Cornwall (see Section 1.2).

2.1 Key findings

This section reports on investigative outcomes that police forces have assigned to notifiable victim-based offences recorded by the police in England and Wales. Some offences, particularly rape offences, generally take longer to investigate, with outcomes then assigned in subsequent years.

• around 4.5 million victim-based offences were recorded in the year ending March 2024 (excluding Devon and Cornwall police force), a decrease of 2% compared with 4.6 million in the previous year. At the year-end, 7.9% were still under investigation compared with 7.6% in the previous year (representing a rise of around 4,500 offences)

• the volume of charge/summons outcomes increased from 216,206 to 246,541, which resulted in the percentage of charge/summons rising from 4.8% in the year ending March 2023 to 5.5% in the latest year

• the percentage of offences with a charge/summons rose across all offence types, except for robbery (which remained the same at 6.5%). Theft offences saw the biggest increase (from 4.4% to 5.8% compared with last year). Both sexual offences and rape offences saw a slight rise in the volume of charge/summons (from 3.6% to 4.2%, and 2.1% to 2.6% respectively)

• a higher than average proportion of both sexual offences and rape offences were assigned to one of the evidential difficulties’ categories, when compared with other crime types, just under half of sexual offences cases (47.6%), and just over half for rape offences (52.8%), both similar levels to last year (48.9% and 53.8% respectively)

• the most common reason for victim-based offences being closed remained no suspect having been identified, with 43.1% of cases closed this way in the year ending March 2024; a similar proportion to that recorded the previous year (42.5%). This trend was driven by theft offences, with 71.9% of cases being closed this way, compared with 73.7% in the previous year

Figure 2.1: Proportion of victim-based offences resulting in a charge and/or summons or evidential difficulties outcome, or where an outcome is yet to be assigned, year ending March 2016 to year ending March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

Notes:

1. Data excludes fraud offences, which are reported on in Section 4. Fraud offences are now recorded by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) rather than police forces.
2. Proportions show the percentage of crimes recorded in the year receiving each outcome.
3. Based on data from 41 forces (plus the British Transport Police). Data excludes Devon and Cornwall and Greater Manchester. Following the implementation of a new IT system in November 2022, Devon and Cornwall Police have been unable to supply outcomes data for the quarters, October 2022 to March 2024. Following the implementation of a new IT system in July 2019, Greater Manchester Police have been unable to supply data for quarters from July 2019 to March 2020.
4. Percentages displayed in the chart may differ slightly to those reported in the text as the figures in the chart exclude GMP as well as Devon and Cornwall (See Section 1).

As previously found, the length of time it took police forces to assign an investigative outcome for a victim-based crime varied by both the type of offence and the type of outcome:

• for all victim-based offences where the investigation resulted in a charge/summons, the average number of days taken to reach this outcome fell by 6 days to a (median) average of 40 days, compared with 46 days in the year ending March 2023

• this improvement in the timeliness of reaching a charging decision was not seen across all offence types. There was a fall of 2 days in the average number of days to a charge/summons outcome for both theft (from 30 to 28 days) and robbery offences (from 56 to 54 days)

• in contrast, there was a rise in the average number of days to a charge/summons outcome for violence against the person offences (up by one, from 54 to 55 days) and sexual offences (up by 6, from 271 to 277 days), including rape offences (up by 2, from 421 to 423 days)

Table 2.1: The difference in the average (median) length of time taken to assign an outcome between the year ending March 2019 and the year ending March 2024, by offence type

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

Notes:

1. Median days for the year ending March 2019 to the year ending March 2023 are as first published.
2. Only includes data for forces who send offence-level data to HODH. In the year ending March 2019, only 2 forces did not submit offence-level data and in the following years (year ending March 2020, year ending March 2021, year ending March 2022 and year ending March 2023) 3, 4, 5 and 4 forces respectively did not submit offence-level data.

2.2 How outcomes varied by offence group

For victim-based offences, there tend to be more challenges in obtaining evidence and they generally take longer to investigate, compared with non-victim-based offences. In view of this, the 2 groups of offences have been considered separately, with this section focussed on victim-based offences and Section 3 on non-victim-based offences (see Section 1.3).

As in previous years, how crimes were resolved varied considerably by the type of crime and reflected a range of factors including: the nature of the offence, differing police priorities and the varying challenges in gathering evidence. For example, it will generally be far more difficult to identify a suspect for a criminal damage offence that was not witnessed or caught on CCTV, than one where such intelligence is available.

In contrast, for some crimes, such as shoplifting offences, the police may have apprehended the offender at the time the crime came to their attention, making a formal or informal criminal justice sanction much easier to achieve. Similarly, for an offence where substantial forensic evidence exists, it will be easier to proceed to a charge than for one where such evidence does not exist. The willingness of victims or witnesses to engage with the police can also vary by type of offence and the relationship between the victim and the offender.

These factors may also subsequently impact on the length of time needed to complete an investigation and on the distribution of outcomes. For example, a fairly large proportion of sexual offences recorded in a year will remain under investigation in the subsequent year. Just over a quarter (26.6%) of sexual offences recorded in the year ending March 2024 had not yet been assigned an outcome at the end of the year (similar to last year, at 26.2%). Where investigations into sexual offences are closed, around half will be closed due to evidential difficulties (47.6% for the year ending March 2024 and 48.9% for the previous year). This reflects challenges associated with investigating such crimes, such as those related to evidence and/or support of the victim.

The variation in outcomes across offence groups is illustrated by the differences in the 6 offence types selected to highlight such variation in Figure 2.2 (a more detailed offence breakdown can be found in Bulletin table 2.2).

Figure 2.2: Outcome proportions by outcome group and offence group, for year ending March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

Notes:

1. Data excludes fraud offences. Fraud offences are now recorded by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) rather than police forces.
2. Offences asked to be taken into consideration by a court (TICs).
3. Includes caution - adults; caution - youths; Penalty Notices for Disorder.
4. Includes cannabis/khat warnings and community resolutions.
5. Includes not in the public interest (CPS); Not in public interest (Police); Offender Died; Prosecution prevented (suspect under age; suspect too ill; victim/key witness dead/too ill); Prosecution time limit expired.
6. Includes evidential difficulties where the suspect was/was not identified and the victim does not support further action.
7. Outcome 21 (Further investigation to support formal action not in the public interest) was introduced from January 2016 on a voluntary basis and became mandatory from April 2016.
8. Outcome 22 was introduced on a voluntary basis from April 2019.
9. Proportions show the percentage of crimes recorded in the year receiving each outcome.
10. Based on data from 42 forces (plus the British Transport Police). Data excludes Devon and Cornwall. Following the implementation of a new IT system in November 2022, Devon and Cornwall Police have been unable to supply outcomes data for the quarters, October 2022 to March 2023.

