Victim of crime - Figures reveal who is most likely to be a victim in 2024

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New figures have been released to reveal who is most likely to be a victim of crime based on annual statistics.

The figures have been released using Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) data published by the government today.

The concerning figures show that young people are at the highest risk of being a victim of crime, and males and females are at risk of falling victim to different types of offences.

Victim of crime

Meanwhile, generally, the figures show that minority groups, such as people with disabilities, homosexuals and ethnic minorities are at the highest risk of being a victim of crime.

Some of the crimes recorded in the CSEW survey include theft, robbery, computer misuse, violence and fraud.

We have broken down who is most likely to be a victim of crime and what the figures say:

Age

The figures show that those aged between 18 and 24 make up almost a fifth of victimisations, meaning they are at the highest risk of being a victim of crime.

Approximately one in six people aged 16 years and over (16.1%) reported experiencing a crime covered by the interviewer-led parts of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) in the year ending March 2023.

However, the risk seems to fall with age, as in comparison, only 6% of 85-year-olds and over were a victim of crime in the past year.

Sex

According to the statistics, women were more likely to experience sexual assault, stalking, harassment and domestic abuse.

In the year ending March 2023, 3.2% of women reported experiencing sexual assault compared with 0.9% of men. Similarly, 4.4% of women reported experiencing stalking compared with 2.4% of men.

More women (13%) than men (7.2%) also experienced at least one form of harassment and women were more likely to experience any domestic abuse in the last 12 months (5.7%) compared with men (3.2%).

But, when it comes to homicide, men were at higher risk as figures show around 7 in 10 of all victims (71%) were male with around 3 in 10 being female (29%) in the year ending March 2023.

Location

According to the figures, the prevalence of CSEW headline victimisation was highest in the South East region as 21.7 percent of people over the age of 16 reported being a victim of crime once or more in the past year:

South East
South West
East Midlands
London
East
Yorkshire and The Humber
West Midlands
North West
Wales
North East

Education

Other factors including education status, socio-demographics and geographic location also determine risk factors for each type of crime.

The figures suggest that people with a degree were at higher risk of being a victim of crime, and people holding secondary school-level qualifications (GCSEs or equivalent) or no qualifications had decreased odds of being a victim.

Marital status

Single people were more likely to be a victim of CSEW headline crime, according to the statistics, compared with people who were married or cohabiting. However, those who were separated, divorced or widowed were less likely to be a victim compared with those who were married or cohabiting.

Disabilities

According to the statistics, disabled people were 1.5 times more likely to be a victim of CSEW headline crime compared with non-disabled people.

Sexuality

People who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or other were more likely to be a victim of CSEW headline crime compared with those identifying as heterosexual or straight

Ethnicity

Those identifying within ‘Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups” were more likely to be a victim of CSEW headline crime compared with those identifying within the “White” ethnic group.

Religion

Those who identified as Christian or ‘Other’ religions were less likely to be a victim of CSEW headline crime compared with those identifying with no religion.

Figures reveal who is most likely to be a victim of crime in 2024