The impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on crime demand and charge volumes
Findings from a research report that examined the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on crime and charge volumes in England and Wales.
Applies to England and Wales
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Taking advantage of the unique conditions created by COVID-19 restrictions, this report analyses the relationship between changes in crime demand and charge volumes between April 2020 and March 2021.
The analysis suggests that two contrasting effects played out in relation to changes in charge volumes. Firstly, short-term falls in crime workload led to an increase in charge volumes for a range of offence types, as resources were diverted to clear backlogs and greater proactive policing. However, for some offences, such as shoplifting, reductions in recorded crime as a result of lockdown restrictions (for example, fewer open shops) led to a fall in charge volumes. This highlights the importance of ‘crime availability’ in understanding changes in charge volumes as the fall in shoplifting charges over the COVID-19 period was largely due to there being fewer shoplifting offences available to detect.