Crime figures: Violent crime recorded by police rises by 19%
Violent crime recorded by police in England and Wales has risen by 19% in a year, latest Home Office figures show.
The number of homicides - including murder and manslaughter - rose from 649 to 739, an increase of 14%, in the 12 months to the end of September 2018.
It is the the highest total for such crimes since 2007.
Robbery went up by 17%, as did recorded sexual offences, according to the data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Overall crimes recorded by police went up by 7% with a total of 5,723,182 offences recorded.
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John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation, which represents thousands of lower rank officers across England and Wales, said: "Society just isn't as safe as it once was, and although the police service is doing everything within its power, we are swimming against the tide and it is the public who are being let down."
'Devastating human cost'
There has also been an increase in stalking and harassment offences recorded by police, which have risen by 41%. The ONS said it was likely that improvements in the way such crimes are recorded were likely to be behind the rise.
Public order offences went up by 24% to 427,134. In this case, while the ONS said changes in recording practices might have had an impact, there could also be a "genuine" increase.
