London, October 17 (RHC)-- The latest figures show that the crime rate in England and Wales has doubled to more than 11.6mn offenses. The rise is mainly due to the inclusion of an estimated 5.1mn online fraud incidents and 2.5mn cybercrime offenses for the first time.

According to the figures released by the crime survey for England and Wales, the underlying crime rate, excluding cybercrime, continued to fall, by 8% to an estimated 6.5mn offenses in the 12 months to June.

Meanwhile, separate figures released by police show a 5% increase in crime, including a 25% increase in violence against the person. Sexual offenses including rape rose by 41% over the past year, which police say is indicative of a greater willingness of victims to report such crimes.

Police said the growth in sexual offenses includes an increase of 10,000 in reported rapes and a 20,000 rise in reports of other sexual offenses.

The Office for National Statistics or ONS said the publication of the figures follows growing concern that the rise in cybercrime “makes up” for the long-term fall in crime from a peak of 19mn offenses in 1995 to 6.5mn offenses by June.