Is Stoke-on-Trent safe?

Stoke-on-Trent has a crime rate of 129.37 per 1,000 residents — below the national average for England and Wales, placing it among the lower-crime areas in the UK at #297 of 331 local authorities. Crime levels vary significantly across Stoke-on-Trent'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 Stoke-on-Trent?

As of April 2026, Stoke-on-Trent has an annual crime rate of 129.37 per 1,000 residents, based on 3,149 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 Stoke-on-Trent rank nationally for crime?

Stoke-on-Trent ranks #297 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 Stoke-on-Trent?

The most common crime type in Stoke-on-Trent is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 1,074 incidents in April 2026 — 34.1% 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 Stoke-on-Trent local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Staffordshire Police Police

Crime in Stoke-on-Trent: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Stoke-on-Trent is among the safer areas in England and Wales, recording 3,149 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 12.0 per 1,000 residents. This places Stoke-on-Trent at #297 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 34.1% of all offences recorded. Crime is up 3.3% compared to the same period last year.

warning Crime is significantly above the UK average for this area.

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Key Statistics

monitoring129.37 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment3,149 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #297 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_upCrime up 3.3% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

3,149

trending_down -0.5% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

129.37per 1k

High Risk

National Safety

#297of 331

Top 4% Riskiest UK

National Population

258,369

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 Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 28 Anti-social behaviour: 22 Other crime: 2	28
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 48	48
On or near Supermarket Map	Anti-social behaviour: 33	33
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 28 Theft from the person: 2	28
On or near Sports/Recreation Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 12 Anti-social behaviour: 11	12
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 21	21
On or near Petrol Station Map	Other theft: 13 Vehicle crime: 5	13
On or near Shopping Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 13 Burglary: 3 Bicycle theft: 2	13
On or near Shopping Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 14 Robbery: 3	14
On or near Huntbach Street Map	Shoplifting: 15	15

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

3,149 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

1,074

34.1%

Anti-social Behaviour

607

19.3%

Criminal Damage & Arson

257

8.2%

Public Order

248

7.9%

Shoplifting

217

6.9%

Other Theft

181

5.7%

Vehicle Crime

160

5.1%

Burglary

122

3.9%

Drug Offences

2.7%

Other Crime

2.3%

Robbery

1.6%

Weapons Possession

1.5%

Bicycle Theft

0.6%

Theft from Person

0.3%

Crime Analysis: Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent recorded 3,149 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 129.37 per 1,000 residents — one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, placing it in the top quarter nationally (#297 of 331 local authorities).

Violence & Sexual Offences makes up the largest share of crime in Stoke-on-Trent at 34.1%. Anti-social Behaviour (19.3%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (8.2%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Stoke-on-Trent has risen slightly — by 3.3%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Staffordshire 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

533

Total Stops

8.1%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

283

Offensive weapons

Stolen goods

Evidence of offences under the Act

Article for use in theft

Anything to threaten or harm anyone

Detailed object of search unavailable

Articles for use in criminal damage

Outcome

Not recorded339

A no further action disposal85

Community resolution58

Arrest43

Caution (simple or conditional)5

Summons / charged by post2

Khat or Cannabis warning1

Gender

Male422

Female68

Other43

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

82.9%

White

10.7%

Asian

6.1%

Black

0.2%

Other

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

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

37 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Joiner's Square	291	241.8
2	Broadway and Longton East	116	234.4
3	Fenton East	88	187.0
4	Tunstall	143	175.8
5	Fenton West and Mount Pleasant	122	165.1

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Blurton East	17	3.1
shield	Weston Coyney	24	4.7
shield	Hanford and Trentham	56	4.9
shield	Meir Hay	17	3.8
shield	Hartshill and Basford	37	4.0

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -0.5%

Year-on-Yeartrending_up +3.3%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_up +0.2%

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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