2.3 Violence against the person

This is a broad offence group covering a wide spectrum of physical violence, from homicide and serious violent crime through to lower harm and less serious common assault. It also includes offences involving psychological or emotional (rather than physical) abuse, such as harassment and stalking. The nature and circ*mstances of violent offences can also vary considerably, which impacts on the distribution of outcomes.

Within violence against the person offences, there is a significant difference between domestic abuse and non-domestic abuse offences. In the former, the victim/suspect relationship is known, whereas other violence can involve strangers and be committed in public rather than the private space. While the suspect may be known, victims may be wary of supporting prosecution and evidence is more contested. On the other hand, abuse offences tend to be seen as higher priority but can take longer to investigate, therefore, there is more scope for victim withdrawal.

In the regular quarterly related tables published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS; July, 2024), typically around a third (33.4%) of violence against the person offences are flagged as domestic-abuse related.

In the latest year, around 4 in 10 (41.9%) violence against the person offences resulted in victims not supporting police action. In addition, a previous publication on domestic abuse and the criminal justice system from the ONS (November, 2023) showed that in the year ending March 2023, over half of domestic-abuse related crimes (53.4%) were closed due to evidential difficulties where the victim did not support further action, compared with less than a quarter of non-domestic-abuse related crimes (22.1%).

Within violence against the person crimes, there was a slightly higher charge rate (6.3%) for domestic abuse-related crimes compared with that for non-domestic abuse-related crimes (4.9%).

Reflecting the victim-offender relationship, the proportion of domestic abuse-related offences which closed due to no suspect having been identified was very low compared with non-domestic abuse-related crimes (1.2% compared with 20.2% respectively).

Outcomes varied within this offence group by the type of crime, with the charge/summons rate for violence with injury offences being slightly higher than that for violence without injury (7.5% and 5.8% respectively). Most of this difference was accounted for by victims of violence without injury not supporting police action (44.2% compared with 39.5% for violence with injury). In contrast, there was a much higher charge/summons rate for homicide offences, with around 6 in 10 of these cases closed with this outcome (61.6%). Homicide offences can often take longer to investigate, and this was reflected in that around a third (34.9%) had not yet been assigned an outcome.

The overall increase in average days to outcome was influenced by the Out-of-court disposal outcome. For the Out-of-court (formal) disposal outcome, there was an increase of 6 days in the year ending March 2024 compared with the previous year (up from 37 to 43 days). The length of time to assign an Out-of-court (informal) disposal also increased by one day, to 34 days, when compared with the previous year.

Figure 2.3: The time taken (median days) for outcomes to be assigned to offences, by offence group, year ending March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

Figure 2.4: The time taken (median days) for charge/summons outcomes to be assigned to offences, by offence group, year ending March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

2.4 Sexual offences

Sexual offences, which includes rape (covered in Section 2.5) and other sexual offences, was the crime type with the highest proportion of cases not yet assigned an outcome at the year-end (26.6%). This reflected the greater complexity and extended time required to investigate such offences compared with other crime types. It also impacts on the distribution of other outcomes and contributes to the apparently low charge/summons rate for the year when the data was first published.

Though sexual offences resolved with a charge/summons outcome have remained at a similar level over recent years (3.6% in the year ending March 2023, 3% in the year ending March 2022, 3.6% in the year ending March 2021, and 3.2% in the year ending March 2020), there was an increase to 4.2% in year ending March 2024. However, we expect the charge/summons rate to increase as more crimes are closed following an investigation. For example, for sexual offences recorded in the year ending March 2022, the rate increased from 3% (when published in July 2022) to 7.2% (when published in July 2024), see Figure 2.5 for further years.

Figure 2.5: Proportion of sexual offences assigned ‘charged/summons’ outcome recorded in the years ending March 2020, 2021, 2022, as when first published compared with subsequent updates^1,2

Source: Chart inspired by presentation of outcomes data by Gavin Hales from London Metropolitan University, 2024. See Operation Soteria – Transforming the Investigation of Rape (npcc.police.uk) – Transforming the Investigation of Rape (npcc.police.uk), NPCC, for further information on the progress of Operation Soteria work into transforming the investigation of rape.

Notes:

1. Figures for Year ending March 2020 are excluding Greater Manchester police as they were unable to provide full data to the Home Office Data Hub in this period.
2. Figures for Year ending March 2022 are excluding Devon and Cornwall police as they were unable to provide full data to the Home Office Data Hub in this period.

A higher than average proportion of cases were assigned to one of the evidential difficulties categories, when compared with other crime types. For example, around a third of cases (33%) were closed because the victim did not support further police action against a suspect, which was at a similar level to the previous year (34.5%). Conversely, given the nature of the crime, sexual offences had a much lower level of suspects not identified (14.6%), compared with 40.2% for all offences (the proportion for individual offence groups was 15.8% for violence against the person offences, 50.3% for robbery offences, 71.9% for theft offences, and 59.5% for criminal damage and arson).

As with charge rates, we expect the proportion of cases closed with evidential difficulties to rise as more investigations are closed and final outcomes assigned. For example, for sexual offences recorded in the year ending March 2023, 48.9% of cases were initially assigned an evidential difficulties outcome (when first published in July 2023) but this has now increased to 61.3% (when published in July 2024).

As in previous years, sexual offences took longer to assign an outcome than any other crime type, with around 42% of such offences closing after 100 days, the same as the year ending March 2023, where the equivalent proportion was 42%. The average number of days to assign an outcome remained high, at 73 days, similar to 72 days for the previous year.

Figure 2.6: The time taken (median days) for sexual offences to receive an outcome, by outcome type, years ending March 2023 and 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

2.5 Rape offences

Rape made up 22.6% of all sexual offences in the year ending March 2024. The proportion of rape offences assigned a charge/summons outcome has risen very slightly from 2.1% (1,401 charges) in the previous year to 2.6% in the latest one (1,733 charges). This charge/summons rate will increase as more crimes are closed following an investigation and will be apparent in subsequent quarterly data releases. For example, for the year ending March 2023, the rate increased from 2.1% when first published in July 2023, to 3.9% at 2,614 charges in the latest released figures. Trends for further years can be seen in Figure 2.7. The rise in charges for rape offences is likely to reflect the increased focus on rape following the cross-criminal justice system rape review.

Figure 2.7: Proportion of rape offences assigned ‘charged/summons’ outcome recorded in the years ending March 2020, 2021, 2022, as when first published compared with subsequent updates^1,2

Source: Chart inspired by presentation of outcomes data by Gavin Hales from London Metropolitan University, 2024. See Operation Soteria – Transforming the Investigation of Rape (npcc.police.uk) – Transforming the Investigation of Rape (npcc.police.uk), NPCC, for further information on the progress of Operation Soteria work into transforming the investigation of rape.

