Cornwall has a crime rate of 67.66 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #108 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Cornwall'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 Cornwall?

As of April 2026, Cornwall has an annual crime rate of 67.66 per 1,000 residents, based on 3,467 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 Cornwall rank nationally for crime?

Cornwall ranks #108 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 Cornwall?

The most common crime type in Cornwall is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 1,638 incidents in April 2026 — 47.2% 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 Cornwall local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Devon & Cornwall Police Police

Crime in Cornwall: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Cornwall recorded 3,467 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 6.08 per 1,000 residents. This places Cornwall at #108 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 47.2% of all offences recorded.

check_circle Crime is below average compared to other UK areas.

compare_arrows Compare

Key Statistics

monitoring67.66 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment3,467 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #108 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 0.1% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

3,467

trending_up +1.1% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

67.66per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#108of 331

Ranked by annual rate

National Population

570,305

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 Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 92	92
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 45	45
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 34	34
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 30	30
On or near Hospital Map	Violence and sexual offences: 19 Public order: 5 Anti-social behaviour: 5	19
On or near Parking Area Map	Criminal damage and arson: 26	26
On or near Fore Street Map	Violence and sexual offences: 26	26
On or near Shopping Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 23	23
On or near Parking Area Map	Other theft: 23	23
On or near Petrol Station Map	Anti-social behaviour: 9 Criminal damage and arson: 8 Other theft: 5	9

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

3,467 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

1,638

47.2%

Criminal Damage & Arson

402

11.6%

Anti-social Behaviour

376

10.8%

Other Theft

231

6.7%

Public Order

228

6.6%

Shoplifting

214

6.2%

Burglary

2.7%

Vehicle Crime

2.6%

Drug Offences

1.9%

Other Crime

1.4%

Weapons Possession

1.0%

Robbery

0.6%

Theft from Person

0.4%

Bicycle Theft

0.2%

Crime Analysis: Cornwall

Cornwall recorded 3,467 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 67.66 per 1,000 residents — broadly average for England and Wales, ranked #108 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Cornwall (47.2%). Criminal Damage & Arson (11.6%) and Anti-social Behaviour (10.8%) are the next most common categories.

Crime levels in Cornwall have held relatively steady over the past year at around 67.66 crimes per 1,000 residents. The trend chart above shows how individual offence categories have shifted month to month within that overall picture.

All figures are published monthly by Devon & Cornwall 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

473

Total Stops

19.2%

Arrest Rate

213

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

286

Offensive weapons

Article for use in theft

Stolen goods

Articles for use in criminal damage

Firearms

Outcome

A no further action disposal304

Arrest91

Community resolution37

Not recorded34

Summons / charged by post5

Caution (simple or conditional)1

Khat or Cannabis warning1

Gender

Male379

Female76

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

93.5%

White

3.0%

Black

2.8%

Asian

0.7%

Other

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

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

87 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Newquay Central & Pentire	115	184.1
2	Penzance East	117	143.6
3	Camborne Trelowarren	84	137.1
4	Liskeard Central	124	131.7
5	St Austell Central & Gover	106	118.9

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Lynher	5	0.8
shield	Poundstock	19	2.1
shield	Mylor, Perranarworthal & Ponsanooth	15	2.3
shield	Constantine, Mabe & Mawnan	19	2.6
shield	St Mewan & Grampound	17	2.5

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +1.1%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -0.1%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -1.4%

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.

View full methodology arrow_forward

Analyse a Postcode

Get street-level safety data for any postcode in Cornwall.

Compare Cornwall with other cities

Open Comparator

Police Force

local_police

Devon & Cornwall Police

213 policing neighbourhoods

call101

languageDevon & Cornwall Police website

notifications

Follow This Area

Get a free monthly email when new crime data is published for Cornwall.

add_alert Follow Cornwall

Free · Monthly · No spam

Free Download

PDF Crime Report

picture_as_pdf

check_circle12-month crime trend analysis
check_circleCrime type breakdown
check_circleLocal & national rankings
check_circleRisk assessment score

Free account required · Instant download

Data Integrity & Scale

verifiedPolice.uk Verified

updateMonthly Sync

Our algorithmic insights use standardized models. Read Methodology