rose to 695 in the year ending 2018 from 606 in the previous year

[Ostap]

Homicides, excluding those committed in terrorist attacks in London and Manchester or the recording of events at Hillsborough in 1989, rose to 695 in the year ending 2018 from 606 in the previous year.
the Guardian

Hello, teachers. Does the boldfaced part mean that the two calendar years are compared (2017 vs 2018)?

 

[SoothingDave]

It means the values in one year were compared to the previous year. The "year" they are talking about ended in 2018. The article states they are talking about a year that goes from the start of March 2017 until the end of February 2018.

Otherwise they would have just said "in 2018" and not "in the year ending 2018." The year they are talking about is 12 months, but it is not the calendar year from January 2017 to the next January.