Notes:

1. Figures for Year ending March 2020 are excluding Greater Manchester police as they were unable to provide full data to the Home Office Data Hub in this period.
2. Figures for Year ending March 2022 are excluding Devon and Cornwall police as they were unable to provide full data to the Home Office Data Hub in this period.

Rape offences saw a slight increase in the time taken to charge/summons (up by 2 days, from 421 to 423 days), and 54% of rape offences closed after 100 days, a slight increase compared with the year ending March 2023, where the equivalent proportion was 51%. Though the police assigned charge/summons outcomes to rape offences have always been high, it was previously assigned in much shorter timeframes (for example, in the year ending March 2016, the equivalent figure was 243 days). This was likely due to police increasingly prioritising high-harm crimes (such as rape) and therefore delivering a timelier charge/summons outcome to such offences.

Around 53% of rape offences were assigned an evidential difficulties outcome (a similar level to last year, at 54%). Although there has been a concerted effort to improve the investigative performance of rape (please see rape review), these offences remain challenging to investigate. Again, we expect the amount of cases closed with evidential difficulties to rise as more outcomes are assigned. For the year ending March 2023, 53.8% of rape offences were assigned an evidential difficulties outcome (when published in July 2023) and this increased to 72.5% (when published in July 2024).

The average time taken to assign the ‘Evidential difficulties (suspect identified; victim supports action)’ outcome for rape offences increased by 26 days, up to 248 days compared with the previous year. The average time taken to assign the ‘Evidential difficulties (victim does not support action)’ outcome for rape offences increased by 11 days, up to 84 days across the same period.

2.6 Theft offences

The overall category of theft comprises a large range of different types of acquisitive crime and in this section we focus on several of the key sub-categories of interest. Fuller information on all theft offences can be found in the Outcomes open data tables.

The distribution of outcomes for residential burglary offences largely followed those seen for all theft offences (see Bulletin table 2.2), with 73.3% of offences closed in the year ending March 2024 due to no suspect having been identified (a similar level to 74.2% in the previous year).

There was a rise in charge rates for residential burglary offences, from 3.9% in the year ending March 2023 to 4.3% in the year ending March 2024. Within this category the charge rate for home burglary offences was higher (at 4.9%), whereas the charge rate for burglaries of an unconnected building was lower (2.2%). These categories were introduced in April 2023.

Similarly, non-residential burglary offences showed a slight increase in the charge/summons outcomes (up from 7.1% in the year ending March 2023, to 7.9% in the year ending March 2024), and followed the general trend of theft offences, with 70% of offences closed due to no suspect having been identified in the year ending March 2024 (compared with 71.8% the previous year).

It is too early to assess the extent to which this reflects an improved focus on investigating burglaries following the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) commitment in 2022 for the police to attend the scene of every home burglary.

For residential burglary offences, police forces took on average 18 days to close an outcome in the year ending March 2024, which is a 2-day increase compared with the previous year. The median days taken to assign an ‘Investigation complete - no suspect identified’ outcome for residential burglary offences was 13 days during the year ending March 2024, which is also an increase of 2 days compared with the previous year. The average number of days to assign a charge/summons outcome for residential burglary offences decreased by 6 days (from 53 to 47 days) when compared with the previous year ending March 2023.

Vehicle theft comprises 3 broad categories of offences (theft from a vehicle, theft of a motor vehicle, and vehicle interference). The majority of vehicle offences were closed in the year ending March 2024 with no suspect having been identified (83.8%), a small decrease on the previous year (85.7%), whilst charge rates were at a similar level (at 2.2%, compared with 1.8% in the year ending March 2023).

Around half of shoplifting offences were closed in the year ending March 2024 due to no suspect having been identified (55.8% compared with 54.5% in year ending March 2023). Though small, this is a second consecutive rise, up from 53.7% in the year ending March 2022.

Charge rates for shoplifting offences were higher than for other theft offences on average, with 16.4% resulting in a charge/summons (a 2 percentage point rise from 14.2% in the year ending March 2023), which could be the result of more accessible evidence, for example, CCTV within the shop or the offender being detained on the premises. Shoplifting offences also received a higher proportion of Out-of-court (formal) disposals (such as Cautions and Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs)), compared with other theft offences, at 0.6% (compared with vehicle offences, theft from the person, and residential burglary, all at 0.1% in the year ending March 2024). Around 2 in 10 (18.1%) of shoplifting cases were assigned an evidential difficulties outcome, a decrease from the previous year (at 21%).

The median days taken to assign an outcome for shoplifting offences increased by 2 days, from 6 to 8 days in the year ending March 2024 compared with the previous year.

2.7 Robbery

Half of robbery offences (50.3%) were closed in the year ending March 2024 due to no suspect having been identified (compared with 48.6% in the year ending March 2023). Around 2 in 10 robbery offences were closed due to evidential difficulties where the victim did not support further action (21.0%, similar to the 21.6% in the previous year).

The proportion of robbery offences resolved with a charge/summons outcome remained the same as last year, at 6.5%. The police were slightly quicker to reach a charge/summons decision in the year ending March 2024, with the average number of days down by 2 to 54 days when compared with the previous year.

The median days taken to assign an outcome for robbery offences had been increasing steadily since the year ending March 2018, from around 23 days to 65 days during the year ending March 2023. However, the latest year saw a decrease to 47 days (down by 18 days when compared with the previous year).

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) accounts for a disproportionate volume of robbery offences (43% of all those recorded in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024) and trends in this police force area tend to impact on the national picture. As such, the MPS recorded a decrease in the median days taken to assign an outcome for robbery offences, down by 101 days (from 161 to 60 days) when compared with the previous year.

2.8 Outcomes where a charge or caution has been made for an alternate offence to the one that was recorded

Alternate offences are where a suspect has been subsequently charged or cautioned with a different offence to that recorded by the police. This can arise because the crime recording standards require forces to record on the basis of the offence committed in law. This ensures a consistent approach to recording and reflects the experience of victims. However, the application of the CPS charging standards can result in some charges being downgraded, but details of which offence has been charged are not collected from forces. This is much more common for victim-based offences than for non-victim-based offences. Data on the number of charges for alternate offences was not available for Devon and Cornwall, Durham and Gloucestershire and these cannot be separately identified from other charges.

Approximately 10% of all charge outcomes recorded for victim-based offences in the year ending March 2024 were for an alternate offence. Nearly a quarter (22%) of charge outcomes recorded for violence offences were downgraded to a lesser offence. This was more common for violence with injury (40% of all charge/summons outcomes were for alternate offences) than violence without injury (8%). Overall, 8% of all rape charge outcomes were downgraded to a lesser offence and 9% for sexual offences (including rape).

