Blackmail offences in England and Wales 2002-2024
There were 37,959 blackmail offences reported by the police in England and Wales in 2023/24. Between 2002/03 and 2013/14 the number of blackmail offences fluctuated from a low of 1,201 in 2007/08 and a high of 2,481. From 2014/15 onwards, however, the number of offences has increased dramatically, reaching a peak in the most reporting year. This rise in blackmail has also occurred in Scotland, which saw extortion crimes reach 2,008 offences in 2022/23, compared with just 441 in 2019/20. In Northern Ireland, there were 937 blackmail offences, compared with 266 in 2019/20.
What is driving the increase in blackmail?
The steep rise in blackmail and extortion offences recently is likely related to the proliferation of cyber crime in the United Kingdom. In a 2019 survey, for example, five percent of respondents reported being the victims of device hacking-related extortion at least once. A 2023 global survey on cybercrime, also revealed that around a quarter of respondents had been the victim of an extortion e-mail scam. Extortion based on the threat to distribute intimate images, or sextortion, is another aspect of the increase in blackmail crime. There has been a steep rise in the number of revenge porn reports, with women in particular being targeted by online intimate image abuse.
Crime on the rise since the mid-2010s
While not rising as dramatically as blackmail offences, overall crime in England and Wales has also been on the rise. In 2022/23, for example, there were 6.74 million crime offences, compared with just 4.03 million in 2013/14. Although there are undoubtedly several factors that have influenced this overall rise in crime, the cuts to police funding between 2009/10 and 2016/17, along with the decline in police officers that occurred as a result, are possibly two of the most important reasons. Other areas of the justice system are also under significant pressure, with courts struggling with a backlog of cases, and prisons operating very close to capacity in recent month.
