Highest crime rate areas in the UK 2026

Q: Which area has the highest crime rate in the UK?

The area with the highest recorded crime rate is City of London with 5,586 crimes per 10,000 people. However, this should be interpreted with caution - areas with large daytime populations relative to residents (like city centres and business districts) often show higher per-capita rates.

Q: Which city has the highest crime rate in the UK?

Major cities tend to have higher crime rates than rural areas due to population density, tourism, and nightlife. See the full rankings table above for a city-by-city breakdown - the top of the list is dominated by inner-London boroughs and a handful of large city centres.

Q: Why do some areas have very high crime rates?

Several factors can inflate an area's crime rate per 10,000 residents. Areas like the City of London and Westminster have tiny resident populations but huge numbers of workers, tourists, and visitors - crimes committed there are measured against the small resident base. University towns, tourist destinations, and areas with busy nighttime economies also tend to show higher rates.

Q: Are high crime rate areas dangerous to live in?

Not necessarily. A high overall crime rate doesn't mean an area is unsafe for residents. Much of the recorded crime in high-rate areas may be shoplifting, public order offences, or crimes affecting businesses rather than households. The breakdown by crime type on each area profile page gives a more nuanced picture.

The area with the highest recorded crime rate in the UK is City of London with 5,586 crimes per 10,000 people, compared to the Great Britain average of 812. The lowest crime rate is in Shetland Islands at just 203 per 10,000.

Data last updated: 17 May 2026

Found somewhere you like? See the full picture on any home there.

The crime rates here are for whole council areas. Enter a postcode to see reported crime on the streets around one home.

All areas with police-recorded crime data ranked from highest to lowest crime rate per 10,000 residents. You can search for a specific area, filter by region, or click any column header to sort by rent or earnings instead. Click any area name to see its full profile, including a breakdown by crime type.

High crime rates per capita do not always mean an area is unsafe for residents. The City of London, for example, has a tiny resident population but millions of daily workers and visitors, which inflates its per-capita rate dramatically. Urban centres with busy nightlife, tourism, or large transient populations often show higher rates for similar reasons.

Showing 303 of 303 areas.

