University News Last updated 22 April 2016
A top Criminologist has warned that the rising number of murders in England and Wales has been coupled with a clear increase in the amount of brutal killings.
David Wilson, Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University, said that the rise followed a pattern which was seeing more ‘shocking’ and violent homicides.
Professor Wilson's comments follow his and colleagues' research into Family Annihilators – the shocking ways in which parents killed their children - which uncovered a number of killers who wanted to ensure their actions were made public.
Figures show that 573 murders were committed last year, an increase of 11 per cent on 2014 and the first time the number has risen in five years.
They also revealed that there were 200,000 more violent crimes committed during 2015, with knife crime increasing 9 per cent and sexual offences up by 29 per cent.
Professor Wilson told The Times: “It is not just murders that are going up, it is the kind of murders that are happening and the way people are being murdered.
The stats come after high profile savage murders committed in the Angela Wrightson and Becky Watts cases last year.