Crime recorded by the police rose by six per cent in the year to September, including a 27 per cent jump in violence against the person, official figures have revealed.
It amounted to an extra 185,666 violent offences, bringing the annual total to more than 885,000 in England and Wales.
The Office for Nationals Statistics said: "There were also increases in some of the more serious types of police recorded violence, including a nine per cent rise in offences involving knives or sharp instruments and a four per cent increase in offences involving firearms.
"Such offences are less likely to be prone to changes in recording practices though there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that a tightening of recording procedures may also be contributing to some of the increase in some forces."
Sexual offences recorded by the police continued to show a rise which has been widely attributed to increased confidence in the criminal justice system by victims - in the latest period there was a 36 per cent year-on-year increase, or an additional 26,606 offences, bringing the total to just under 100,000.
The numbers of rapes, at 33,431, and other sexual offences, at 66,178, were at the highest level since the current recording methods were introduced in 2003.
There were also 71 more homicides in the year, with a total of 574, compared with the previous 12 months.
The rises in recorded crime data are thought to be down to more rigorous rules being introduced across police forces where there have been widespread accusations that data was "fiddled" for years.
A separate measure of crime rates - the Crime Survey of England and Wales - said levels were stable at 6.6 million incidents a year.
Jack Dromey, the shadow policing minister, said: "Police recorded crime is rising and some of the most serious crimes have soared to the highest levels in years.
"There has been a major increase in knife crime, up nine per cent, a 27 per cent rise in violent crime and a 36 per cent increase in sexual offences. Reported rape is the highest since 2003.
“Today’s figures do not even include online crime. Crime is changing and has moved online in recent years. The ONS has estimated that were such crimes to be included, the total number of recorded crimes would nearly double.
“The Tories have slashed police officers by 17,000 and broke their promise to the public to protect frontline officer numbers.
"Now we see the biggest increase in recorded crime in a decade.
"The first duty of any Government is the safety and security of our citizens. The biggest cuts to any police force in Europe is letting the British people down."
• Million violent crimes a year 'cut out' of official figures
Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/579309/s/4d0541a5/sc/13/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cnews0Cuknews0Ccrime0C121120A240CViolent0Ecrime0Ejumps0E270Ein0Enew0Efigures0Bhtml/story01.htm
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