Core indicator
Policing
Recorded crimes that were successfully investigated
Last updated March 2025
(March 2025)
Data published: July 2025
What is this sector and how are we measuring it?
Policing is a core focus when thinking about crime and violence. The police aim to prevent and solve crimes, provide support to victims, administer out of court disposals and collaborate with other organisations to provide targeted support where necessary.
Learn more about YEF’s work within the policing sector, and the evidence-based approaches for what works in reducing violence.
We’ve used the proportion of crimes that are successfully investigated by the police as our core measure for this sector. Investigation of crime is one of the primary duties of the police. It is also one of the key measures cited in the constabulary inspectorate’s annual assessment of policing. However, it can be affected by changes in the way crime and outcomes are reported. We’ve considered a crime to be successfully investigated if it resulted in (1) a charge or summons or (2) a formal or informal out of court disposal, (3) a diversionary activity (i.e. Outcome 22) or (4) was taken into consideration by a court at sentencing for other offences.
Outcome 22 isn’t formally recorded as a positive outcome by the police, but evidence suggests that pre-court diversion can reduce reoffending and violence and YEF believes it should be considered a positive outcome for children. However, we know that diversion practice varies considerably. Depending on various factors, children are likely to experience different consequences and opportunities for support.
- Guidance
Report:Diversion Practice Guidance
This report – which was co-authored by the Centre for Justice Innovation – focuses on what happens to children at the early stages of the youth justice system when they first encounter the police. This includes both informal diversion schemes that divert children from all formal outcomes and formal out-of-court disposals, which can involve a…Youth Justice - Systems Guidance
Report:Systems Guidance: Arrested Children
The Youth Endowment Fund exists to prevent children from becoming involved in violence. One of the ways we seek to achieve this mission is improving support for children when they are arrested. This includes diverting them from formal youth justice processes like appearing at court. This is a critical moment where effective support can change…
What does our core indicator show?
Overall, this measure shows a mixed picture. In 2024/25, the total number of police-recorded crimes rose 0.3% and the total number that resulted in a successful outcome rose by 12%. This meant that the proportion of police-recorded crimes that resulted in a successful outcome increased for the second year in a row, to 11.6%. This is 1.2 percentage points higher than the previous year (2023/24) and 0.7 percentage points higher than the year before Covid (2019/20). But it remains less than half the rate 10 years ago (2014/15).