The latest crime figures have been released by the Office for National Statistics and it doesn’t make for particularly encouraging reading.

A 36% increase in sexual offences has been reported in the 12 months to September 2015, as well as the highest number of rapes since 2003 (a total of 33,341). However, the official statisticians have been quick to point out that they believe this is due to more victims coming forward and reporting the crime rather than an actual surge in attacks.

Home Office minister Mike Penning said: “We continue to see a rise in police recording of violent and sexual crimes. The Office for National Statistics is clear that this rise reflects improvements in recording practice and a willingness of victims to come forward - this is something we welcome. We are also providing much greater transparency on what happens to crimes once they have been reported to the police.”

Elsewhere, the number of homicides rose by 71 to 574, an increase of 14%. Until last year, the murder rate in England and Wales had been falling despite the growing population. A 9% rise in knife crime and a 4% rise in gun crime is thought to reflect the growing gang violence in London and Manchester.

Jack Dromey, Labour’s shadow policing minister, expressed concern at the rise in serious crime: “The Tories have slashed police officers by 17,000 and broken their promise to the public to protect frontline officer numbers. Now we see the biggest increase in recorded crime in a decade.”

However, Penning insists they are working on tackling such crimes: “The government has made reducing violence, including knife crime, a priority and continues to work closely with the police and other organisations to tackle the drivers of these crime.”