Figure 2.8: Proportion of alternate charge/summonsed outcomes assigned to offences recorded in the year ending March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

3. Non-victim-based offences

This chapter reports on those crimes described as non-victim-based, that is where the offence has not been committed directly against an individual victim but against society. Non-victim-based crimes differ from victim-based crimes, not only in terms of the make-up of these offences but also in terms of the distribution of outcomes these offences typically receive. Non-victim-based offences have no direct individual victims. They comprise: public disorder, drug offences, possession of weapons and other items, handling stolen goods and other miscellaneous offences committed against the state (See Section 1). Figures presented in this chapter exclude Devon and Cornwall (See Section 1).

Key findings

This bulletin reports on investigative outcomes that police forces have assigned to notifiable non-victim-based offences recorded by the police in England and Wales:

• the proportion of non-victim-based crimes resulting in a charge and/or summons increased slightly, to 11% (compared with 10% the previous year). This is the first annual rise following a steady decline since the year ending March 2016, when it was at a high of 29%

• the most common reason for a case being closed remained no suspect having been identified, with 24% of cases closed this way, no change from the previous year

• the proportion of offences receiving an out-of-court disposal remained at 10% this year, no change when compared with last year

• similarly, the proportion of offences not yet assigned an outcome remained at 10%, also no change from last year

• the proportion of offences with an evidential difficulties outcome decreased to 38% this year, a 2-percentage point drop when compared with last year

The length of time it took police forces to assign an investigative outcome for a non-victim-based crime varied by both the type of offence and the type of outcome:

• overall, an average (median) of 21 days was taken between the date the crime was recorded and the day the outcome was assigned, an increase of 3 days compared with the previous year

• for non-victim-based offences assigned with the charge/summons outcome, the average number of days to assign the outcome was 46 days (up from 44 days the previous year)

• there was an increase in the average days to a charge/summons outcome for drug offences (up by 2, from 59 to 61 days)

• there was also an increase in the average days to a charge/summons outcome for both possession of weapons offences (up by 3 from 18 days to 21 days) and public order offences (up by 6, from 35 days to 41 days)

The police recorded 11% fewer non-victim-based offences (excluding Devon and Cornwall police) this year compared with last year (down from 929,563 to 826,983). Subsequently, there was a fall in volumes of investigations closed, around 742,000 non-victim-based offences recorded in the year ending March 2024 were assigned an outcome, a decrease from 838,000 from the previous year (an 11% fall).

Within this, the volume of charge/summons outcomes decreased slightly from 95,961 to 94,469 (a 2% fall). However, the charge/summons rate for non-victim-based offences rose slightly this year with the charge rate at 11%, an increase of just over one percentage point compared with last year. The proportion of offences not yet assigned an outcome (10%) stayed at the same level as the previous year.

Figure 3.1: Proportion of non-victim-based offences resulting in a charge and/or summons or out-of-court disposals, or where an outcome is yet to be assigned, year ending March 2016 to year ending March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

Notes:

1. The data excludes fraud offences, which are reported on in Section 4. Fraud offences are recorded by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) rather than police forces.
2. Proportions show the percentage of crimes recorded in the year receiving each outcome.
3. Based on data from 41 forces (plus the British Transport Police). The data excludes Devon and Cornwall and Greater Manchester. Following the implementation of a new IT system in November 2022, Devon and Cornwall Police have been unable to supply outcomes data for the quarters, October 2022 to March 2024. Following the implementation of a new IT system in July 2019, Greater Manchester Police have been unable to supply data for quarters from July 2019 to March 2020.
4. Percentages displayed in the chart may differ slightly to those reported in the text as the figures in the chart exclude GMP as well as Devon and Cornwall (See Section 1).

3.1 How outcomes varied by offence group

As in previous years, how crimes were resolved varied considerably by the type of crime and reflected a range of factors including: the nature of the offence, differing police priorities and the varying challenges in gathering evidence. For example, it will generally be far more difficult to identify a suspect for a public order offence that was not witnessed or caught on CCTV, than one where such intelligence is available. In contrast, for some crimes such as drug possession offences, the police may have apprehended the offender at the time the crime came to their attention, making a formal or informal criminal justice sanction much easier to achieve. Similarly, for an offence where substantial forensic evidence exists, it will be easier to proceed to a charge than for one where such evidence does not exist.

Around 11% of non-victim-based offences resulted in a charge/summons for the year ending March 2024, which is 5 percentage points higher than for victim-based offences (6%). And around 10% of non-victim-based offences resulted in an out-of-court (formal and informal) outcome, 8 percentage points higher than for victim-based offences. In part, this reflects the crime recording rules where the police are only required to record a non-victim-based offence if the points to prove are made out at the time the offence is identified. This is a higher bar than set out in the National Crime Recording Standard for victim-based offences (see The National Crime Recording Standard). As a result, non-victim-based crimes are more likely to have clear evidence to allow the police to assign a charge/summons or out-of-court disposal within a shorter timeframe.

The variation in outcomes across the 4 different non-victim-based offence groups is illustrated in Figure 3.2 (a more detailed offence breakdown can be found in Bulletin table 2.2).

Figure 3.2: Proportion of outcomes assigned to non-victim-based offences, by offence group and outcome type, year ending March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

Notes:

1. The data excludes fraud offences. Fraud offences are recorded by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) rather than police forces.
2. Proportions show the percentage of crimes recorded in the year receiving each outcome.
3. Based on data from 42 forces (plus the British Transport Police). The data excludes Devon and Cornwall. Following the implementation of a new IT system in November 2022, Devon and Cornwall Police have been unable to supply outcomes data for the quarters, October 2022 to March 2024.

During the year ending March 2024, non-victim-based offences on average took less time from an offence being recorded to receiving a positive outcome^{[footnote 2]} (25 days), compared with victim-based offences which on average took longer to receive a positive outcome (38 days). Victim-based crimes tend to be more complicated in nature (as explained in chapter 2) and usually takes longer to investigate. For example, in 2019 to 2020 177,554 (refer to bulletin table 1.6) drug offences were recorded, of which 42,476 closed with a charge/summons outcome that year. Following this same cohort of offences, by the year ending March 2024, the number which had been assigned a charge/summons outcome had increased by 30% (up from 42,476 to 55,169). Whereas, for victim-based offences such as rape, there were 55,622 offences recorded in 2019 to 2020, and around 785 offences received a charge/summons that year, with the total more than trebling to 2,686 in the year ending March 2024. This highlights that for non-victim-based offences, an outcome is more likely to be recorded within the same year than for victim-based offences.

