Knife homicide rates drop nearly a quarter across England and Wales
Homicide involving a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales has fallen by nearly a quarter in a year, new figures show.
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The number stood at 174 in the year to September 2025, down 23% from 227 the previous year.
The change has helped drive down the overall homicide total to a new low since current records began in 2003.
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show 499 homicides were recorded by police in the 12 months to September 2025, a drop of 7% year on year from 539.
Knife crime has also fallen, dropping by 9% to 50,430 offences in the year to September, compared with 55,149 in the previous 12 months.
'Lowest levels seen this century'
Billy Gazard of the ONS said: "While the crime survey paints a relatively stable picture, many aspects of violent crime and theft recorded by the police have fallen in the past 12 months.
"Homicide and gun crime are at the lowest levels seen this century, while knife crime has also decreased.
"The majority of police forces have seen knife crime fall in the past year, including the larger urban Greater Manchester, Metropolitan and West Midlands areas.
"This is supported by NHS data, which continue to show a decrease in hospital admissions for assault by a sharp object."
The data comes as figures published by the Metropolitan Police earlier this month showed homicides in the capital dropped to the lowest level in more than a decade last year.
There were 97 homicides in London in 2025, down 11% from 109 in 2024, and the lowest number recorded since 95 homicides 11 years ago, in 2014.
Here is a full list of the number of police-recorded incidents of knife crime and homicides.
The list is arranged alphabetically and reads, from left to right: name of police force; number of recorded incidents of knife crime in the year to September 2025; number (in brackets) of recorded incidents in the year to September 2024; numerical change year on year.
Knife crime
Avon & Somerset 1,309 (1,711), down 402
Bedfordshire 568 (608), down 40
British Transport Police 361 (487), down 126
Cambridgeshire 618 (570), up 48
Cheshire 541 (549), down 8
City of London 43 (71), down 28
Cleveland 886 (829), up 57
Cumbria 143 (191), down 48
Derbyshire 736 (653), up 83
Devon & Cornwall 875 (935), down 60
Dorset 239 (296), down 57
Durham 397 (402), down 5
Dyfed-Powys 169 (188), down 19
Essex 1,486 (1,486), no change
Gloucestershire 251 (268), down 17
Greater Manchester 3,155 (3,463), down 308
Gwent 369 (380), down 11
Hampshire 891 (1,013), down 122
Hertfordshire 706 (713). down 7
Humberside 788 (841), down 53
Kent 882 (925), down 43
Lancashire 1,163 (1,437). down 274
Leicestershire 750 (811), down 61
Lincolnshire 419 (399), up 20
Merseyside 1,178 (1,217), down 39
Metropolitan Police 14,817 (16,619), down 1.802
Norfolk 477 (451), up 26
North Wales 322 (324), down 2
North Yorkshire 295 (287), up 8
Northamptonshire 581 (574), up 7
Northumbria 1,112 (1,107), up 5
Nottinghamshire 801 (839), down 38
South Wales 666 (677), down 11
South Yorkshire 1,454 (1,458), down 4
Staffordshire 739 (755), down 16
Suffolk 322 (288), up 34
Surrey 465 (530), down 65
Sussex 948 (1,183), down 235
Thames Valley 961 (1,088), down 127
Warwickshire 325 (292), up 33
West Mercia 596 (688), down 92
West Midlands 4,116 (4,997), down 881
West Yorkshire 2,268 (2,298), down 30
Wiltshire 242 (251), down 9
Homicides
The list is arranged alphabetically and reads, from left to right: name of police force; number of recorded homicides in the year to September 2025; number (in brackets) of recorded homicides in the year to September 2024; numerical change year on year.
Avon & Somerset 6 (25), down 19
Bedfordshire 8 (8), no change
British Transport Police 5 (8), down 3
Cambridgeshire 12 (7), up 5
Cheshire 5 (3), up 2
City of London 0 (0), no change
Cleveland 6 (10), down 4
Cumbria 4 (4), no change
Derbyshire 11 (9), up 2
Devon & Cornwall 15 (9), up 6
Dorset 7 (2), up 5
Durham 3 (4), down 1
Dyfed-Powys 4 (4), no change
Essex 9 (11), down 2
Gloucestershire 9 (11), down 2
Greater Manchester 23 (26), down 3
Gwent 2 (2), no change
Hampshire 16 (9), up 7
Hertfordshire 5 (10), down 5
Humberside 4 (4), no change
Kent 13 (18), down 5
Lancashire 13 (10), up 3
Leicestershire 4 (9), down 5
Lincolnshire 7 (11) down 4
Merseyside 16 (15), up 1
Metropolitan Police 95 (112), down 17
Norfolk 2 (8), down 6
North Wales 3 (4), down 1
North Yorkshire 5 (4), up 1
Northamptonshire 10 (7), up 3
Northumbria 12 (13), down 1
Nottinghamshire 8 (13), down 5
South Wales 24 (15), up 9
South Yorkshire 7 (14), down 7
Staffordshire 6 (13), down 7
Suffolk 5 (7), down 2
Surrey 4 (11), down 7
Sussex 8 (8), no change
Thames Valley 16 (13), up 3
Warwickshire 8 (2), up 6
West Mercia 16 (6), up 10
West Midlands 34 (29), up 5
West Yorkshire 26 (28), down 2
Wiltshire 3 (3), no change