Wakefield has a crime rate of 111.3 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #270 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Wakefield'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 Wakefield?

As of April 2026, Wakefield has an annual crime rate of 111.3 per 1,000 residents, based on 3,549 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 Wakefield rank nationally for crime?

Wakefield ranks #270 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 Wakefield?

The most common crime type in Wakefield is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 1,438 incidents in April 2026 — 40.5% 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 Wakefield local authority area.

April 2026 Source: West Yorkshire Police Police

Crime in Wakefield: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Wakefield recorded 3,549 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 9.96 per 1,000 residents. This places Wakefield at #270 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 40.5% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 10.3% compared to the same period last year.

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

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Key Statistics

monitoring111.3 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment3,549 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #270 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 10.3% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

3,549

trending_down -1.9% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

111.3per 1k

High Risk

National Safety

#270of 331

Top 13% Riskiest UK

West Yorkshire

#3rank

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 Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 38	38
On or near Havertop Lane Map	Public order: 19 Drugs: 9 Criminal damage and arson: 5	19
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 32	32
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 25	25
On or near Tuke Grove Map	Violence and sexual offences: 16 Public order: 5	16
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 18	18
On or near Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 17	17
On or near A639 Map	Other theft: 16	16
On or near Ings Road Map	Shoplifting: 10 Anti-social behaviour: 6	10
On or near Parking Area Map	Criminal damage and arson: 9 Other crime: 5	9

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

3,549 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

1,438

40.5%

Anti-social Behaviour

427

12.0%

Criminal Damage & Arson

280

7.9%

Shoplifting

264

7.4%

Public Order

256

7.2%

Other Theft

222

6.3%

Other Crime

171

4.8%

Vehicle Crime

162

4.6%

Burglary

134

3.8%

Drug Offences

100

2.8%

Weapons Possession

1.0%

Robbery

0.9%

Theft from Person

0.6%

Bicycle Theft

0.3%

Crime Analysis: Wakefield

Wakefield recorded 3,549 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 111.3 per 1,000 residents — one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, placing it in the top quarter nationally (#270 of 331 local authorities).

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Wakefield (40.5%). Anti-social Behaviour (12.0%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (7.9%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Wakefield has fallen sharply — by 10.3%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by West Yorkshire 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

1,630

Total Stops

17.2%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

1,121

Article for use in theft

153

Stolen goods

105

Offensive weapons

102

Firearms

Psychoactive substances

Articles for use in criminal damage

Fireworks

Outcome

A no further action disposal1,052

Arrest280

Community resolution207

Summons / charged by post57

Not recorded20

Caution (simple or conditional)14

Gender

Male1,347

Female162

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

57.3%

White

33.0%

Asian

8.7%

Black

0.9%

Other

Stop & search data published by West Yorkshire 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	Wakefield East	336	183.7
2	Castleford Central and Glasshoughton	291	168.9
3	Knottingley	150	139.4
4	Pontefract North	240	137.6
5	Wakefield South	194	134.7

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Crofton, Ryhill and Walton	89	5.6
shield	Altofts and Whitwood	111	5.1
shield	Stanley and Outwood East	142	5.8
shield	Wrenthorpe and Outwood West	119	5.7
shield	Wakefield Rural	84	4.7

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -1.9%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -10.3%

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.

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