Chiefs are preparing a best-case scenario to government to take the pain out of the “serious strain” on policing as claims of a terrifying spiral of violence have pushed overall police-recorded crime to a 15-year high.

Homicides have increased by 14 per cent in a year while offences involving a knife are up by eight per cent according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council and rank-and-file have unveiled their agendas to fight the rising tide of crime, increased terrorist activity and fewer officers – calling for major rethinks but promising to work with ministers to drive down and “turn round” the fortunes of an embattled service.

Official data shows there were 90 more homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales in the year to September 2018, excluding victims of terror attacks, with the total number up from 649 to 739 – an annual increase for the fourth successive year.

It comes amid a seven per cent rise in overall police-recorded crime, with a total of 5,723,182 offences in the year to September 2018.

This is the highest number in a 12-month period since the year ending March 2004, when there were 6.01 million offences recorded.

Police Federation Chairman John Apter is no doubt regarding today’s problems, admitting: “Society just isn’t as safe as it once was, and although the police service is doing everything within its power, we are swimming against the tide and it is the public who are being let down.”

“This is a terrifying picture for our communities whose lives are being blighted by violent crime on a daily basis."

He cites the loss of 22,000 officers since 2009 as a primary example for needing “more boots on the ground to help combat this epidemic”.

Chief Constable Bill Skelly, NPCC lead for crime recording and statistics, is the first to admit that while the changes to how police record crime and increased reporting explain some of the increases in police-recorded crime in England and Wales, there are “real rises” in serious crimes like robbery and violence with weapons, which have a “devastating impact” on victims and families.

He thinks the ONS is “right to remind us” to keep the figures in perspective as statistically very few people experience crime, particularly violent crime.

But he added: “Rising crime, increased terrorist activity and fewer police officers have put serious strain on the policing we offer to the public.”

The NPCC says it is committed to making the case for additional capabilities and investment needed to “drive down violence and catch more criminals” at the next government spending review, although "equally important is driving up productivity and cutting any remaining inefficiencies”.

Mr Apter joins CC Skelly in his determination to tackle the growing level of violence that requires an “immediate re-think”, adding: “We sincerely want to work with government to help turn this around.”

Meanwhile, officers are having to deal with three knife offences a day on the UK’s railways, shock new statistics from British Transport Police show as the force’s federation believes it is no coincidence that in a time of “brutal cuts” to funding –crime is on the rise with communities “harmed by these decisions”.

Statisticians said the rise in homicides continues an upward trend since March 2014, indicating a change to the long-term decrease over the previous decade.

Many of the higher-harm types of violence are concentrated in London and other metropolitan areas, with new analysis revealing there were 128 homicides in the capital last year – the highest level in a calendar year this decade – and a sixth of the entire total for England and Wales.

The data published on Thursday shows an eight per cent increase in the number of offences involving knives or sharp instruments – a figure which does not include Greater Manchester Police after an internal review revealed the force was under-counting these offences. Estimates say the knife incident total would swell by more than 3,000 if the North West force is included.

Figures released by BTP this week suggest knife crime on Britain's rail network has more than tripled in the last three years, recording 1,059 offences involving a bladed article last year, up from 338 in 2015. Numbers caught carrying a knife rose steeply as possession of an offensive weapon increased fivefold in the same period.

There was also a 15 per cent rise in the number of hospital admissions for assaults in England involving a sharp implement, according to the data – up to 4,986 – while the number of firearms offences dropped by four per cent.

Crimes involving violence against the person are up by 19 per cent, which includes a 41 per cent increase in stalking and harassment offences.

The police-recorded figures show a 17 per cent increase in offences of robbery and a three per cent rise in vehicle offences, largely due to a 10 per cent jump in "theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle".

The Association of PCCs expressed concern at the “worrying increase” in serious violence offences but performance lead Matthew Scott argued that with additional crimes going on the books, “more victims are safe in the knowledge that an offence has been recorded, and are better supported as a result”.

Prime Minister Theresa May's official spokesman said: "These statistics show that your chance of being a victim of crime remains low, but we recognise that certain crimes – particularly violent crime – have increased, and we are taking action to address this.

"The Offensive Weapons Bill will give police extra powers to tackle knife crime and to get weapons off the street.

“The serious violence strategy puts a greater focus on early intervention and stopping young people from being drawn into crime in the first place.”

Commenting on the figures, Helen Ross, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said: "In recent decades we've seen the overall level of crime falling, but in the last year, it remained level.

"There are variations within this overall figure, depending on the type of crime. Burglary, shoplifting and computer misuse are decreasing but others, such as vehicle offences and robbery are rising.

"We have also seen increases in some types of 'lower-volume, high-harm' violence including offences involving knives or sharp instruments."

Alex Mayes, policy and public affairs adviser at charity Victim Support, said: "These figures starkly highlight the devastating human cost of the recent rises in serious violence that we've seen across the country.

"Working with bereaved families through our national homicide service we know just how destructive these shocking crimes are."

The other measure used to track levels of offending, the Crime Survey for England and Wales, showed most types of crime have stayed at similar levels to the previous year.