Drugs offences recorded by the police have soared by nearly a fifth to more than 230,000 in a year, new data shows.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there was an 18 per cent year-on-year leap in total recorded drug crime in England and Wales in 2025.
The 230,783 total was the highest recorded since 2011.
It included a 26 per cent increase in the number of recorded drug trafficking offences, hitting just under 76,000 – the highest on record.
In other types of crime, sex offences recorded by the police climbed to a record level of 215,180 in the year, up five per cent on 2024.
The continuing rise in offences has been put down to improved recording practices by police forces, and a growing willingness among victims to come forward.
Robbery hit the highest level for five years with 84,666 recorded offences.
Recorded shoplifting offences dipped by one per cent to 509,566 incidents after climbing significantly every year since the Covid pandemic.
Retailers have insisted the shoplifting crimewave is far from over, however, describing how shopkeepers have given up reporting every incident to police.
Lucy Whing of the British Retail Consortium said: ‘Retail theft is a significant challenge for retailers, with our own figures showing 5.5million detected incidents of theft last year.
‘While ONS figures likely underestimate the issue, as it only captures reported incidents, it aligns with our own data showing high levels of shoplifting in recent years.
‘The causes are manifold, but the rise in organised crime is particular worrying as gangs systematically target one store after another across the country.’
She added: ‘Fortunately, there are some signs of progress with the government and the police taking steps to address retail crime through the Crime and Policing Bill which will abolish the £200 threshold for so-called “low-level” theft, reinforcing that all shoplifting is unacceptable.
‘It will also create a specific offence for assaulting retail workers, leading to tougher sentences and better recognition of the issue, enabling police to allocate appropriate resources.
‘It is vital that the police make full use of this new legislation so we can bring these numbers down once and for all.’
Total violent crime was stable at 1.96million recorded incidents, the ONS figures showed.
There were 503 homicides – murders and manslaughters – a fall of six per cent from the 534 in the previous 12 months.
Total recorded crime – excluding fraud and computer offences – was down two per cent to 5.24million, the ONS said.
Separately, the Crime Survey of England and Wales – which is based on thousands of interviews with the public and is designed to cover crimes not reported to police – showed levels were stable at 9.6million incidents.
Additional data published by the Home Office showed just 8.2 per cent of crimes reported to police – or one in 12 – led to an offender being taken to court.
For sex offences the figure was just 4.6 per cent, including 3.4 per cent of reported rapes.
For robbery the charge rate was 9.6 per cent, while for theft it was 8.5 per cent.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘Shoplifting is up 8 per cent since the election – it has become the defining symbol of Labour’s breakdown of law and order.
‘A crime so routine, so consequence-free, that shop workers face more risk confronting a thief than the thief faces from the police.
‘The continued rise in sexual offences, rape and stalking is truly shameful.
‘Labour promised to halve violence against women and girls, that promise lies in ruins.’
He added: ‘Fewer than one in 12 crimes are being solved. Under this government, the odds are firmly with the criminal.
‘Labour’s answer has been to cut police numbers by over 1,300, let 50,000 criminals out early, and legislate to abolish prison sentences under a year – so virtually no shoplifter will ever go to prison.
‘The Conservatives will reverse this. Our Take Back Our Streets plan puts 10,000 extra officers on the street, triples stop and search, and introduces facial recognition in the worst crime hotspots.
‘We will make the consequences of crime real again, because under Labour, they aren’t.’
Crime and policing minister Sarah Jones said: ‘We’re driving down crimes that blight communities and have previously gone unpunished.
‘Violent crime continues to fall. Knife-related homicides are down 27 per cent since the start of this Parliament – the lowest in a decade – and homicides overall have fallen by six per cent in the last year – the lowest level in almost 50 years.
‘The direction of travel is clear. We will continue to build on this progress and not stop until every community feels a change.’
She added: ‘Rates of shop and phone theft remain unacceptably high.
‘But these figures show that our swift, decisive action is turning the tide: shoplifting is down on last year.
‘We’re scrapping the so called £200 ‘licence to steal’. The number of shoplifters facing justice continues to soar under this government, with 17 per cent more charges in just a year.
‘We have put more than 3,000 extra officers into neighbourhood roles in less than a year, dedicated to tackling local crime in their local community.
‘Our policing reforms will deliver lasting change. A new National Police Service will tackle nationwide and cross-border crime, meaning local forces will be better focused on policing their areas and protecting communities.’