Great Britain average 812 /10k

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1	City of London London	5,586 /10k	8,731	N/A	N/A
2	Westminster London	3,515 /10k	74,649	£3,196	£45,172
3	Camden London	1,735 /10k	37,587	£2,819	£44,088
4	Middlesbrough North East	1,533 /10k	23,419	£698	£30,253
5	Blackpool North West	1,465 /10k	21,027	£719	£27,979
6	Kensington and Chelsea London	1,446 /10k	21,071	£3,690	£46,690
7	Manchester North West	1,430 /10k	84,130	£1,373	£30,067
8	Hartlepool North East	1,322 /10k	13,174	£558	£28,830
9	Bristol South West	1,308 /10k	64,759	£1,883	£34,051
10	Islington London	1,303 /10k	29,264	£2,868	£47,411
11	Nottingham East Midlands	1,270 /10k	41,359	£1,014	£26,512
12	Liverpool North West	1,243 /10k	63,156	£913	£30,947
13	Hull Yorkshire and The Humber	1,224 /10k	33,453	£694	£27,309
14	Southwark London	1,217 /10k	38,013	£2,474	£43,006
15	Southampton South East	1,202 /10k	31,147	£1,257	£32,907
16	Lincoln East Midlands	1,186 /10k	12,257	£942	£29,824
17	Bradford Yorkshire and The Humber	1,182 /10k	65,941	£745	£28,424
18	Hackney London	1,167 /10k	31,080	£2,658	£40,237
19	Doncaster Yorkshire and The Humber	1,161 /10k	37,494	£694	£31,119
20	North East Lincolnshire Yorkshire and The Humber	1,157 /10k	18,528	£643	£28,898
21	Lambeth London	1,153 /10k	36,243	£2,525	£43,666
22	Leeds Yorkshire and The Humber	1,153 /10k	96,875	£1,145	£31,679
23	Blaenau Gwent Wales	1,150 /10k	7,772	£681	£30,734
24	Birmingham West Midlands	1,148 /10k	135,120	£1,099	£30,180
25	Portsmouth South East	1,143 /10k	24,163	£1,368	£30,962
26	Leicester East Midlands	1,115 /10k	42,724	£1,023	£27,858
27	Derby East Midlands	1,110 /10k	30,570	£860	£30,467
28	Eastbourne South East	1,107 /10k	11,505	£1,169	£31,199
29	Hastings South East	1,105 /10k	10,035	£1,007	£29,323
30	Stoke-on-Trent West Midlands	1,103 /10k	30,023	£715	£29,041
31	Norwich East of England	1,100 /10k	16,023	£1,142	£30,421
32	Newport Wales	1,090 /10k	18,370	£959	£31,495
33	Crawley South East	1,088 /10k	13,538	£1,488	£34,225
34	Redcar and Cleveland North East	1,087 /10k	15,167	£644	£28,630
35	Stockton-on-Tees North East	1,077 /10k	22,317	£735	£29,877
36	Gloucester South West	1,073 /10k	14,873	£1,116	£30,455
37	Newcastle upon Tyne North East	1,073 /10k	34,427	£1,215	£30,144
38	Oldham North West	1,065 /10k	26,827	£942	£29,124
39	Hammersmith and Fulham London	1,062 /10k	20,196	£2,825	£42,811
40	Peterborough East of England	1,058 /10k	23,770	£1,012	£29,828
41	Tower Hamlets London	1,058 /10k	35,377	£2,453	£45,183
42	Burnley North West	1,056 /10k	10,660	£631	£29,680
43	Wakefield Yorkshire and The Humber	1,052 /10k	38,883	£806	£29,954
44	Salford North West	1,048 /10k	31,140	£1,170	£30,495
45	Rochdale North West	1,037 /10k	24,639	£855	£29,535
46	Haringey London	1,036 /10k	27,592	£2,219	£37,563
47	Calderdale Yorkshire and The Humber	1,035 /10k	21,812	£756	£31,708
48	Newham London	1,035 /10k	38,957	£1,928	£36,080
49	Torfaen Wales	1,026 /10k	9,645	£862	£33,201
50	Chesterfield East Midlands	1,004 /10k	10,682	£758	£30,621
51	Brighton and Hove South East	997 /10k	28,335	£1,808	£33,506
52	Bolton North West	981 /10k	30,380	£894	£29,409
53	Preston North West	977 /10k	16,068	£790	£30,038
54	Reading South East	975 /10k	17,915	£1,574	£35,454
55	Sheffield Yorkshire and The Humber	974 /10k	56,459	£931	£31,816
56	South Tyneside North East	967 /10k	14,631	£743	£28,784
57	Southend-on-Sea East of England	965 /10k	17,869	£1,306	£33,594
58	Exeter South West	964 /10k	13,296	£1,318	£29,531
