Bedford has a crime rate of 88.14 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #195 of 330 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Bedford'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 Bedford?

As of March 2026, Bedford has an annual crime rate of 88.14 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,564 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 Bedford rank nationally for crime?

Bedford ranks #195 out of 330 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 Bedford?

The most common crime type in Bedford is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 592 incidents in March 2026 — 37.9% 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 Bedford local authority area.

March 2026 Source: Bedfordshire Police Police

Bedford Crime Intelligence Report

Bedford recorded 1,564 crimes in March 2026, equating to a crime rate of 8.44 per 1,000 residents. This places Bedford at #96 of 330 local authorities nationally by total crime volume. Crime has increased by 28.3% compared to the previous month. Year-on-year, crime levels are 10.0% higher.

info Crime is above average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring88.14 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment1,564 crimes recorded in March 2026
leaderboardRanked #195 of 330 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_upCrime up 10.0% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

1,564

trending_up +28.3% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

88.14per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#195of 330

Ranked by annual rate

National Population

185,224

Estimated population

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 Adelaide Square Map	Violence and sexual offences: 20 Other crime: 16	20
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 21 Public order: 4	21
On or near Abbott Crescent Map	Public order: 8 Violence and sexual offences: 7 Drugs: 4	8
On or near Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 15	15
On or near Kingsbrook Road Map	Shoplifting: 13 Vehicle crime: 2	13
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 14	14
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 11	11
On or near Shopping Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 7 Other theft: 3	7
On or near Supermarket Map	Anti-social behaviour: 6 Robbery: 2	6
On or near Shopping Area Map	Robbery: 4 Public order: 4	4

Crime Breakdown

March 2026

1,564 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

592

37.9%

Anti-social Behaviour

268

17.1%

Shoplifting

126

8.1%

Public Order

108

6.9%

Other Theft

6.2%

Criminal Damage & Arson

5.2%

Vehicle Crime

4.2%

Drug Offences

4.0%

Burglary

3.8%

Other Crime

3.2%

Robbery

1.2%

Bicycle Theft

1.0%

Weapons Possession

0.8%

Theft from Person

0.6%

Stop & Search

March 2026

381

Total Stops

13.4%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

253

Offensive weapons

Article for use in theft

Stolen goods

Firearms

Outcome

A no further action disposal275

Arrest51

Community resolution39

Summons / charged by post14

Khat or Cannabis warning2

Gender

Male210

Female25

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

63.0%

White

18.5%

Asian

17.9%

Black

0.6%

Other

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

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

27 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Castle	226	174.7
2	Harpur	133	132.5
3	Kingsbrook	161	128.6
4	Kempston West	85	121.0
5	Cauldwell	171	118.5

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Riseley	2	0.6
shield	Oakley	8	2.1
shield	Wootton	28	3.7
shield	Kempston North	9	2.4
shield	Wyboston	10	1.8

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +28.3%

Year-on-Yeartrending_up +10.0%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_up +0.4%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 330 local authorities in England & Wales.

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