First official estimate of experiences of fraud and cyber-crime demonstrates how the internet is changing the nature of crime in the UK

National Police Chief’s Council Lead for Crime Recording and Statistics Chief Constable Jeff Farrar said

“It is encouraging to see that the Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW), conducted with the public by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), continues to show decreasing incidents of crime. The eight per cent drop in the last quarter is the biggest since the survey began in 1981.

“At the same time police recorded crime has risen by five per cent. This directly reflects the efforts being made by forces to improve consistency in crime recording. Victims now have increased confidence in reporting sexual offences. We have also introduced new solutions that make it easier to report fraud offences through Action Fraud. The most notable increases in recorded crime are in violence without injury (33 per cent), sexual offences (41 per cent) and fraud (nine per cent).

“There is still a gap in what the public are experiencing and what is being reported to the police. However, it is extremely encouraging that the gap between the CSEW public survey and the recording of crime by the police continues to narrow.

“The ONS field trial between May and August on experiences of fraud and cyber-crime demonstrates how use of new technology and the internet is changing the nature of crime in the UK.  The police service is working hard with the public and private sector to come up with solutions to tackle this threat, but it presents a growing challenge. Cyber-crime exemplifies how the demands on the police service are both changing and increasing at a time when budgets continue to be placed under significant pressure.”