59	Oxford South East	963 /10k	15,987	£1,963	£36,517
60	Sandwell West Midlands	961 /10k	33,927	£953	£27,652
61	Hyndburn North West	960 /10k	8,345	£648	£29,647
62	Tameside North West	960 /10k	23,112	£931	£29,877
63	Great Yarmouth East of England	957 /10k	9,663	£841	£28,808
64	Barnsley Yorkshire and The Humber	947 /10k	23,936	£696	£31,359
65	Denbighshire Wales	947 /10k	9,301	£718	£26,812
66	Cardiff Wales	944 /10k	36,006	£1,177	£32,756
67	Lewisham London	943 /10k	28,390	£1,829	£39,505
68	Sunderland North East	941 /10k	27,007	£707	£27,989
69	Torbay South West	938 /10k	13,086	£920	£28,963
70	Stevenage East of England	935 /10k	8,607	£1,440	£35,747
71	Plymouth South West	934 /10k	25,339	£1,004	£28,992
72	Walsall West Midlands	929 /10k	27,482	£924	£29,112
73	Dundee Scotland	929 /10k	13,924	£825	£30,523
74	Hillingdon London	923 /10k	30,158	£1,570	£36,429
75	Rotherham Yorkshire and The Humber	922 /10k	25,747	£686	£29,664
76	Harlow East of England	921 /10k	9,072	£1,521	£30,654
77	Mansfield East Midlands	920 /10k	10,456	£790	£28,170
78	Bury North West	919 /10k	18,315	£969	£31,687
79	Wolverhampton West Midlands	919 /10k	25,869	£945	£31,308
80	Cambridge East of England	914 /10k	13,699	£1,805	£38,711
81	Ipswich East of England	910 /10k	12,692	£995	£30,928
82	County Durham North East	908 /10k	48,961	£650	£29,718
83	Wigan North West	904 /10k	31,376	£746	£31,615
84	Darlington North East	903 /10k	10,240	£689	£30,100
85	Greenwich London	898 /10k	27,035	£1,995	£39,984
86	Brent London	895 /10k	31,528	£2,014	£34,871
87	Coventry West Midlands	894 /10k	32,606	£1,020	£33,063
88	Slough South East	883 /10k	14,784	£1,565	£35,521
89	Kirklees Yorkshire and The Humber	880 /10k	39,219	£782	£30,238
90	Gateshead North East	879 /10k	17,797	£804	£29,494
91	Hounslow London	874 /10k	26,167	£1,952	£35,301
92	Boston East Midlands	872 /10k	6,284	£806	£27,729
93	Milton Keynes South East	869 /10k	26,843	£1,344	£36,061
94	Watford East of England	863 /10k	9,296	£1,829	£37,172
95	St. Helens North West	859 /10k	16,310	£807	£31,443
96	Caerphilly Wales	857 /10k	15,093	£747	£30,854
97	Thurrock East of England	853 /10k	15,501	£1,380	£36,407
98	Basildon East of England	849 /10k	16,426	£1,424	£34,133
99	Glasgow Scotland	849 /10k	55,193	£1,266	£32,121
100	Enfield London	847 /10k	27,907	£1,827	£34,962
101	Halton North West	845 /10k	11,141	£749	£29,819
102	Somerset South West	837 /10k	49,467	£1,016	£29,908
103	Blackburn with Darwen North West	835 /10k	13,682	£714	£27,502
104	Wrexham Wales	832 /10k	11,482	£770	£29,752
105	Luton East of England	831 /10k	19,654	£1,222	£28,741
106	Barking and Dagenham London	822 /10k	19,592	£1,698	£32,911
107	Colchester East of England	822 /10k	16,534	£1,197	£31,589
108	Conwy Wales	822 /10k	9,411	£796	£28,113
109	North Tyneside North East	816 /10k	17,580	£857	£31,106
110	Knowsley North West	813 /10k	13,305	£858	£32,542
111	North Somerset South West	809 /10k	18,369	£1,209	£32,996
112	Ealing London	803 /10k	31,075	£2,109	£35,665
113	Worthing South East	803 /10k	9,138	£1,297	£32,823
114	Croydon London	802 /10k	32,900	£1,582	£38,080
115	Nuneaton and Bedworth West Midlands	800 /10k	11,517	£925	£32,402
116	Cheltenham South West	799 /10k	9,702	£1,261	£36,014
117	Solihull West Midlands	794 /10k	17,594	£1,279	£36,672
118	Waltham Forest London	791 /10k	22,436	£1,763	£37,971
119	Ashfield East Midlands	790 /10k	10,321	£795	£27,797
120	Bassetlaw East Midlands	790 /10k	9,991	£727	£28,314
121	Bath and North East Somerset South West	787 /10k	15,811	£1,885	£32,481
