Crime

Crime is difficult to measure and that makes it easy to be alarmed by newspaper reports that might not tell the whole story. We look behind the headline figures and put them in context

23 January 2025

Sun article about 550% ‘surge’ in grooming cases based on non-comparable data

A reported steep rise in cases may have been affected by a broader classification of grooming since 2017—as well as by changing rates of reporting.

8 January 2025

How many children have been the victims of grooming gangs in the UK?

A widely shared estimate that a million children have been victims is not reliable, but the true total remains unclear.

10 October 2024

No, hurricane force winds aren’t forecast across the UK - it’s a BBC weather app glitch

The BBC weather app is suffering from a “technical glitch” and is wrongly predicting hurricane strength winds.

3 October 2024

Conservative leadership speeches: fact checked

Conservative leadership candidates Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat set out their stalls in a series of speeches at the 2024 Conservative party conference.

12 August 2024

UK riots fact checked: latest updates and key questions answered

Our explainer tracks the latest developments, fact checks claims circulating online and looks at the government’s response.

12 July 2024

How many prison places are available?

With the government announcing plans to ease overcrowding in prisons, we look at the latest figures.

23 July 2024

Crime statistics explained - is it rising or falling?

A guide to how crime statistics for England and Wales are presented, and why the question of whether crime is rising or falling can be hard to answer.

28 May 2024

Knife crime in England and Wales is rising, even if you exclude London

Home secretary James Cleverly was challenged on the figures on the BBC’s flagship programme Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

15 April 2024

Viral screenshots claiming to show OJ Simpson’s final posts are not real

Screenshots suggesting the star confessed to the notorious double murder appear to have been faked as a joke.

10 April 2024

Bat boxes on ULEZ cameras can be legally removed by TfL

Transport for London is not legally prevented from removing bat boxes installed on cameras which enforce London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone, contrary to claims on social media.

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Crime

Sun article about 550% ‘surge’ in grooming cases based on non-comparable data

How many children have been the victims of grooming gangs in the UK?

No, hurricane force winds aren’t forecast across the UK - it’s a BBC weather app glitch

Conservative leadership speeches: fact checked

UK riots fact checked: latest updates and key questions answered

How many prison places are available?

Crime statistics explained - is it rising or falling?

Knife crime in England and Wales is rising, even if you exclude London

Viral screenshots claiming to show OJ Simpson’s final posts are not real

Bat boxes on ULEZ cameras can be legally removed by TfL

Full Fact fights bad information