Homicide rate in the UK 2003-2024, by jurisdiction

There were 9.7 homicides for every million people in England and Wales in 2023/24, unchanged from the previous year, but a decline when compared to 2021/22, when the rate was 11.6. In 2022/23, the homicide rate among UK jurisdictions was highest in Northern Ireland, at 12.6 homicides per million people, and lowest in Scotland which had a homicide rate of nine. Throughout this provided time period, the homicide rate for Scotland has declined substantially. From 2003/04 to 2013/14, Scotland had the highest homicide rate among UK jurisdictions, with a peak of 27 homicides per million people recorded in 2004/05.Uptick in violent crimes since the mid-2010sIn 2002/03, there were 1,047 homicides in England and Wales, but by 2013/14 this had fallen to just 533, with similar declines also evident in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Unlike the in the latter two jurisdictions, however, there was a noticeable uptick in homicides in England and Wales from 2016/17 onwards, with 720 recorded in 2019/20. Additionally, there has been a surge in violence against the person offences in England and Wales, rising from around 600,000 in 2012/13, to more than 2.1 million ten years later in 2022/23. It is unclear what exactly is driving this trend, but in an attempt to reverse it, the UK government has started to increase the manpower and funding available to UK police forces. Struggles of the UK justice systemRecent boosts to police funding come after almost a decade of austerity was imposed on most public services. Although some government departments were protected from this, the Ministry of Justice saw its budget decline from 9.1 billion pounds in 2009/10,to just 7.35 billion pounds in 2015/16. Although the Justice Budget has also increased recently, there are several signs that the system as a whole is under pressure. There is a significant backlog of cases at Crown Courts in England and Wales, with serious offences taking an average of almost two years to pass through the court system. Meanwhile, prisons are struggling with severe capacity issues, along with upticks in violence and self-harm.

在2023/24年度，英格兰和威尔士的每百万人口中有9.7起谋杀案，与前一年持平，但与2021/22年度的11.6谋杀率相比有所下降。在2022/23年度，英国各司法管辖区中，北爱尔兰的谋杀率最高，达到每百万人口12.6起，而苏格兰的谋杀率最低，为9起。在整个所提供的时间段内，苏格兰的谋杀率显著下降。从2003/04年度至2013/14年度，苏格兰在英国各司法管辖区中谋杀率最高，2004/05年度记录的峰值达到每百万人口27起。自2010年代中期以来，暴力犯罪有所上升。在2002/03年度，英格兰和威尔士共有1,047起谋杀案，但到2013/14年度，这一数字降至仅533起，苏格兰和北爱尔兰也出现了类似的下降。然而，与后两者不同，英格兰和威尔士从2016/17年度开始，谋杀案数量明显上升，2019/20年度记录了720起。此外，英格兰和威尔士的人身攻击犯罪也急剧增加，从2012/13年度的约60万起增至10年后的2022/23年度的210万起以上。尽管尚不清楚是什么驱使这一趋势，但为了扭转这一趋势，英国政府已经开始增加可提供给英国警察部队的人力和财力。英国司法系统的挑战。在经历了近十年的紧缩政策之后，近期对警察资金的增加是在大多数公共服务受到限制之后。尽管一些政府部门免受影响，但司法部从2009/10年度的91亿英镑预算下降到2015/16年度的73.5亿英镑。尽管司法预算最近也有所增加，但整体系统面临压力的迹象显而易见。英格兰和威尔士的皇家法庭存在大量的案件积压，严重罪行平均需要近两年才能通过司法体系。同时，监狱正面临着严重的容量问题，暴力行为和自残事件也在增加。