Sexual offences recorded by police break 100,000 barrier for first time

Sex crimes recorded by police have passed the 100,000 mark in a single year for the first time, official figures reveal.

Forces logged a total of 103,614 sexual offences in 2015 - a rise of 29% on the previous year.

The numbers of rapes and other sexual offences were at the highest level recorded since the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in the year ending March 2003, the Office for National Statistics said.

It added: "As well as improvements in recording, these rises are also thought to reflect a greater willingness of victims to come forward to report such crimes."

Overall, the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) for the year ending December 2015 showed there were an estimated 6.4 million incidents of crime against households and resident adults aged 16 and over. This was a 7% decrease from the estimated 6.9 million incidents in the previous year.

This compared to a 7% increase in police recorded crime, with 4.4 million offences. Most of this rise is thought to be down to improved crime recording.