Sandwell has a crime rate of 97.01 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #229 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Sandwell'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 Sandwell?

As of April 2026, Sandwell has an annual crime rate of 97.01 per 1,000 residents, based on 3,084 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 Sandwell rank nationally for crime?

Sandwell ranks #229 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 Sandwell?

The most common crime type in Sandwell is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 1,367 incidents in April 2026 — 44.3% 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 Sandwell local authority area.

April 2026 Source: West Midlands Police Police

Crime in Sandwell: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Sandwell recorded 3,084 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 9.02 per 1,000 residents. This places Sandwell at #229 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 44.3% of all offences recorded.

info Crime is above average compared to other UK areas.

compare_arrows Compare

Key Statistics

monitoring97.01 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment3,084 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #229 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_flatCrime unchanged year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

3,084

trending_down -0.7% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

97.01per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#229of 331

Ranked by annual rate

West Midlands

#6rank

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: 66 Other theft: 4	66
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 39	39
On or near Lovett Avenue Map	Shoplifting: 30	30
On or near London Street Map	Violence and sexual offences: 24 Public order: 6	24
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 27	27
On or near Petrol Station Map	Other theft: 22	22
On or near Shopping Area Map	Public order: 9 Robbery: 5 Possession of weapons: 4	9
On or near High Street Map	Violence and sexual offences: 20	20
On or near Shopping Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 19	19
On or near Petrol Station Map	Violence and sexual offences: 18	18

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

3,084 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

1,367

44.3%

Shoplifting

309

10.0%

Criminal Damage & Arson

269

8.7%

Vehicle Crime

260

8.4%

Public Order

196

6.4%

Other Theft

190

6.2%

Drug Offences

109

3.5%

Anti-social Behaviour

2.9%

Burglary

2.6%

Weapons Possession

2.2%

Other Crime

2.1%

Robbery

1.7%

Theft from Person

0.7%

Bicycle Theft

0.3%

Crime Analysis: Sandwell

Sandwell recorded 3,084 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 97.01 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, ranked #229 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Sandwell (44.3%). Shoplifting (10.0%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (8.7%) are the next most common categories.

Crime levels in Sandwell have held relatively steady over the past year at around 97.01 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 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

24 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	West Bromwich Central	306	133.3
2	Soho and Victoria	238	124.7
3	Langley	137	112.3
4	Wednesbury North	139	105.8
5	Greets Green and Lyng	180	104.6

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Tividale	69	5.3
shield	Old Warley	79	6.2
shield	Great Barr with Yew Tree	79	5.8
shield	Rowley	86	6.3
shield	Smethwick	118	7.6

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -0.7%

Year-on-Yeartrending_flat 0.0%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.3%

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 Sandwell.

Compare Sandwell with other cities

Open Comparator

Police Force

local_police

West Midlands Police

89 policing neighbourhoods

call101

languageWest Midlands Police website

notifications

Follow This Area

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

add_alert Follow Sandwell

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