Cambridge has a crime rate of 87.96 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #197 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Cambridge'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 Cambridge?

As of April 2026, Cambridge has an annual crime rate of 87.96 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,335 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 Cambridge rank nationally for crime?

Cambridge ranks #197 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 Cambridge?

The most common crime type in Cambridge is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 376 incidents in April 2026 — 28.2% 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 Cambridge local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Cambridgeshire Constabulary Police

Crime in Cambridge: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Cambridge recorded 1,335 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 7.95 per 1,000 residents. This places Cambridge at #197 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 28.2% of all offences recorded. Crime is up 2.9% compared to the same period last year.

info Crime is above average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring87.96 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment1,335 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #197 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_upCrime up 2.9% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

1,335

trending_down -8.9% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

87.96per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#197of 331

Ranked by annual rate

Cambridgeshire

#5rank

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: 61	61
On or near Mill Street Map	Shoplifting: 25	25
On or near Downing Street Map	Shoplifting: 23 Robbery: 1	23
On or near Hospital Map	Violence and sexual offences: 11 Other theft: 5 Public order: 4	11
On or near Police Station Map	Violence and sexual offences: 14 Public order: 4 Criminal damage and arson: 3	14
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 16 Criminal damage and arson: 3	16
On or near Long Reach Road Map	Shoplifting: 12 Burglary: 2	12
On or near Supermarket Map	Anti-social behaviour: 10 Vehicle crime: 3	10
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 11	11
On or near Supermarket Map	Theft from the person: 6 Other theft: 4	6

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

1,335 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

376

28.2%

Anti-social Behaviour

222

16.6%

Shoplifting

216

16.2%

Other Theft

6.8%

Criminal Damage & Arson

5.6%

Bicycle Theft

5.1%

Public Order

4.6%

Vehicle Crime

4.0%

Burglary

3.4%

Theft from Person

2.5%

Other Crime

2.4%

Drug Offences

2.2%

Weapons Possession

1.5%

Robbery

0.9%

Crime Analysis: Cambridge

Cambridge recorded 1,335 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 87.96 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, ranked #197 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences makes up the largest share of crime in Cambridge at 28.2%. Anti-social Behaviour (16.6%) and Shoplifting (16.2%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Cambridge has risen slightly — by 2.9%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Cambridgeshire Constabulary 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

200

Total Stops

17.0%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

127

Offensive weapons

Article for use in theft

Articles for use in criminal damage

Fireworks

Stolen goods

Outcome

A no further action disposal125

Arrest34

Community resolution32

Summons / charged by post5

Caution (simple or conditional)4

Gender

Male174

Female19

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

68.4%

White

14.2%

Black

13.7%

Asian

3.7%

Other

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

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

14 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Abbey	115	123.6
2	Petersfield	135	113.4
3	King's Hedges	112	109.6
4	West Chesterton	75	107.1
5	Market	311	98.3

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Newnham	23	1.5
shield	Queen Edith's	65	2.2
shield	Castle	42	3.3
shield	Coleridge	57	3.3
shield	Cherry Hinton	61	5.9

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -8.9%

Year-on-Yeartrending_up +2.9%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.6%

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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Police Force

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Cambridgeshire Constabulary

16 policing neighbourhoods

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