Barnsley has a crime rate of 100.2 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #237 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Barnsley's wards; some neighbourhoods are considerably safer than the city average. See the ward breakdown and hotspot map on this page for a detailed local picture.

What is the crime rate in Barnsley?

As of April 2026, Barnsley has an annual crime rate of 100.2 per 1,000 residents, based on 2,250 recorded offences in the latest reporting period. This figure is sourced from Police.uk open data and normalised using ONS Census 2021 population estimates to allow accurate comparisons between areas.

How does Barnsley rank nationally for crime?

Barnsley ranks #237 out of 331 local authorities in England and Wales by annual crime rate per 1,000 residents. A rank of #1 indicates the highest crime rate nationally. Rankings are recalculated each month as new Police.uk data becomes available, covering all recorded crimes across the area.

What is the most common crime in Barnsley?

The most common crime type in Barnsley is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 789 incidents in April 2026 — 35.1% of all recorded crime in the area. Data is sourced from Police.uk and covers all crimes recorded by the responsible police force across the Barnsley local authority area.

April 2026 Source: South Yorkshire Police Police

Crime in Barnsley: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Barnsley recorded 2,250 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 9.2 per 1,000 residents. This places Barnsley at #237 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 35.1% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 4.7% compared to the same period last year.

warning Crime is significantly above the UK average for this area.

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Key Statistics

monitoring100.2 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment2,250 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #237 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 4.7% year-on-year

Data Sources:Police.ukONS Census 2021HM Land Registry Period: April 2026 • Updated monthly

Total Crimes

2,250

trending_down -3.4% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

100.2per 1k

High Risk

National Safety

#237of 331

Top 24% Riskiest UK

South Yorkshire

#1rank

Ranked by annual rate

12-Month Crime Trend

Monthly Totals

Interactive Crime Map

District View

Live Points

Crime Incident

Area Boundary

Incident Distribution

Top Locations

Location Reference	Crime Breakdown	Primary Count
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 43	43
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 23 Violence and sexual offences: 19	23
On or near Nightclub Map	Violence and sexual offences: 23 Anti-social behaviour: 6 Drugs: 3	23
On or near Hanson Street Map	Violence and sexual offences: 13 Anti-social behaviour: 6 Public order: 4	13
On or near Supermarket Map	Public order: 17	17
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 12 Vehicle crime: 4	12
On or near Locke Street Map	Shoplifting: 13	13
On or near Churchfield Map	Other crime: 7 Drugs: 3	7
On or near Mary Ann Close Map	Criminal damage and arson: 9	9
On or near High Street Map	Shoplifting: 9	9

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

2,250 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

789

35.1%

Anti-social Behaviour

354

15.7%

Criminal Damage & Arson

259

11.5%

Public Order

162

7.2%

Shoplifting

155

6.9%

Other Theft

127

5.6%

Vehicle Crime

124

5.5%

Burglary

108

4.8%

Other Crime

3.2%

Drug Offences

2.0%

Robbery

1.3%

Weapons Possession

0.5%

Bicycle Theft

0.4%

Theft from Person

0.2%

Crime Analysis: Barnsley

Barnsley recorded 2,250 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 100.2 per 1,000 residents — one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, placing it in the top quarter nationally (#237 of 331 local authorities).

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Barnsley (35.1%). Anti-social Behaviour (15.7%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (11.5%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Barnsley has fallen slightly — by 4.7%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by South Yorkshire Police through the Police.uk open data platform and cross-referenced with ONS 2021 Census population estimates to produce the per-resident rates above. Data typically appears 1–2 months after the end of the recording period.

Stop & Search

April 2026

904

Total Stops

12.9%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

628

Stolen goods

106

Article for use in theft

Firearms

Offensive weapons

Articles for use in criminal damage

Outcome

A no further action disposal630

Arrest117

Community resolution97

Summons / charged by post50

Caution (simple or conditional)9

Khat or Cannabis warning1

Gender

Male672

Female101

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

70.9%

White

16.2%

Asian

10.7%

Black

2.3%

Other

Stop & search data published by South Yorkshire Police under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: police.uk.

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

21 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Kingstone	240	233.8
2	St Helens	154	149.9
3	Dearne North	191	133.5
4	Stairfoot	156	132.0
5	Monk Bretton	119	113.9

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Penistone West	61	4.6
shield	Darton East	45	4.0
shield	Penistone East	83	6.4
shield	Darton West	64	5.8
shield	Hoyland Milton	64	5.3

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -3.4%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -4.7%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -1.0%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 331 local authorities in England & Wales.

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18 policing neighbourhoods

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