122	Tendring East of England	786 /10k	12,498	£1,053	£29,545
123	Welwyn Hatfield East of England	784 /10k	9,546	£1,512	£37,805
124	North Lincolnshire Yorkshire and The Humber	777 /10k	13,312	£653	£30,012
125	Isle of Wight South East	765 /10k	10,776	£951	£26,740
126	Bedford East of England	761 /10k	14,950	£1,173	£35,987
127	Wandsworth London	759 /10k	25,804	£2,632	£49,310
128	Havant South East	755 /10k	9,621	£1,151	£30,819
129	Spelthorne South East	753 /10k	8,066	£1,696	£37,918
130	Sefton North West	752 /10k	21,620	£938	£29,335
131	Erewash East Midlands	749 /10k	8,495	£834	£31,673
132	Trafford North West	749 /10k	18,043	£1,369	£35,593
133	Swansea Wales	748 /10k	18,647	£852	£32,091
134	Stockport North West	745 /10k	22,723	£1,119	£33,565
135	Edinburgh Scotland	744 /10k	39,483	£1,415	£37,380
136	Dudley West Midlands	741 /10k	24,742	£858	£30,822
137	Fenland East of England	741 /10k	7,846	£842	£30,125
138	Redbridge London	741 /10k	23,856	£1,726	£37,190
139	South Gloucestershire South West	732 /10k	22,595	£1,464	£35,002
140	Lancaster North West	727 /10k	10,564	£823	£29,651
141	Pembrokeshire Wales	723 /10k	9,094	£694	£27,243
142	Cannock Chase West Midlands	721 /10k	7,520	£867	£30,178
143	Gosport South East	721 /10k	5,953	£1,169	£34,256
144	Broxbourne East of England	719 /10k	7,410	£1,685	£37,283
145	Hertsmere East of England	718 /10k	7,919	£1,829	£36,159
146	Guildford South East	717 /10k	10,913	£1,736	£39,985
147	Telford and Wrekin West Midlands	717 /10k	14,301	£861	£31,459
148	Runnymede South East	710 /10k	6,600	£1,586	£42,203
149	Wirral North West	709 /10k	23,378	£859	£32,959
150	Warrington North West	704 /10k	15,156	£899	£34,144
151	Bridgend Wales	704 /10k	10,342	£763	£31,475
152	East Lindsey East Midlands	703 /10k	10,314	£704	£26,705
153	Newcastle-under-Lyme West Midlands	703 /10k	8,999	£833	£31,205
154	Pendle North West	703 /10k	7,041	£670	£26,742
155	Gwynedd Wales	700 /10k	8,420	£724	£25,179
156	Chelmsford East of England	698 /10k	13,293	£1,439	£35,791
157	Arun South East	697 /10k	12,003	£1,231	£29,809
158	West Dunbartonshire Scotland	695 /10k	6,192	£940	£31,962
159	Swindon South West	692 /10k	16,965	£1,096	£33,135
160	Bromley London	689 /10k	23,157	£1,684	£43,981
161	Northumberland North East	688 /10k	22,969	£695	£30,456
162	Newark and Sherwood East Midlands	680 /10k	8,753	£818	£29,806
163	Neath Port Talbot Wales	678 /10k	9,636	£690	£30,709
164	Amber Valley East Midlands	676 /10k	8,916	£799	£30,823
165	Tamworth West Midlands	676 /10k	5,500	£925	£33,167
166	Bolsover East Midlands	674 /10k	5,691	£706	£29,674
167	Charnwood East Midlands	674 /10k	12,795	£960	£33,550
168	Barnet London	673 /10k	27,467	£1,949	£39,239
169	Havering London	672 /10k	18,875	£1,565	£40,726
170	Epsom and Ewell South East	670 /10k	5,584	£1,690	£43,006
171	Kingston upon Thames London	668 /10k	11,533	£1,811	£41,833
172	Aberdeen Scotland	667 /10k	15,461	£845	£32,399
173	Cheshire West and Chester North West	664 /10k	24,822	£991	£32,391
174	Carmarthenshire Wales	662 /10k	12,589	£687	£30,774
175	York Yorkshire and The Humber	658 /10k	13,752	£1,199	£32,961
176	Dacorum East of England	656 /10k	10,641	£1,594	£36,473
177	Rossendale North West	656 /10k	4,835	£811	£30,487
178	East Staffordshire West Midlands	643 /10k	8,456	£858	£31,517
179	St Albans East of England	643 /10k	9,700	£1,931	£45,543
180	Monmouthshire Wales	639 /10k	6,090	£994	£35,020
181	Brentwood East of England	634 /10k	5,079	£1,620	£39,864
182	Flintshire Wales	634 /10k	9,893	£811	£32,675
183	Stafford West Midlands	631 /10k	9,018	£901	£33,872
