Crimes of Violence

At the start of this Parliament, we set two flagship ambitions: to halve knife crime, and to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG).

The Office for National Statistics publishes data on crime, including serious violent crime, on a quarterly basis. For the year ending December 2025, the data shows that serious violence has fallen. We have reduced knife crime by 10%, with hospital admissions for stabbings decreasing by 13%, from 3,844 to 3,326 (as measured by hospital admissions for assault with a sharp object). Knife homicides have fallen by 27%, the lowest level in a decade, contributing to overall homicides in England and Wales reaching their lowest rate since 1977.

This demonstrates that we are progressing towards this Government’s mission to make our streets safer. But we are not complacent and recognise there is much more to do. That is why we will continue to work across-Government to reach our ambition to halve knife crime in a decade, reflected in ‘Protecting Lives, Building Hope: A Plan to Halve Knife Crime’ published in April this year.

In relation to VAWG, our best measure of prevalence for violence against women and girls (VAWG) is the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). Over the last decade, there has been a gradual reduction in the prevalence of domestic abuse and an increase in the prevalence of sexual assault, while the prevalence of stalking has remained stable.

On 18^th December 2025, the Government published ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’. This sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims - to deliver our commitment to halve VAWG in a decade.