A Guardian investigation found that crime rates associated with cocaine across Britain had risen by 10 per cent since 2019, while Home Office estimates indicate use in England increased by 26 per cent since 2021.

Wastewater analysis suggests people in England consumed 123,000kg (271,000lb) of cocaine in 2024-25, equivalent to roughly 2.5bn lines worth almost £10bn at street prices. Historically low costs and high purity have helped fuel demand.

Cocaine-related crime reports reached 63.4 per 100,000 people in 2025, up from 57.7 in 2019. Figures to May this year suggest the rate could rise to about 64 per 100,000 in 2026.

Most reports concerned drug offences, but 18 per cent involved violent crime, including stalking, harassment and one murder. Just under four per cent were sexual offences, including 344 rapes.

Martin Gallagher, an organised crime expert and former Scottish police officer, said cocaine use had become normalised: “It went from being the drug of the social elite to being something taken off the cistern of a toilet in a local pub.”

Separate Home Office figures showed that nearly six in 10 people arrested on suspicion of domestic abuse who were drug-tested between July 2025 and June this year tested positive for cocaine.

The data is not representative because some tests were conducted only when police already suspected drug use. However, the findings are consistent with a 2023 pilot study in which 59 per cent of domestic abuse suspects tested positive for cocaine or opiates.

Harry Sumnall, a professor in substance use at Liverpool John Moores University, said scientific reviews had found no strong evidence that cocaine directly caused violence. However, he said perpetrators and survivors of domestic abuse described intoxication as exacerbating jealousy and loss of control, making existing abuse more frequent and severe.

He cautioned that cocaine being mentioned in a crime report did not establish that the drug had caused the offence.

Meanwhile, DVLA data obtained by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart showed drug-driving offences overtook drink-driving offences for the first time in 2025. There were 30,707 drug-driving offences added to licences, up 28 per cent since 2022, compared with 29,769 drink-driving offences, down 17 per cent.

Paul Court, deputy chief constable and drugs deputy lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said demand sustained a “highly profitable criminal market built upon violence, exploitation and intimidation”, adding that enforcement alone could not solve the problem.

The Guardian sought figures from all 45 UK police forces. Of the 39 that responded, not all held complete annual records or breakdowns by offence type. The Metropolitan Police provided no data.