184	Cherwell South East	630 /10k	10,854	£1,304	£36,568
185	Epping Forest East of England	629 /10k	8,703	£1,844	£38,171
186	Cornwall South West	626 /10k	36,590	£1,000	£28,210
187	Woking South East	620 /10k	6,585	£1,620	£38,172
188	West Lindsey East Midlands	617 /10k	6,155	£741	£30,741
189	Vale of Glamorgan Wales	610 /10k	8,258	£982	£31,410
190	North Warwickshire West Midlands	607 /10k	4,110	£982	£35,067
191	Cheshire East North West	604 /10k	25,693	£985	£33,221
192	Sutton London	604 /10k	12,926	£1,556	£38,359
193	Bexley London	600 /10k	15,432	£1,537	£36,883
194	Chichester South East	599 /10k	7,799	£1,333	£28,585
195	Reigate and Banstead South East	597 /10k	9,511	£1,640	£40,014
196	South Holland East Midlands	596 /10k	6,007	£775	£30,196
197	Inverclyde Scotland	594 /10k	4,689	£800	£29,020
198	High Peak East Midlands	593 /10k	5,438	£937	£32,258
199	Merton London	592 /10k	12,952	£2,172	£43,507
200	Blaby East Midlands	591 /10k	6,404	£998	£31,950
201	Harrow London	591 /10k	16,108	£1,778	£36,000
202	North Lanarkshire Scotland	588 /10k	20,271	£801	£34,105
203	Hinckley and Bosworth East Midlands	587 /10k	6,940	£934	£31,591
204	North West Leicestershire East Midlands	585 /10k	6,626	£914	£32,252
205	Chorley North West	581 /10k	7,076	£798	£33,337
206	Rother South East	575 /10k	5,527	£1,165	£30,790
207	Wyre North West	575 /10k	6,933	£743	£29,814
208	Richmond upon Thames London	573 /10k	11,267	£2,333	£46,594
209	Isle of Anglesey Wales	569 /10k	3,907	£714	£29,944
210	Windsor and Maidenhead South East	568 /10k	9,081	£1,800	£37,653
211	Melton East Midlands	562 /10k	3,072	£806	£26,633
212	South Ribble North West	560 /10k	6,580	£805	£32,740
213	Huntingdonshire East of England	555 /10k	10,659	£1,057	£33,375
214	Staffordshire Moorlands West Midlands	554 /10k	5,363	£728	£31,065
215	Winchester South East	553 /10k	7,570	£1,508	£38,352
216	West Lothian Scotland	553 /10k	10,305	£911	£33,302
217	Powys Wales	553 /10k	7,454	£621	£30,275
218	Adur South East	552 /10k	3,580	£1,410	£30,217
219	Dumfries and Galloway Scotland	552 /10k	8,058	£558	£29,649
220	Falkirk Scotland	552 /10k	8,838	£892	£32,330
221	Ceredigion Wales	551 /10k	4,003	£723	£29,326
222	Lewes South East	550 /10k	5,649	£1,333	£33,088
223	West Berkshire South East	548 /10k	9,078	£1,338	£38,513
224	Eastleigh South East	547 /10k	7,856	£1,214	£34,474
225	Lichfield West Midlands	547 /10k	6,201	£1,103	£33,763
226	Fife Scotland	545 /10k	20,437	£832	£32,445
227	North Ayrshire Scotland	544 /10k	7,284	£643	£34,689
228	Mole Valley South East	543 /10k	4,822	£1,551	£35,341
229	North East Derbyshire East Midlands	543 /10k	5,853	£791	£30,931
230	Tandridge South East	541 /10k	4,884	£1,637	£33,316
231	East Ayrshire Scotland	538 /10k	6,538	£643	£33,117
232	Oadby and Wigston East Midlands	537 /10k	3,305	£1,024	£28,368
233	Rugby West Midlands	537 /10k	6,742	£1,049	£41,814
234	Renfrewshire Scotland	532 /10k	10,071	£800	£32,832
235	New Forest South East	529 /10k	9,309	£1,244	£31,344
236	Fylde North West	527 /10k	4,571	£870	£36,020
237	Braintree East of England	526 /10k	8,750	£1,213	£34,546
238	South Kesteven East Midlands	526 /10k	7,782	£845	£29,071
239	Three Rivers East of England	522 /10k	5,019	£1,826	£39,615
240	Bracknell Forest South East	521 /10k	6,881	£1,462	£36,067
241	Castle Point East of England	521 /10k	4,718	£1,262	£35,975
242	Fareham South East	520 /10k	5,997	£1,176	£38,851
243	Test Valley South East	520 /10k	7,055	£1,235	£35,314
244	South Derbyshire East Midlands	519 /10k	6,195	£882	£35,452