Non-victim-based offences took on average 3 days longer (up from 22 to 25 days) to assign a positive outcome in the year ending March 2024, compared with the previous year. Non-victim-based crimes on average took around 46 days for a charge/summons outcome to be assigned (up 2 days from the previous year). Out-of-court disposals took less time for non-victim-based offences, with out-of-court (formal) outcomes averaging to around 34 days during the latest year (an increase of around 7 days when compared to the previous year). Out-of-court (informal) outcomes averaging to around 12 days during the latest year (an increase of around 1 day when compared with the previous year).

Figure 3.3: The average (median) length of time taken to assign an outcome to non-victim-based offences between the year ending March 2020 and the year ending March 2024, by outcome group, England and Wales

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

Notes:

1. The data excludes fraud offences. Fraud offences are recorded by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) rather than police forces.
2. The number of median days calculation includes data from 39 territorial police forces. Excludes Devon and Cornwall, Humberside, West Midlands, and Greater Manchester Police Force. The data for these forces was identified to have quality issues or the data was not provided at record level to the Home Office Data Hub in time for the reporting period.

Table 3.1: Number of outcomes assigned by offence type and outcome group, for year ending March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

Notes:

1. The data excludes Fraud and Computer Misuse Act (CMA) offences. Fraud offences are recorded by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) rather than police forces.
2. The figures relate to the number of crimes recorded in the year receiving each outcome.
3. Based on data from 42 forces (plus the British Transport Police). The data excludes Devon and Cornwall. Following the implementation of a new IT system in November 2022, Devon and Cornwall Police have been unable to supply outcomes data for the quarters, October 2022 to March 2024.

3.2 Drug offences

Around 55% of drug offences received a formal or informal criminal justice sanction, with around 2 in 10 receiving a charge/summons outcome (19%) and around twice as many (36%) receiving an out-of-court disposal. There was a difference between how possession of cannabis and possession of other drugs were resolved, with cannabis possession having a much lower charge/summons rate (16%) than for other drug offences (31%). This reflects the fact that possessions of small amounts of cannabis for personal use will often be dealt with through a Cannabis Warning or a Community Resolution, but the suspect must admit guilt for such outcomes to be applied.

Trends in the volume of drug offences can be influenced by police activity, such as stop and search, with the latest statistics (year ending March 2023) showing that just over half (51% or 37,911) of all arrests resulting from section 1 stop and searches were made where the initial search reason was suspicion of drug possession. This means that there often is evidence to apply a formal or informal sanction, due to evidence being immediately available.

The proportion and number of drugs searches steadily increased between the years ending March 2018 and March 2021, but has reduced in the 2 years since then. The peak in the year ending March 2021 may have been affected by proactive searches for drugs during national lockdowns throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Several police forces reported that a reduction in demand for other calls to service, such as response to crime, during periods in which there were restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, gave increased capacity for proactive policing.

In the year ending March 2024, drug possession offences received a slightly higher proportion of charge/summons outcomes (20%) than drug trafficking offences (18%).

Compared with other offence types, a small proportion of drug offences were closed due to no suspect being identified (8%).

Nearly half (49%) of all cannabis offences were resolved with Cannabis Warnings or Community Resolutions, compared with 23% of possession offences involving other drugs. The majority of drug possession offences recorded in the year ending March 2024 related to cannabis (90,405 compared to around 35,517 offences of all other drug types) and as a result, the overall charge rate for possession of drug offences has been driven by the charge rate for possession of cannabis.

It should be noted that police forces have differing local policies on using out-of-court disposals for cannabis possessions, which needs to be considered when looking at force-level breakdowns. For example, Avon and Somerset and Lancashire Constabulary do not use Cannabis/Khat Warnings for simple possession of cannabis offences, instead preferring the use of Community Resolutions when appropriate.

The average number of days taken to assign an outcome for drug offences increased slightly from 25 days in the previous year to 29 days in the latest year ending March 2024. Some forces in the past have reported a backlog of forensic examinations, including analysis of items such as mobile phones, to ascertain evidence of drug dealing, as well as testing to identify the drugs that have been seized. This may have contributed to the increase in median days. The average days taken to assign a charge/summons outcome for all drug offences has gone up by 2 days compared with the previous year (from 59 to 61 days).

One in 10 of drug offences were assigned with an outcome on the same day the offence was recorded and around 5 in 10 (51%) of drug offences were assigned with an outcome within the first 30 days of the offence being recorded. Around 3 in 10 (27%) of drug offences took more than 100 days for an outcome to be assigned (see Figure 3.5).

Figure 3.4: The time taken (median days) for outcomes to be assigned to offences broken down by offence types, year ending March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

Notes:

1. The data excludes fraud offences. Fraud offences are recorded by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) rather than police forces.
2. The number of median days calculation includes data from 39 territorial police forces. Excludes Devon and Cornwall, Humberside, West Midlands, and Greater Manchester Police Force. The data for these forces was identified to have quality issues or the data was not provided at record level to the Home Office Data Hub in time for the reporting period.

3.3 Possession of weapons offences

Around 36% of possession of weapons offences received a formal or informal criminal justice sanction, with nearly 3 in 10 receiving a charge/summons outcome (28%), which is the highest for any non-victim-based offence (see Figure 3.2). Around 8% of offences received an out-of-court disposal, which is a relatively low proportion compared with other non-victim-based offence groups and reflects that the nature of these offences means out-of-court disposals are often not appropriate. As a comparison, the equivalent figure for drug offences was 36%, as many of these can be dealt with out-of-court (see Figure 3.2). Nearly a third (32%) of all possession of weapons offences were closed with an evidential difficulties outcome, meaning a suspect could not be proceeded against.

Trends in possession of weapons offences are similar to those for drug offences in that they are both influenced by police activity, such as use of stop and search. This means that there is often evidence to apply a formal or informal sanction as possession of an illegal weapon means someone is caught red-handed.

Nearly half (47%) of all possession of weapons offences were those related to the possession of an article with a blade or point (such as a knife), and 32% of such offences resulted in a charge/summons outcome.

The average number of days taken to assign an outcome for possession of weapons offences has increased when compared with the previous year (29 days in the year ending March 2024 compared with 26 days the previous year). The average number of days taken to assign a charge/summons outcome for all possession of weapons offences also increased by 3 days, to 21 days, across the same period.

Around one in 10 (11%) of possession of weapons offences were assigned an outcome on the same day the offence was recorded. Around 5 in 10 (51%) possession of weapons offences were assigned an outcome within the first 30 days of the offence being recorded, and a quarter (25%) of possession of weapons offences took more than 100 days for an outcome to be assigned (see Figure 3.5).

