Lewes has a crime rate of 59.29 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #69 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Lewes'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 Lewes?

As of April 2026, Lewes has an annual crime rate of 59.29 per 1,000 residents, based on 645 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 Lewes rank nationally for crime?

Lewes ranks #69 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 Lewes?

The most common crime type in Lewes is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 240 incidents in April 2026 — 37.2% 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 Lewes local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Sussex Police Police

Crime in Lewes: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Lewes recorded 645 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 6.46 per 1,000 residents. This places Lewes at #69 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 37.2% of all offences recorded. Crime is up 4.5% compared to the same period last year.

shield Crime is significantly below the UK average — one of the safer areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring59.29 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment645 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #69 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_upCrime up 4.5% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

645

trending_up +7.1% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

59.29per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#69of 331

Top 22% Safest UK

East Sussex

#2rank

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 Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 16	16
On or near Charlwood Road Map	Public order: 8 Violence and sexual offences: 8	8
On or near Prison Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9 Other crime: 4 Drugs: 2	9
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 12 Other theft: 2	12
On or near Eastgate Wharf Map	Shoplifting: 11 Robbery: 1 Theft from the person: 1	11
On or near Railway Road Map	Violence and sexual offences: 6 Public order: 2 Theft from the person: 1	6
On or near Bishop'S Close Map	Violence and sexual offences: 7	7
On or near Sports/Recreation Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 7	7
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 7	7
On or near St Michael'S Terrace Map	Anti-social behaviour: 5 Other theft: 2	5

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

645 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

240

37.2%

Anti-social Behaviour

153

23.7%

Public Order

8.2%

Criminal Damage & Arson

7.6%

Shoplifting

5.9%

Other Theft

5.0%

Other Crime

3.7%

Burglary

2.3%

Drug Offences

1.7%

Vehicle Crime

1.6%

Robbery

1.1%

Weapons Possession

0.8%

Theft from Person

0.8%

Bicycle Theft

0.5%

Crime Analysis: Lewes

Lewes recorded 645 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 59.29 per 1,000 residents — among the lower-crime areas in England and Wales, ranked #69 of 331 by crime rate.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Lewes (37.2%). Anti-social Behaviour (23.7%) and Public Order (8.2%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Lewes has risen slightly — by 4.5%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Sussex 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

613

Total Stops

26.9%

Arrest Rate

273

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

365

Offensive weapons

123

Stolen goods

Article for use in theft

Articles for use in criminal damage

Psychoactive substances

Firearms

Outcome

A no further action disposal337

Arrest165

Community resolution78

Summons / charged by post28

Penalty Notice for Disorder2

Caution (simple or conditional)2

Not recorded1

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

81.7%

White

10.5%

Black

4.0%

Asian

3.8%

Other

Stop & search data published by Sussex 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	Newhaven South	121	113.7
2	Newhaven North	52	85.6
3	Peacehaven West	24	75.4
4	Lewes Castle	26	71.2
5	Lewes Bridge	73	67.9

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Newick	5	2.0
shield	Seaford West	10	2.2
shield	Seaford North	13	2.5
shield	Ditchling & Westmeston	6	1.9
shield	Chailey, Barcombe & Hamsey	11	1.9

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +7.1%

Year-on-Yeartrending_up +4.5%

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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