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Crime rate set to double after true scale of internet offences is laid bare Crime rate set to double after true scale of internet offences is laid bare
(about 2 hours later)
There were more than 5.8m incidents of cybercrime in the last year, the Office for National Statistics has said, far higher than previously thought and enough to nearly double the crime rate in England and Wales. There were more than 5.8m incidents of cybercrime in the last year, the Office for National Statistics has said, far more than previously thought and enough to nearly double the crime rate in England and Wales.
The first official estimate of the scale of online shopping scams, virus attacks, theft of bank details and other online offences is much higher than an initial ONS estimate in October last year, which put the annual figure at 3.8m, or 40% of all criminal offences. The first official estimate of the true scale of online shopping scams, virus attacks, theft of bank details and other online offences is much higher than an initial ONS estimate in October last year, which put the annual figure at 3.8m, or 40% of all criminal offences.
The ONS says one in 10 adults have been a victim of cybercrime in the past year. The chance of being a victim is the same regardless of social class or whether someone lives in a deprived or affluent neighbourhood or in an urban or rural area.
The 5.8m offences were made up of 3.8m fraud offences, which include 2.5m incidents of bank and credit card fraud, and 2m computer misuse offences, including 1.4m virus attacks. The remaining 600,000 estimated offences related to unauthorised access to personal information such as hacking of email, social media or other online accounts.
Related: Extreme online security measures to protect your digital privacy – a guideRelated: Extreme online security measures to protect your digital privacy – a guide
The ONS says one in ten adults have been a victim of cybercrime in the past year. The chance of being a victim is the same regardless of social class or location. The 5.8 million offences are made up of 3.8m fraud offences, which includes bank and credit card fraud, and 2m computer misuse offences, such as virus attacks. The latest overall figures excluding online crime in the 12 months to March 2015 show there were an estimated 6.3m offences – 6% fewer than in the previous year.
The latest figures for all offences excluding online crime in the 12 months to March 2015 show that there were an estimated 6.3m offences – 6% fewer than in the previous year. Police crime figures show that the murder rate rose by 34 to 571, the highest in five years. This is still far below the peak in 2002-03 when 1,047 homicides were recorded, but the recent rise is one of the more authoritative indicators that Britain is seeing an underlying increase in violence. The 96 deaths at Hillsborough will be added to the official homicide figures and will be included in the next set of figures after the inquests finished in April.
Police recorded crime figures show that the murder rate rose by 34 to 571 homicides, the highest rate for five years. Knife crime offences rose by 10% in the past year and gun crime increased by 4% over the same period.
The police figures also show a 27% rise in offences against the person and a 21% increase in sexual offences. Incidents of revenge porn and harassment accounted for nearly half the rise in personal violence that did not involve physical injury. The police figures also show a 27% rise in offences against the person and a 21% increase in sexual offences. Incidents of harassment, including new categories of offence such as malicious communications online, social media abuse and revenge porn, have risen 90%, from 82,000 to 156,000.
The confirmation of the high volume of online crime gives the first official snapshot of the scale of threat from online attacks and scams. However, ONS statisticians said “it would be misleading to conclude that this means actual crime levels has doubled, since the survey previously did not cover these offences.” ONS said the 21% increase in sexual offences reflected both an improvement in their recording by the police and greater willingness of victims to come forward. The crime survey shows no significant change in the proportion of adults who were a victim of a sexual assault in the past year. The figures include a 22% increase in reported rapes from 29,300 to 35,798.
The first estimate of 5.8m online offences is based on a 9,000 sample size from six months of interviews from the crime survey of England and Wales. Only when the ONS has 12 months of data in January will the online crime figures be incorporated into the headline crime rate for England and Wales. But the overall picture of all crime – excluding the 5.8m online offences – according to the crime survey of England and Wales, which is regarded as the best measure of crime trends, shows a 6% fall to 6.3m offences involving adult victims in the 12 months to March 2016.
The long-term trends in “traditional” crimes such as burglary, car thefts and criminal damage show that the fall in crime since its 1995 peak has slowed down since 2005. The crime survey found there had been no change in the overall level of violent crime compared with the previous year.
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The online crime numbers give the first official snapshot of the scale of the threat from online attacks and scams. However, ONS statisticians said it would be “misleading to conclude that this means actual crime levels have doubled, since the survey previously did not cover these offences”.
The first estimate is based on a 9,000 sample size from six months of interviews from the crime survey. Only when the ONS has 12 months of data in January will the online crime figures be incorporated into the headline crime rate.
Separate Home Office figures for police officer numbers show they fell by a further 3,126 last year to 124,000 – the lowest level since 2003.Separate Home Office figures for police officer numbers show they fell by a further 3,126 last year to 124,000 – the lowest level since 2003.
Labour’s policing spokesman, Jack Dromey, said the crime figures showed that crime was not falling but changing. “The former home secretary and now prime minister, Theresa May, inflicted the biggest police cuts in Europe under the pretence that crime was falling. Today’s revelations prove that to be false and the prime minister’s legacy in the Home Office has been laid bare. Crime will near double once cybercrime is finally included in the crime statistics,” he said.
“You are now more likely to be mugged online than on the street. I urge the new home secretary to learn from her predecessor’s follies and recognise the seriousness of cybercrime. At a time when cybercrime is soaring, violent crime is rising and the threat of terrorism is ever more serious, now is the worst possible time to continue cutting our police service.”
The policing minister, Brandon Lewis, said: “As crime falls, we know that it is also changing. Fraud and cyber offences are not a new threat and the government has been working to get ahead of the game, committing to spend £1.9bn on cybersecurity and cybercrime over the next five years. We have also established the joint fraud taskforce, bringing together law enforcement and the banking sector, while Action Fraud, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and the National Crime Agency are working to improve our response.
“We welcome today’s experimental ONS figures on fraud and cybercrime – offences which we have always known were happening but were previously unable to quantify. Having an accurate national picture will be crucial to inform future action.”