Killings rise to highest in ten years and knife crime soars to seven year high as Britain’s crime epidemic continues
KILLINGS in Britain have risen to a ten year high while knife crime surged by 16 per cent.
Fresh figures out today shows another shocking increase in the number of crimes reported to the police.
Excluding those killed in terror attacks including London Bridge, Westminster and Manchester, there was still a 12 per cent rise in murders - the highest numbers in a decade.
The total number of offences involving a knife or bladed instrument that have been recorded by cops in the year to March 2018 rose to 40,147, a seven-year-high.
There was also a two per cent spike in the number of gun-related crimes too - that is now at 6,492.
The figures revealed there was a 30 per cent rise in robberies to 77,103 last year, combined with a six per cent hike in burglaries too - to 437,537.
Police also recorded 31 per cent more rapes and 21 per cent more sexual offences - driven partly by more people coming forward and by a drive in sex offences against children too.
The latest statistics confirm Britain's crime crisis is continuing - and overall the Crime Survey for England and Wales says it is up by four per cent.
And moped crimes - which have soared in recent months - are likely to have contributed to it, the ONS said, but there are no individual numbers for them.
Last year's data showed a hike in robberies and thefts committed on mopeds across London.
But recent Met figures showed there had been a significant per cent drop in moped crimes in the capital.
Labour today called for the Government to boost police numbers to combat the rise in crime.
ONS analyst Caroline Youell said of the latest crime stats today: "It is too early to say if this is a change to the long-term declining trend.
"There have been increases in some lower-volume “high-harm” offences such as homicide and knife crime, consistent with rises over the past three years. However, the latest rise in gun crime is much smaller than previously seen.
“We have also seen continued increases in some theft offences such as vehicle-related theft and burglary, while computer viruses have fallen.”
Ministers say the Crime Survey - which asks people about their experiences - provides a more full picture of total crime stats.
It estimated that one in ten kids aged between 10 and 15 were victims of crime in the last year.
The latest knife crime victim was 17-year-old Katerina Makunova, who was found slumped in a block of flats in South London last Thursday.
Her devastated family paid tribute to the "joyful and beautiful" teen.
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At least 51 people have been fatally stabbed in London since the beginning of the year.
So far in 2018 there have been 1,296 stabbings in London up to the end of April, according to official statistics from the Met Police.
A glut of cocaine flooding the country has been partly blamed for the country's violent crime.
In February more than 250 knives and swords were seized across London in just one week and 283 people, many of them teenagers, were arrested for carrying them.
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