09/02/2023
Police Oracle
The Office for National Statistics has today published its annual statistics on homicides in England and Wales which covers the period up to the end of March 2022.
Homicide returned to pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels, with 696 victims in the latest year; this is 130 more (a 23% increase) than the year ending March 2021 when government restrictions meant there was less social contact.
The homicide rate was 11.7 per million population, with the rate for males (16.9 per million population) more than twice that for females (6.6 per million population). To put these figures in context, the global average homicide rate was more than five times higher at 61 per million population. England and Wales is slightly above the European average which, in 2020, was 9 per million population. The highest rate was recorded in Latvia where 49 people out of a million were murdered. The rate was less that five per million in both Italy and Luxembourg.
Within the United Kingdom, the rate in Scotland fell to 9.5 per million. There were 24 homicides recorded by police in Northern Ireland in the year ending March 2022, a rate of approximately 12.7 per million.
Within England and Wales the most dangerous region to live in over the last three years was the Capital with a homicide rate of 14.8 per million, the safest place was the South-East with a homicide rate of 6.8 per million people; indeed in Surrey the rate was just 3.1 per million.
The homicide rate over the three-year period to the year ending March 2022 was 39.7 per million population for the Black ethnic group, approximately four times higher than for the White ethnic group (8.9 per million population).
Murder methods
Approximately 4 in 10 homicides were committed using a knife or sharp instrument (282 homicides); a 19% increase compared with the previous year, and the highest annual total since the Homicide Index began in 1946 (similar to the previous high of 281 in the year ending March 2018). There were 69 homicides victims aged 13 to 19 years; tragically 51 of these young people were killed by a knife or sharp instrument.
Domestic homicides
There were large differences in the profile of victim-suspect relationships between male and female victims aged 16 years and over. In the year ending March 2022, female victims were more commonly killed by a partner or ex-partner (33%) or a family member (13%). For males the suspected killer was more commonly a friend or acquaintance (18%), stranger (15%) or other known person (9%).
There were 134 domestic homicides in the year ending March 2022, an increase of 18 (16%) compared with the previous year. This is the highest number since the year ending March 2019 (140).
Of these 134 domestic homicides, 78 victims were killed by a partner or ex-partner (up from 69), 40 were killed by a parent, son or daughter (up from 28) and 16 were killed by another family member (down from 19).
Almost half (46%) of adult female homicide victims were killed in a domestic homicide (84). Of the 84 female victims, 81 were killed by a male suspect. In a third of all female adult victims, the suspect was their partner or ex-partner (33%, 60 homicides).
Males were much less likely to be the victim of a domestic homicide, with only 11% (50) of male homicides being domestic related in the latest year, a similar proportion to the previous year.
Drug-and alcohol-related homicides
According to the Homicide Index, in the last three years a third (33%) of victims were thought to be under the influence of alcohol and/or illicit drugs at the time of the homicide. The proportion under the influence of alcohol and/or illicit drugs was higher among male (37%) than female victims (24%), similar to the analysis in previous years.
The figures for suspects were similar to that for victims. Over a quarter (29%) of homicide suspects were recorded by the police to have been under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs at the time of the homicide.
The data also shows that almost a third (32%) of victims were known to be drug users, and 15% were known to be drug dealers. These proportions were higher among suspects with 46% known to be drug users and a fifth (29%) known to be drug dealers. These proportions were also higher among male than female suspects. In a small proportion of cases, the police identified the suspects’ motive as “obtaining drugs” (4%) or “stealing drug proceeds” (5%).
Brought to justice
The statistics include an interesting section on “investigative and court outcomes” which tells us that over the last three years 80% of suspects indicted for homicide, were found guilty of homicide, 13% were acquitted, and 4% were convicted of a lesser offence.