ONS Blog - Understanding the impact of the pandemic on crime

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office for national statistics

ONS blog

27 October 2022

Understanding the impact of the pandemic on crime

Met Police officers on duty during the pandemic

The impact of lockdown restrictions on levels of crime is one of the lesser told stories of the coronavirus pandemic. With large parts of the population asked to stay in their homes, so-called traditional crimes such as burglary and robbery decreased. However, this was offset by rises in fraud as criminals exploited changing behaviours and more reliance of online and phone services. Meghan Elkin explains how today’s first comparable figures to before the pandemic help us understand whether there are sustained impacts on levels of crime.

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