Table 3.2: The average (median) length of time taken to assign an outcome between the year ending March 2019 and the year ending March 2024, by offence group, non-victim-based offences, England and Wales

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

1. Median number of days for the year ending March 2019 to the year ending March 2023 are as first published.
2. Only includes data for forces who send offence-level data to HODH. In the year ending March 2019, only 2 forces did not submit offence-level data and in the following years (year ending March 2020, year ending March 2021, year ending March 2022, year ending March 2023 and year ending March 2024) 3, 4, 5, 5 and 4 forces respectively did not submit offence-level data.

3.4 Public order offences

Nine per cent (the same proportion as last year) of public order offences received a formal or informal criminal justice sanction, and 7% (one percentage point higher than the previous year) received a charge/summons outcome. Around 47% (2 percentage points lower than the previous year) of offences received an evidential difficulties outcome, which is the highest of any non-victim-based offence. Around a third (33%; one percentage point higher than the previous year) of all public order offences received an ‘investigation complete - no suspect identified’ outcome.

Around three-quarters (76%) of all public order offences were offences that related to public fear, alarm or distress, and 11% of total public order offences were for racially or religiously aggravated public fear, alarm or distress. Three per cent of public fear, alarm or distress resulted in a charge/summons, whereas 10% of racially or religiously aggravated public fear, alarm or distress resulted in a charge/summons.

The average number of days taken to assign an outcome for public order offences increased to 17 days in the year ending March 2024 (up from 13 days the previous year). The average number of days taken to assign a charge/summons outcome for public order offences increased even more (up by 6 days to 41 days).

Around 14% of public order offences were assigned with an outcome on the same day the offence was recorded. Around 6 in 10 (62%) of public order offences were assigned an outcome within the first 30 days of the offence being recorded, and around 15% of public order offences took more than 100 days for an outcome to be assigned (See Figure 3.5).

Figure 3.5: The length of time between non-victim-based offences being recorded and outcomes being assigned in the year ending March 2024

Source: Home Office Data Hub (HODH)

Notes:

1. The data excludes fraud offences. Fraud offences are recorded by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) rather than police forces.
2. The number of median days calculation includes data from 39 territorial police forces. Excludes Devon and Cornwall, Humberside, West Midlands, and Greater Manchester Police Force. The data for these forces was identified to have quality issues or the data was not provided at record level to the Home Office Data Hub in time for the reporting period.

3.5 Outcomes where a charge or caution has been made for an alternate offence to the one that was recorded

The Home Office Counting Rules require the police to record offences based on the crime that has been committed. However, sometimes the police or Crown Prosecution Service may decide to charge a defendant with an alternative offence. This is much less common for non-victim-based offences than victim-based offences. Approximately 5% of all charge outcomes recorded for non-victim-based offences in the year ending March 2024 were for an alternate offence. Nearly one in 10 (9%) of charge/summons outcomes recorded against public order offences related to an alternative offence. This was less common for offences such as drug offences (3% of all charge/summons outcomes were for alternate offences). From the data held centrally by the Home Office it is not possible to identify the specific alternate offence that has been charged.

4. Investigative outcomes assigned to Fraud and Computer Misuse Act (CMA) offences

Key findings:

• the number of fraud offences recorded increased by 7% between the year ending March 2023 and the year ending March 2024, from 1,131,946 offences to 1,214,639 offences. This was largely driven by an increase in reports from UK Finance, with a 20% rise from 460,537 offences to 554,293 offences

• the number of Computer Misuse Act (CMA) offences recorded increased by 53%, from 26,604 in the year ending March 2023 to 40,832 in the year ending March 2024

• of the fraud offences recorded by the police, a relatively small proportion were referred to territorial forces for investigation (2% for the year ending March 2024; see Section 4.1). The number of fraud offences referred to forces for investigation increased by 37% (from 18,202 to 24,870) compared with the year ending March 2023

• the number of CMA offences referred to forces for investigation fell by 4% (from 3,545 to 3,388)

• the total number of fraud offences assigned an investigative outcome decreased from 45,457 in the year ending March 2023 to 39,354 (down 15%) in the year ending March 2024, while the total number of CMA offences assigned an outcome increased from 5,837 to 6,768 (up 15%)

4.1 Introduction

Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre. More information on the recording of fraud and Computer Misuse Act (CMA) offences can be found in the Crime statistics user guide.

Action Fraud reports are reviewed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), based at the City of London Police, who are responsible for allocating offences to forces for them to investigate (these are known as a ‘dissemination package’). Each dissemination package can be made up of any number of offences, from one to hundreds. If investigators believe one suspect or set of suspects is responsible for a number of different offences, many similar crimes may be linked together. Also an offence can be included in more than one dissemination package, if it links to multiple crime networks. However, each offence only receives one final investigative outcome.

The police recorded crime series, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), also incorporates offences reported to the NFIB by 2 fraud prevention industry bodies: Cifas and UK Finance. Figures for these fraud bodies have been included in fraud and total counts only, as neither industry body collects or provides reports relating to CMA offences.

Outcomes data for the year ending March 2023 differ from those published last year and are based on updated data received from the NFIB^{[footnote 3]}. For the year ending March 2024, revised figures will be published next year as additional outcomes records are added to the system over the coming months. Where comparisons are made to last year’s data, these are based on the revised data.

For further information on the NFIB’s outcomes recording process please see the Technical annex section.

The outcomes presented in this section differ to those relating to other crime types as they are the number of outcomes recorded within a year regardless of when the offence occurred.

4.2 Fraud and Computer Misuse Act (CMA) offences, referrals and outcomes in the year ending March 2024 - headline findings

The findings from the referrals and outcomes data for the year ending March 2024 are presented below. Fraud and CMA offences are presented separately as they differ in their nature and investigation.

Table 4.1 shows the number of unique fraud and CMA offences sent to police forces for investigation, alongside the total number of fraud and CMA offences recorded in the years ending March 2023 and 2024.

The number of recorded fraud offences have been on an upward trend since the NFIB first started to take over responsibility for recording fraud centrally in April 2011^{[footnote 4]}. There was an 8% increase in the year ending March 2024 compared with the previous year (up from 1,158,550 to 1,255,471 offences).

The number of fraud offences referred to territorial police forces for investigation in the last year has also increased, but remained low overall. 18,202 cases were referred in the year ending March 2023, and 24,870 in the year ending March 2024.

In contrast, the number of CMA offences referred to forces for investigation fell slightly (by 4%) from 3,545 in the previous year to 3,388 in the latest year.

