More and more people are experiencing the impact of lawless Britain, as four in ten people say they have been affected by the low-level crime sweeping the country.
New figures show that drug dealing, intimidation and vandalism are blighting communities across England and Wales – and nearly two-thirds of victims and witnesses don’t even report the disorder.
“This is families avoiding their high street on weekends. It's young women refusing to walk alone at night”, Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary Zia Yusuf said in response.
The latest Office for National Statistics figures, released today, show that over 41% of adults in England and Wales say that they have either experienced or witnessed anti-social behaviour in the year ending June 2026 – up from 36.7% the year before.
Yusuf said: “Nearly half the country has now seen or suffered anti-social behaviour on their own doorstep, and it’s getting worse year on year. It would include vandalism, intimidation, and open drug taking.”
The ONS breakdown reveals that 13.4% of adults experienced or witnessed people using or dealing drugs, up from 10.6% the previous year.
Intimidation, verbal abuse or harassment was encountered by 8%, up from 6.4%, while vandalism, criminal damage or graffiti rose from 5.7% to 7.2%.
Vehicle-related anti-social behaviour was even more widespread, encountered by around one in six adults.
All four categories saw statistically significant increases on the previous year.
New figures show that drug dealing, intimidation and vandalism are blighting communities across England and Wales – and nearly two-thirds of victims and witnesses don’t even report the disorder.
“This is families avoiding their high street on weekends. It's young women refusing to walk alone at night”, Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary Zia Yusuf said in response.
The latest Office for National Statistics figures, released today, show that over 41% of adults in England and Wales say that they have either experienced or witnessed anti-social behaviour in the year ending June 2026 – up from 36.7% the year before.
Yusuf said: “Nearly half the country has now seen or suffered anti-social behaviour on their own doorstep, and it’s getting worse year on year. It would include vandalism, intimidation, and open drug taking.”
The ONS breakdown reveals that 13.4% of adults experienced or witnessed people using or dealing drugs, up from 10.6% the previous year.
Intimidation, verbal abuse or harassment was encountered by 8%, up from 6.4%, while vandalism, criminal damage or graffiti rose from 5.7% to 7.2%.
Vehicle-related anti-social behaviour was even more widespread, encountered by around one in six adults.
All four categories saw statistically significant increases on the previous year.
Yet much of this misery never even reaches the authorities.
Polling commissioned by Resolve earlier this year found that nearly two-thirds of victims and witnesses who encountered anti-social behaviour in the previous three years did not report it to the police or any other agency. The figure reached 63% in April this year, up from 56% in 2025. It is now a widely held belief in this country that crime is not worth reporting, because nothing will be done about it.
No wonder – even when victims and witnesses do come forward, crimes too often slip through the net.
Police watchdog HMICFRS found that forces failed to record nearly half the crimes it identified in reports of anti-social behaviour targeting individuals or groups. That finding came from inspections carried out between 2021 and 2025.
Meanwhile, the familiar sight of a bobby on the beat has become increasingly rare.
Figures for the year ending March 2026 show that only around one in eight people saw officers or PCSOs patrolling on foot locally at least weekly – compared with almost four in ten in 2011.
A Reform government’s answer is to put police back on the streets and ensure offenders face consequences.
Reform UK’s S.A.F.E. plan would see 30,000 additional officers, guaranteed foot patrols in areas plagued by anti-social behaviour, expanded stop-and-search in crime hotspots and action against illegal e-bikes.
The party would also restore short prison sentences, introduce fast-track courts for repeat offenders and create 12,000 new prison places. Launching the proposals, Reform policing and crime adviser Colin Sutton declared: “Every crime matters. Every indignity matters.”
Yusuf said: “Reform will employ tens of thousands of new officers and come down hard on the people making ordinary lives a misery”.
Polling commissioned by Resolve earlier this year found that nearly two-thirds of victims and witnesses who encountered anti-social behaviour in the previous three years did not report it to the police or any other agency. The figure reached 63% in April this year, up from 56% in 2025. It is now a widely held belief in this country that crime is not worth reporting, because nothing will be done about it.
No wonder – even when victims and witnesses do come forward, crimes too often slip through the net.
Police watchdog HMICFRS found that forces failed to record nearly half the crimes it identified in reports of anti-social behaviour targeting individuals or groups. That finding came from inspections carried out between 2021 and 2025.
Meanwhile, the familiar sight of a bobby on the beat has become increasingly rare.
Figures for the year ending March 2026 show that only around one in eight people saw officers or PCSOs patrolling on foot locally at least weekly – compared with almost four in ten in 2011.
A Reform government’s answer is to put police back on the streets and ensure offenders face consequences.
Reform UK’s S.A.F.E. plan would see 30,000 additional officers, guaranteed foot patrols in areas plagued by anti-social behaviour, expanded stop-and-search in crime hotspots and action against illegal e-bikes.
The party would also restore short prison sentences, introduce fast-track courts for repeat offenders and create 12,000 new prison places. Launching the proposals, Reform policing and crime adviser Colin Sutton declared: “Every crime matters. Every indignity matters.”
Yusuf said: “Reform will employ tens of thousands of new officers and come down hard on the people making ordinary lives a misery”.
Photo by: Kai Pilger.
