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Homicide in England and Wales: year ending March 2021
February 2022
There were 594 homicide victims in the year ending March 2021, 79 fewer (a 12% decrease) than the previous year and the lowest number since the year ending March 2016 (540 victims).
The preceding year (ending March 2020) included the 39 victims found in a lorry in Grays, Essex and if this incident is excluded from that year, there would have been a smaller (6%) year-on-year decrease.
The year ending March 2021 covered certain time periods where coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions were in place to limit social contact; these restrictions may have led to a reduction in homicide in this year.
The homicide rate was 9.9 per million population, with the rate for males (14 per million population) more than twice that for females (6 per million population).
The headline reduction of 12% from the previous year masked different trends between males and females; the number of male victims decreased by 16% (495 to 416) whereas the number of female victims was the same as last year (177 victims).
Although there was a substantial fall in the number of victims who were killed in public places compared with last year (a 27% decrease), there was a 5% increase in victims who were killed in a residential setting, which may explain the different trends between males and females.
There were 114 domestic homicides in the year ending March 2021, a similar number to the average over the last five years.
For those homicide victims where a suspect had been charged, 92% (380) of victims had suspects who were male.