245	Clackmannanshire Scotland	519 /10k	2,706	£892	£31,992
246	Surrey Heath South East	514 /10k	4,886	£1,503	£37,793
247	East Hertfordshire East of England	513 /10k	8,104	£1,533	£44,154
248	Elmbridge South East	513 /10k	7,310	£1,891	£42,607
249	East Riding of Yorkshire Yorkshire and The Humber	508 /10k	18,292	£724	£31,881
250	South Staffordshire West Midlands	506 /10k	5,812	£958	£31,766
251	Uttlesford East of England	503 /10k	4,866	£1,289	£41,006
252	Dorset South West	501 /10k	19,580	£1,056	£31,444
253	South Lanarkshire Scotland	501 /10k	16,737	£893	£34,293
254	Herefordshire West Midlands	500 /10k	9,620	£821	£29,361
255	Midlothian Scotland	499 /10k	4,987	£1,415	£31,856
256	North Hertfordshire East of England	495 /10k	6,796	£1,434	£42,703
257	Stroud South West	490 /10k	6,200	£1,041	£33,495
258	Wiltshire South West	490 /10k	25,796	£1,082	£31,873
259	Breckland East of England	486 /10k	7,199	£928	£28,930
260	East Lothian Scotland	482 /10k	5,555	£1,415	£33,737
261	West Lancashire North West	480 /10k	5,934	£805	£31,884
262	Shropshire West Midlands	475 /10k	15,813	£823	£29,603
263	North Yorkshire Yorkshire and The Humber	471 /10k	30,090	£849	£30,683
264	Central Bedfordshire East of England	465 /10k	14,940	£1,250	£36,622
265	Forest of Dean South West	464 /10k	4,184	£828	£36,589
266	South Cambridgeshire East of England	463 /10k	8,092	£1,408	£42,690
267	South Ayrshire Scotland	462 /10k	5,182	£643	£33,986
268	Vale of White Horse South East	455 /10k	6,925	£1,352	£38,859
269	East Cambridgeshire East of England	453 /10k	4,287	£1,038	£34,311
270	Tewkesbury South West	450 /10k	4,672	£1,093	£31,603
271	Stirling Scotland	449 /10k	4,232	£892	£33,832
272	Derbyshire Dales East Midlands	448 /10k	3,230	£819	£33,700
273	Mid Sussex South East	445 /10k	7,280	£1,423	£37,705
274	Horsham South East	443 /10k	6,729	£1,474	£36,448
275	Cotswold South West	442 /10k	4,049	£1,252	£32,927
276	Maldon East of England	441 /10k	3,096	£1,139	£32,599
277	Moray Scotland	441 /10k	4,190	£739	£26,943
278	Harborough East Midlands	436 /10k	4,648	£973	£34,321
279	East Hampshire South East	432 /10k	5,640	£1,262	£39,682
280	Rochford East of England	430 /10k	3,903	£1,300	£38,107
281	Highland Scotland	430 /10k	10,202	£739	£31,416
282	West Oxfordshire South East	426 /10k	5,173	£1,305	£35,388
283	Angus Scotland	425 /10k	4,884	£825	£30,681
284	Rutland East Midlands	424 /10k	1,765	£961	£39,559
285	Perth and Kinross Scotland	424 /10k	6,544	£739	£31,851
286	North Norfolk East of England	418 /10k	4,331	£865	£28,421
287	South Norfolk East of England	412 /10k	6,192	£981	£32,934
288	Argyll and Bute Scotland	411 /10k	3,606	£822	£30,436
289	Scottish Borders Scotland	409 /10k	4,779	£708	£28,796
290	Wealden South East	407 /10k	6,852	£1,262	£33,376
291	South Oxfordshire South East	402 /10k	6,359	£1,402	£43,026
292	North Kesteven East Midlands	388 /10k	4,786	£824	£30,585
293	Wokingham South East	388 /10k	7,341	£1,466	£43,538
294	Ribble Valley North West	385 /10k	2,576	£818	£34,077
295	Waverley South East	367 /10k	5,036	£1,459	£42,326
296	Broadland East of England	345 /10k	4,814	£938	£30,920
297	Isles of Scilly South West	322 /10k	74	N/A	N/A
298	Aberdeenshire Scotland	294 /10k	7,787	£845	£33,799
299	East Dunbartonshire Scotland	280 /10k	3,075	£1,171	£38,000
300	East Renfrewshire Scotland	253 /10k	2,524	£1,266	£39,965
301	Orkney Islands Scotland	245 /10k	539	£739	£31,737
302	Na h-Eileanan Siar Scotland	236 /10k	614	£739	£28,746
303	Shetland Islands Scotland	203 /10k	470	£739	£35,716

