Theft, robbery, arson, knifing: record high numbers come to light after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged at the time of taking office that he would force the police to tackle the rapid deterioration of public safety.

The number of all types of theft are increasing in the United Kingdom, despite earlier promises by the authorities to crack down on burglaries and car crime. Some 4.1 million offences have been reported in the UK in the first 9 months of 2022, compared to the 3.7 million registered in the same period last year.

This is a 12 per cent increase and the highest figure in the UK since 2014.

Car theft soared by 30 per cent, and there were also dramatic increases in burglaries and pickpocketing.

These numbers came to light after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged when he took the oath of office that he would force the police to concentrate on community policing. The analysis, however, also shows large increases in arson, violent crime and rape.

The Liberal Democrats said the figures showed the Conservatives were allowing criminals to “run riot”, and called for a return to community policing, with officers visible on the streets.

„This Conservative Government is asleep at the wheel when it comes to tackling crime, which is spiralling under their watch. Too focused on their party’s own scandals, the Conservatives are letting down victims by allowing criminals to run riot across the country,”

Alistair Carmichael said.

The number of violent crimes ending in death also rose.

The Office for Nation Statistics (ONS) ) figures, which cover England and Wales, put the number of homicides “committed using a knife or sharp instrument” in the two Home Nations at 282, an increase of almost a fifth (19 per cent) on the previous year and the highest annual total since the Home Office began keeping a Homicide Index in 1946.

In terms of demographics, youths and young men aged 16 to 24 were the most common victims of deadly knife violence, accounting for 122 deaths — but slayings in the 45 to 54-year-old age group were not far behind at 119. White people were the most common victims in terms of ethnicity, accounting for 71 per cent of the total. Men were far more likely than women to be victims, accounting for 72 per cent of deaths, and were also far more likely to be perpetrators.