Shropshire has a crime rate of 54.94 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, placing it among the higher-crime areas in the UK at #43 of 331 local authorities. Crime levels vary significantly across Shropshire'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 Shropshire?

As of April 2026, Shropshire has an annual crime rate of 54.94 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,452 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 Shropshire rank nationally for crime?

Shropshire ranks #43 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 Shropshire?

The most common crime type in Shropshire is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 696 incidents in April 2026 — 47.9% 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 Shropshire local authority area.

April 2026 Source: West Mercia Police Police

Crime in Shropshire: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Shropshire is one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, recording 1,452 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 4.49 per 1,000 residents. This places Shropshire at #43 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 47.9% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 16.2% 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

monitoring54.94 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment1,452 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #43 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 16.2% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

1,452

trending_down -12.1% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

54.94per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#43of 331

Top 14% Safest UK

National Population

323,607

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: 30	30
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 25 Bicycle theft: 2	25
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 21	21
On or near Petrol Station Map	Other theft: 13 Drugs: 3	13
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 13	13
On or near Hospital Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9 Bicycle theft: 4	9
On or near Wingfield Gardens Map	Violence and sexual offences: 12	12
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 10	10
On or near Shopping Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 10	10
On or near Parking Area Map	Criminal damage and arson: 8	8

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

1,452 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

696

47.9%

Criminal Damage & Arson

150

10.3%

Other Theft

113

7.8%

Shoplifting

105

7.2%

Public Order

6.1%

Burglary

5.7%

Anti-social Behaviour

3.6%

Other Crime

2.9%

Vehicle Crime

2.7%

Drug Offences

2.5%

Bicycle Theft

1.4%

Weapons Possession

1.0%

Robbery

0.5%

Theft from Person

0.3%

Crime Analysis: Shropshire

Shropshire recorded 1,452 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 54.94 per 1,000 residents — among the lower-crime areas in England and Wales, ranked #43 of 331 by crime rate.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Shropshire (47.9%). Criminal Damage & Arson (10.3%) and Other Theft (7.8%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Shropshire has fallen sharply — by 16.2%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by West Mercia 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

278

Total Stops

23.7%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

161

Offensive weapons

Stolen goods

Article for use in theft

Anything to threaten or harm anyone

Articles for use in criminal damage

Outcome

A no further action disposal186

Arrest66

Community resolution16

Khat or Cannabis warning4

Summons / charged by post4

Penalty Notice for Disorder2

Gender

Male228

Female37

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

77.7%

White

11.3%

Asian

5.7%

Black

3.0%

Mixed

2.3%

Other

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

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

63 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Quarry and Coton Hill	100	125.2
2	Castlefields and Ditherington	46	84.4
3	Meole	32	83.7
4	Market Drayton East	36	82.7
5	Monkmoor	26	80.3

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Cheswardine	3	0.7
shield	Corvedale	11	3.0
shield	Whittington	19	2.4
shield	Brown Clee	5	1.1
shield	Ruyton and Baschurch	6	1.4

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -12.1%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -16.2%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -2.1%

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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