Table 4.1: Number of fraud and CMA offences and referrals, years ending March 2023 and March 2024 (note 1, 2)

Notes:

1. Caution should be taken when comparing data for fraud offences and referrals. Data presented are for offences and referrals recorded within the year. Offences which were referred to forces for investigation will not necessarily be sent in the year the offence was recorded.
2. In previous outputs, NFIB data on fraud and CMA at Police Force Area level have been labelled as ‘Experimental Statistics’. Home Office statisticians have reviewed the data and believe it is provided to a consistent standard each quarter and have now re-labelled this data as official statistics.
3. Recorded fraud and CMA offences for the year ending March 2023 do not match previously published figures due to data revisions and the inclusion of Devon and Cornwall Police.
4. These numbers reflect the total number of unique offences referred to forces for further investigation, so offences in 2 or more dissemination packages are only counted once. The overall total includes some offences without a final offence code, so totals do not sum.
5. Cifas and UK Finance do not report CMA offences.
6. During the year to March 2023 the NFIB experienced staff shortages, contributing to a reduction of referrals by volume.

[x] indicates that data is not available.

4.3 Outcomes recorded against fraud and Computer Misuse Act (CMA) offences by outcome type

Tables 4.2.1 and 4.2.2 show the number of investigative outcomes recorded by the police against fraud and CMA offences in the year ending March 2023 and the year ending March 2024, by outcome type. These are presented alongside the total number of fraud and CMA offences referred to territorial police forces and the total number of recorded fraud and CMA offences for the latest and previous year. The figures presented here differ from the way in which they are presented in Section 2 and Section 3 for all other recorded crime, since it is not currently possible to link individual crime records to their respective outcomes for fraud and CMA offences. The outcomes included here simply relate to cases closed in the latest year and may relate to cases referred to forces in a previous year.

Table 4.2.1: Number of fraud outcomes recorded, years ending March 2023 and March 2024 by outcome type (note 1, 3, 5)

Notes:

1. In previous outputs, NFIB data on fraud and CMA at Police Force Area level have been labelled as ‘Experimental Statistics’. Home Office statisticians have reviewed the data and believe it is provided to a consistent standard each quarter and have now re-labelled this data as official statistics.
2. Offences asked to be taken into consideration by a court (TICs).
3. Offences recorded by Action Fraud, Cifas and UK Finance with outcomes recorded by the NFIB in the year ending March 2023 or the year ending March 2024.
4. This outcome does not apply to fraud offences.
5. Following updates from forces, figures for the year ending March 2023 have been revised from last year’s publication.
6. This outcome was introduced in April 2019. This was previously a voluntary outcome type for police forces to record.
7. These numbers reflect the total number of unique offences referred to forces for further investigation, so offences in 2 or more dissemination packages are only counted once. The overall total includes some offences without a final offence code, so totals do not sum.
8. During the year ending March 2023 the NFIB experienced staff shortages, contributing to a reduction of referrals to police forces for investigation by volume.

[z] indicates that percentage changes have been suppressed for cases under 50

[x] refers to zero

Table 4.2.2: Number of CMA outcomes recorded, years ending March 2023 and March 2024 by outcome type (note 1, 3, 5)

Notes:

1. In previous outputs, NFIB data on fraud and CMA at Police Force Area level have been labelled as ‘Experimental Statistics’. Home Office statisticians have reviewed the data and believe it is provided to a consistent standard each quarter and have now re-labelled this data as official statistics.
2. Offences asked to be taken into consideration by a court (TICs).
3. Offences recorded by Action Fraud, Cifas and UK Finance with outcomes recorded by the NFIB in the year ending March 2023 or the year ending March 2024.
4. This outcome does not apply to fraud offences.
5. Following updates from forces, figures for the year ending March 2023 have been revised from last year’s publication.
6. This outcome was introduced in April 2019. This was previously a voluntary outcome type for police forces to record.
7. These numbers reflect the total number of unique offences referred to forces for further investigation, so offences in 2 or more dissemination packages are only counted once. The overall total includes some offences without a final offence code, so totals do not sum.
8. During the year ending March 2023 the NFIB experienced staff shortages, contributing to a reduction of referrals to police forces for investigation by volume.

[z] indicates that percentage changes have been suppressed for cases under 50

[x] refers to zero

Compared with other crime types (reported in Section 2 and Section 3), a low number of recorded fraud and CMA offences have an investigative outcome because a high volume are screened out by the NFIB as not having viable lines of enquiry (see Section 4.1)^{[footnote 5]}.

Between the year ending March 2023 and March 2024, there was a 37% increase in the number of fraud offences referred to police forces for investigation (up by 6,668 offences), and a 4% decrease in CMA referrals (down by 157 offences).

There were 3,641 referred fraud offences that were closed with a ‘charge and/or summons’ outcome in the year ending March 2024, 10% fewer than were recorded for the year ending March 2023 (4,037). The number of CMA offences that received a ‘charge and/or summons’ outcome increased in the same period from 69 to 147. While this appears to be a large rise (113%), the increase was from a very small base number of offences.

For fraud offences there was a decrease of 18% in the number of cases closed with an outcome of ‘investigation complete: no suspect identified’, down from 18,299 to 15,040. This outcome was used for 38% as slight decrease from 40% of fraud investigative outcomes (a similar proportion to 40% the previous year). The number of CMA offences that received this outcome increased by 25%, from 4,017 in the year ending March 2023 to 5,036 in the year ending March 2024.

4.4 Referrals and outcomes by Police Force Area

Tables 4.3.1 and 4.3.2 show fraud and CMA referrals and outcomes data for the years ending March 2023 and March 2024 by Police Force Area (PFA).

As previously mentioned, it is important to note that the number of outcomes does not correspond to the number of offences referred to police forces in a given year. Caution should be taken when comparing the number of outcomes to referred offences as fraud and CMA investigations can take a long time to complete, meaning the offence may have occurred in a previous year. Small numbers at PFA level mean there are fluctuations from year to year.

During the year ending March 2023 the NFIB experienced staff shortages, which are thought to have contributed to the low number of cases referred to forces for investigation in that year. There was also a review of the processes by which reports are prioritised, reviewed and referred to forces, to increase the number of referrals and improve timeliness and quality. While the new processes bedded in and staff were trained, this had a detrimental impact on the volume of cases referred to forces for investigation.

Table 4.3.1: Fraud and CMA offences referred to forces for investigation (note 2), by police force area, years ending March 2023 and March 2024 (note 1, 3)

Notes:

1. In previous outputs, NFIB data on fraud and CMA at Police Force Area level have been labelled as ‘Experimental Statistics’. Home Office statisticians have reviewed the data and believe it is provided to a consistent standard each quarter and have now re-labelled this data as official statistics.
2. These numbers reflect the total number of unique offences referred to forces for further investigation, so offences in 2 or more dissemination packages are only counted once. The overall total includes some offences without a final offence code, so totals do not sum across offence type or geography.
3. Offences reported by Cifas and UK Finance are included in the relevant fraud categories. In publications before the year ending March 2021, these figures were only included in the total number of referred offences.
4. The high number of referrals to Cleveland Police in the year ending March 2023 was driven by large groups of linked offences.
5. During the year ending March 2023 the NFIB experienced staff shortages, contributing to a reduction of referrals by volume.

