What are the latest statistics from the Office for National Statistics on rape and sexual offences 2023 2024?
Executive summary
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows tens of thousands of rape and sexual‑offence incidents recorded by police and measured in the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) across 2023–24, but the exact year‑on‑year picture is clouded by survey errors, reduced samples and new legislation that changed what is counted; police recorded rape in the year ending March 2023 was 68,949, while ONS directs users to appendix tables for the latest police figures through mid‑2024 and warns that CSEW estimates for 2024 are based on a half sample and 2023 CSEW data were affected by a data‑collection error [1] [2] [3].
1. Police‑recorded rape: the headline number for 2023 and where 2024 sits
ONS reporting records 68,949 rape offences by the police in the year ending March 2023, a commonly cited baseline for recent trends, but for the period covering to mid‑2024 the ONS points to appendix table A5a (year ending June 2024) for the most recent police recorded rape figures rather than a single consolidated March‑2024 figure published in summary text [1] [2].
2. Sexual offences more broadly: recording jumps, but why the rise may not be straight crime growth
ONS data for later periods show a large rise in total sexual‑offence records — the police recorded 209,079 sexual offences in the year ending March 2025, an 11% increase on the prior year, and ONS explicitly states that more than half of that rise is attributable to two new offences created by the Online Safety Act 2023 (sharing or threatening to share intimate images; sending images of genitals) which began to be recorded from 31 January 2024 — a legislative and recording change that therefore complicates simple year‑on‑year crime comparisons across 2023–24 [4].
3. Survey estimates (CSEW): methodology problems and reduced samples in 2023–24
The CSEW, which estimates prevalence of sexual assault and rape from victim surveys, had significant data‑collection problems: data for the year ending March 2023 were based on only eight months of collection because of an error, and estimates for year ending March 2024 (and March 2025) are based on a half sample, prompting ONS to warn users to treat year‑on‑year survey comparisons with caution because reduced sample sizes affect estimate quality [3] [4].
4. Victim profile and reporting rates: frequent partner perpetrators and low police reporting
ONS survey analysis shows that for victims aged 16 and over who experienced rape or assault by penetration since age 16, a majority (54.7%) said the assailant was a partner or ex‑partner, and only around one in seven (14.7%) of those reporting their most recent assault to the police — a persistent gap between prevalence and reporting that shapes why police‑recorded counts understate actual victimisation [3].
5. Where to look next: ONS tables and how to interpret trend claims
ONS directs analysts to the Crime in England and Wales appendix tables (for police recorded figures through June 2024 and break‑downs by age and other characteristics) and to its Sexual offences prevalence and trends article for context on recording and methodological changes; users seeking precise 2024 police totals should consult table A5a for the latest recorded rape figures, while anyone using CSEW prevalence should factor in the half‑sample caveat and the eight‑month 2023 disruption [2] [4] [3].
Conclusion
The latest ONS material confirms high volumes of rape and sexual offences in 2023–24 and underlines two critical caveats: survey‑based prevalence estimates for 2023–24 are compromised by reduced collection and half‑sample designs, and statutory changes in the Online Safety Act 2023 — with police forces recording two new image‑related sexual offences from January 2024 — materially increased recorded sexual‑offence counts independent of changes in offending; for headline police numbers rely on the ONS appendix tables (A5a) for year‑end June 2024 and retain caution when comparing across years because of these methodological and legal shifts [1] [2] [4] [3].