Violence & Sexual Offences Statistics UK 2026
England and Wales recorded 1,973,116 violence & sexual offences incidents in the last 12 months — a rate of 32.1 per 1,000 residents. The highest rate is in Blackpool at 75.6 per 1,000.
1,973,116
12-Month Total
England & Wales
32.1
Annual Rate
per 1,000 residents
-1.5%
Year-on-Year
vs previous 12 months
Blackpool
Highest Rate
75.6 per 1k
24-Month National Trend
Highest Violence & Sexual Offences Rates
Annual rate per 1,000 residents
| # | City / Town | Rate | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool | 75.6 | -26.7% |
| 2 | Middlesbrough | 67.3 | +7.7% |
| 3 | Derby | 58.9 | +2.9% |
| 4 | Kingston upon Hull, City of | 57.0 | +4.8% |
| 5 | Bristol, City of | 57.0 | +16.6% |
| 6 | Chesterfield Derbyshire | 55.9 | -6.0% |
| 7 | Lincoln Lincolnshire | 55.9 | +9.4% |
| 8 | Stockton-on-Tees | 55.4 | +12.8% |
| 9 | Birmingham West Midlands | 55.0 | -3.7% |
| 10 | Doncaster South Yorkshire | 54.6 | +5.2% |
Lowest Violence & Sexual Offences Rates
Annual rate per 1,000 residents
| # | City / Town | Rate | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oldham Greater Manchester | 0.0 | -60.0% |
| 2 | Tewkesbury Gloucestershire | 0.1 | -99.5% |
| 3 | Wigan Greater Manchester | 0.1 | -28.6% |
| 4 | Monmouthshire | 0.1 | -99.5% |
| 5 | Trafford Greater Manchester | 0.1 | +200.0% |
| 6 | Newport | 0.1 | -99.7% |
| 7 | Stroud Gloucestershire | 0.1 | -99.9% |
| 8 | Bury Greater Manchester | 0.2 | +250.0% |
| 9 | Bolton Greater Manchester | 0.2 | +16.7% |
| 10 | Rochdale Greater Manchester | 0.2 | -57.1% |
What is Violence & Sexual Offences?
Violence and sexual offences is the broadest Police.uk crime category, covering everything from common assault and harassment to grievous bodily harm and rape. It is consistently the second most recorded category after anti-social behaviour and accounts for around 30% of all recorded crime in England and Wales. The category is defined under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and related legislation. Rates are highest in metropolitan areas and are a primary input in personal safety and neighbourhood quality assessments.
Data source: Police.uk (Open Government Licence v3.0) · Methodology
Other Crime Types
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data: Police.uk (OGL v3.0) · Population: ONS Census 2021 · Methodology · Editorial Standards