Table 4.3.2: Outcomes assigned to recorded fraud and CMA offences (note 2, 3), by police force area, years ending March 2023 and March 2024 (note 1)

Notes:

1. In previous outputs, NFIB data on fraud and CMA at Police Force Area level have been labelled as ‘Experimental Statistics’. Home Office statisticians have reviewed the data and believe it is provided to a consistent standard each quarter and have now re-labelled this data as official statistics.
2. The number of outcomes will not necessarily correspond to the number of referrals in a given year since investigations can take months or longer to complete.
3. Following updates from forces, figures for the year ending March 2023 have been revised from last year’s publication.
4. Durham Constabulary carried out a large investigation in the year ending March 2023, which returned a large number of outcomes.
5. Derbyshire Constabulary, Warwickshire Police, and West Mercia Police informed the Home Office they have taken steps to improve the accuracy of their outcome reporting in the year ending March 2024.
6. Northamptonshire Police ascribed their reduction in outcomes to a reduction in cases referred to them for investigation by the NFIB.
7. West Yorkshire Police reported an increased number of offences whose outcomes have not been finalised in the year ending March 2024. These are expected to appear in the updated figure for the year in next year’s publication.
8. North Wales Police experienced a data submission issue affecting outcomes returned in the year ending March 2024. When figures are updated next year, outcome totals for North Wales Police are expected to increase.

[x] indicates zero

5. Further information

5.1 References

Action Fraud (2024), “Fraud and cyber crime national statistics”. Available at: Fraud and cyber crime national statistics (actionfraud.police.uk)

His Majesty’s Government (2021), “The end-to-end rape review report on findings and actions”. Available at: The end-to-end rape review report on findings and actions (publishing.service.gov.uk)

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) (2019), “Fraud: Time to choose – An inspection of the police response to fraud”. Available at: Fraud: Time to choose - An inspection of the police response to fraud - His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (justiceinspectorates.gov.uk)

Home Office (2024), “Criminal justice system (CJS) delivery data dashboard”. Available at: Home - CJS Dashboard (justice.gov.uk)

Home Office (2024), “Home Office Crime Recording Rules for frontline officers and staff”. Available at: Home Office Crime Recording Rules for frontline officers and staff - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Home Office (2024), “Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables”. Available at: Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Home Office (2024), “The National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS): What you need to know”. Available at: The National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) : What you need to know (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Home Office (2023), “Crime outcomes in England and Wales 2022 to 2023”. Available at: Crime outcomes in England and Wales 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Home Office (2014), “Crime outcomes in England and Wales 2013 to 2014”. Available at: Crime outcomes in England and Wales 2013 to 2014 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) (2024), “Operation Soteria – Transforming the Investigation of Rape”. Available at: Operation Soteria – Transforming the Investigation of Rape (npcc.police.uk)

National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) (2023), “Police now attending scene of every home burglary”. Available at: Police now attending scene of every home burglary (npcc.police.uk)

National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) (2022), “All home burglaries will be attended by the police”. Available at: All home burglaries will be attended by the police (npcc.police.uk)

Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2024), “Crime in England and Wales: Other related tables”. Available at: Crime in England and Wales: Other related tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2024), “Crime in England and Wales: Year ending March 2024”. Available at: Crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2024

Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2024), “User Guide to Crime Statistics for England and Wales”. Available at: Crime and justice methodology - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022), “Domestic abuse and the criminal justice system, England and Wales”. Available at: Domestic abuse and the criminal justice system, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) (2023), “The quality of police recorded crime statistics for England and Wales”. Available at: The quality of police recorded crime statistics for England and Wales – Office for Statistics Regulation (statisticsauthority.gov.uk)

Crime and crime outcomes data are also published alongside justice outcomes data from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the Criminal Justice System Delivery Data Dashboard

5.2 Important information

Before April 2013, official statistics about how the police deal with crimes focused narrowly on ‘detections’ (the number of cases resolved with a formal or informal criminal justice outcome). In April 2013, the Home Office introduced the new outcomes framework and changed the presentation of its crime outcomes statistics.

From April 2014 onwards, police forces have supplied data to the Home Office on a broader set of outcomes including those that do not result in a formal or informal criminal justice outcome. The year ending March 2014 bulletin^{[footnote 6]}, published in July 2014, showed the first provisional statistics from the new outcomes framework. We have since developed the statistics with input from police forces and users.

Since the publication of the year ending June 2023 data in October 2023, data for outcomes 1a, 2a and 3a, have been published within the summary and open tables.

We continue to ensure that these police recorded crime outcomes statistics are:

• meeting identified user needs, including providing new analysis and greater transparency
• well explained and readily accessible
• produced according to sound methods
• managed impartially and objectively in the public interest

The statistics in this bulletin are designated as Official Statistics as in January 2014, the UK Statistics Authority found that police recorded crime statistics did not meet the required standard for designation as National Statistics. The full assessment report against the Code of Practice for Official Statistics can be found on the UK Statistics Authority.

In July 2014, the Home Office Chief Statistician and the UK Statistics Authority Head of Assessment agreed to badge the year to March 2014 Crime Outcomes bulletin as Official Statistics, rather than National Statistics. This reflects the move to the new outcomes framework, and also the possibility that outcomes data is affected by similar issues to those that led to the de-designation of police recorded crime statistics.

Full details are available here:Outcomes (formerly Detections) Statistics: David Blunt to Ed HumphersonOutcomes (formerly Detections) Statistics: Ed Humpherson to David Blunt

The UKSA published a new report on the quality of police recorded crime statistics for England and Wales in 2023. A report on police recorded fraud and CMA data is expected later in 2024.

5.3 Previous releases

Earlier editions of this bulletin included a section on outcomes for domestic abuse-related offences. This has not been produced in recent years as data is now published by ONS.

Previous editions of ‘Crime outcomes in England and Wales’ bulletins

Copies of other Home Office publications (including crime statistics releases prior to April 2012)

Copies of crime statistics publications from April 2012 are available from the Office for National Statistics website

This includes the User guide to crime statistics, a useful reference guide with explanatory notes regarding the issues and classifications that are key to the production and presentation of the crime statistics.

5.4 Contact details

For further information about crime outcomes statistics, please email: CrimeandPoliceStats@homeoffice.gov.uk or write to:

Home Office Responsible Statistician: John Flatley, Programme Director for Crime Statistics. Contact via CrimeandPoliceStats@homeoffice.gov.uk