Criminals used the Covid pandemic as cover to commit more fraud, hacking and domestic abuse offences, according to new figures.
Lockdowns and restrictions in movement in England and Wales saw a surge in online shopping which led to ‘substantial increases’ in computer crimes.
Meanwhile violence in the home increased with domestic abuse cases rocketing.
Office for National Statistics figures for the year to March detail the fullest picture to date on levels of offending during the pandemic.
Billy Gazard, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said: ‘The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on patterns of crime.
‘There were large decreases in theft offences, such as domestic burglary and theft from the person, as more people stayed at home and limited their social contact.
‘At the same time, there were substantial increases in fraud and computer misuse offences such as hacking, as fraudsters took advantage of behavioural changes during the pandemic, such as increased online shopping.
There was 55% increase in ‘hacking – personal’ offences referred by Action Fraud
There was a decrease in armed robbery crimes during the coronavirus pandemic period
Firearm offences also fell during lockdown year as crimes centred at the home
There was a fluctuation of general crime as difference types of offending took precendence
‘The number of people who became victims of violent crime also fell, driven by decreases in violence where the offender was a stranger.
‘This likely reflects a decrease in violence taking place in public spaces during national lockdown restrictions.’
Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre, reported a 28% rise, from 312,035 in 2019/20 to 398,022 in 2020/21.
The data showed a 57% increase in ‘online shopping and auctions’ fraud in the latest year – from 62,509 to 97,927 offences – and a 44% increase in ‘financial investment fraud’ – from 14,024 to 20,260 offences – the ONS said.
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau also reported a 55% increase in ‘hacking – personal’ offences referred by Action Fraud, a rise from 3,481 to 5,390 offences.
The data showed a 57% increase in ‘online shopping and auctions’ fraud
Most crimes decreased but ones that could be committed at home increased in number
The police recorded 844,955 offences (not including fraud crimes) flagged as domestic abuse-related for the 12-month period, representing a 6% increase from 798,607 offences in the previous year.
This included 672,383 violence-against-the-person offences labelled as domestic abuse-related, a 7% increase compared to the previous year.
It is ‘difficult to determine’ the levels of domestic abuse in the country using police recorded data because of changes in the way the crimes are reported so ‘we cannot conclude whether there has been an increase in the number of victims of domestic abuse’, the ONS said.
But it added: ‘Data from victim services suggests that experiences of domestic abuse may have intensified during periods of national lockdown and that victims faced difficulties in safely seeking support under these conditions.’
According to the figures, year-on-year the number of homicides fell by 16% to 600 offences, there was a 15% drop in the number of offences involving knives or sharp instruments and police recorded offences involving firearms were down 14%.
Overall, police recorded 5.4 million crimes in England and Wales in the year ending March 2021, a 10% decrease from the previous year.