Scottish rents are published for 18 rental market areas, not for each council, so neighbouring councils can share a rent figure.

A closer look at the top 10

The City of London sits at the top of the table at 5,586 crimes per 10,000 residents, which is genuinely a statistical anomaly rather than a description of how dangerous the Square Mile is. It has around 8,600 recorded crimes across roughly 15,000 residents, but half a million people work there every weekday. The denominator is the tiny resident population; the crimes are committed by and against a much larger daytime population that never shows up in the rate.

Westminster is next at 3,515 per 10,000, again a place where the resident base is dwarfed by daily footfall. Camden, Kensington and Chelsea, and Islington complete the London contingent in the top 10, and the same pattern applies to each of them: high-footfall central boroughs with visitor-heavy retail, hospitality and night-time economies.

The non-London entries are the more revealing part of the ranking. Middlesbrough (1,533), Blackpool (1,465), Manchester (1,430), Hartlepool (1,322) and Bristol (1,308) all sit in the top 10 and none of them have the daytime-population distortion that inflates the London rates. These are big urban areas where the recorded rate genuinely reflects a higher density of crime per resident, driven by a mix of city-centre activity, deprivation clusters, and known drug and alcohol pressures.

A high headline rate does not necessarily mean a bad place to live. Much of the recorded crime in these top-ranked areas is retail theft, public order and drug offences concentrated in specific streets rather than crimes against residents in their own homes. The area profile for each place breaks down the numbers by crime type, which is a better read on how much any of it would affect day-to-day life than the single rate on this page.

Key findings

City of London has the highest recorded crime rate in the UK at 5,586 crimes per 10,000 people.
5 of the 10 highest-crime areas are in London.
The ranking includes 303 areas where police recorded crime data is published at local-authority level.
Many top-ranked areas are city centres or business districts where the recorded-crime denominator is the small resident population - daytime workers and visitors aren't counted.

Methodology

Crime rates are based on police recorded crime data from the Home Office (England & Wales, year ending March 2026) and the Scottish Government (2025-26). Rates are calculated per 10,000 population. The ranking covers 303 local authorities where data is published at LA level - Northern Ireland and a small number of English areas where breakdowns are unreliable are excluded. The Great Britain average is total recorded crimes divided by total population across the areas with published figures. Scotland records crime differently from England and Wales, so comparisons across the border are a guide only. Northern Ireland is not included. Recording practices vary between police forces, so comparisons should be treated with some caution. A high rate doesn't necessarily mean an area is unsafe for residents - see the breakdown by crime type on each area's profile for context.

Read more about our data sources and approach on the About page.

Frequently asked questions about high crime rate areas

Which area has the highest crime rate in the UK?

Which city has the highest crime rate in the UK?

Why do some areas have very high crime rates?

Are high crime rate areas dangerous to live in?

Crime rates in popular areas

Manchester 1,430 /10k #297 of 303 Birmingham 1,148 /10k #280 of 303 Liverpool 1,243 /10k #292 of 303 Leeds 1,153 /10k #283 of 303 Bristol 1,308 /10k #295 of 303 Edinburgh 744 /10k #169 of 303 Glasgow 849 /10k #206 of 303 Sheffield 974 /10k #249 of 303 Nottingham 1,270 /10k #293 of 303 Cardiff 944 /10k #238 of 303 Newcastle upon Tyne 1,073 /10k #268 of 303

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