Birmingham has a crime rate of 113.55 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #275 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Birmingham'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 Birmingham?

As of April 2026, Birmingham has an annual crime rate of 113.55 per 1,000 residents, based on 12,100 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 Birmingham rank nationally for crime?

Birmingham ranks #275 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 Birmingham?

The most common crime type in Birmingham is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 5,178 incidents in April 2026 — 42.8% 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 Birmingham local authority area.

April 2026 Source: West Midlands Police Police

Crime in Birmingham: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Birmingham recorded 12,100 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 10.38 per 1,000 residents. This places Birmingham at #275 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 42.8% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 2.0% compared to the same period last year.

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

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Key Statistics

monitoring113.55 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment12,100 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #275 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 2.0% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

12,100

trending_down -0.6% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

113.55per 1k

High Risk

National Safety

#275of 331

Top 11% Riskiest UK

West Midlands

#7rank

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: 230	230
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 183	183
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 133	133
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 115	115
On or near Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 88 Anti-social behaviour: 9	88
On or near Petrol Station Map	Violence and sexual offences: 85	85
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 85	85
On or near Shopping Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 80	80
On or near Petrol Station Map	Other theft: 78	78
On or near Hospital Map	Violence and sexual offences: 75	75

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

12,100 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

5,178

42.8%

Vehicle Crime

1,066

8.8%

Shoplifting

1,049

8.7%

Criminal Damage & Arson

1,018

8.4%

Other Theft

748

6.2%

Public Order

737

6.1%

Burglary

504

4.2%

Drug Offences

426

3.5%

Anti-social Behaviour

420

3.5%

Robbery

300

2.5%

Weapons Possession

267

2.2%

Other Crime

182

1.5%

Theft from Person

146

1.2%

Bicycle Theft

0.5%

Crime Analysis: Birmingham

Birmingham recorded 12,100 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 113.55 per 1,000 residents — one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, placing it in the top quarter nationally (#275 of 331 local authorities).

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Birmingham (42.8%). Vehicle Crime (8.8%) and Shoplifting (8.7%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Birmingham has fallen slightly — by 2.0%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by West Midlands 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

March 2026

2,866

Total Stops

16.9%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

1,433

Offensive weapons

717

Stolen goods

337

Article for use in theft

291

Firearms

Articles for use in criminal damage

Fireworks

Psychoactive substances

Outcome

A no further action disposal1,780

Arrest485

Community resolution337

Not recorded209

Khat or Cannabis warning20

Penalty Notice for Disorder19

Summons / charged by post10

Caution (simple or conditional)6

Gender

Male2,262

Female217

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

52.0%

White

27.5%

Asian

19.1%

Black

1.4%

Other

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

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

69 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Bordesley & Highgate	496	196.5
2	Ladywood	868	183.6
3	Handsworth	171	150.1
4	Stockland Green	356	144.9
5	Yardley West & Stechford	171	142.7

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Sutton Roughley	31	2.6
shield	Sutton Mere Green	18	1.8
shield	Balsall Heath West	103	3.2
shield	North Edgbaston	282	3.8
shield	Hall Green South	37	3.4

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -0.6%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -2.0%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.7%

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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