Is Welwyn Hatfield safe?

Welwyn Hatfield has a crime rate of 87.05 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #194 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Welwyn Hatfield'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 Welwyn Hatfield?

As of April 2026, Welwyn Hatfield has an annual crime rate of 87.05 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,011 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 Welwyn Hatfield rank nationally for crime?

Welwyn Hatfield ranks #194 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 Welwyn Hatfield?

The most common crime type in Welwyn Hatfield is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 323 incidents in April 2026 — 31.9% 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 Welwyn Hatfield local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Hertfordshire Constabulary Police

Crime in Welwyn Hatfield: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Welwyn Hatfield recorded 1,011 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 8.02 per 1,000 residents. This places Welwyn Hatfield at #194 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 31.9% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 3.4% compared to the same period last year.

info Crime is above average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring87.05 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment1,011 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #194 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 3.4% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

1,011

trending_up +0.4% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

87.05per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#194of 331

Ranked by annual rate

Hertfordshire

#7rank

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: 34 Anti-social behaviour: 6 Other theft: 2	34
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 27	27
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 19	19
On or near Police Station Map	Violence and sexual offences: 8 Drugs: 3 Public order: 3	8
On or near Stonehills Map	Anti-social behaviour: 12	12
On or near Parkhouse Bus Station Map	Drugs: 6 Criminal damage and arson: 3 Burglary: 2	6
On or near Supermarket Map	Anti-social behaviour: 10	10
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9	9
On or near Errington Close Map	Drugs: 9	9
On or near Howardsgate Map	Anti-social behaviour: 8	8

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

1,011 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

323

31.9%

Anti-social Behaviour

236

23.3%

Shoplifting

7.3%

Criminal Damage & Arson

6.9%

Vehicle Crime

6.3%

Public Order

5.3%

Drug Offences

5.1%

Other Theft

4.8%

Burglary

3.2%

Other Crime

2.0%

Bicycle Theft

1.7%

Weapons Possession

1.2%

Robbery

0.4%

Theft from Person

0.4%

Crime Analysis: Welwyn Hatfield

Welwyn Hatfield recorded 1,011 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 87.05 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, ranked #194 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences makes up the largest share of crime in Welwyn Hatfield at 31.9%. Anti-social Behaviour (23.3%) and Shoplifting (7.3%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Welwyn Hatfield has fallen slightly — by 3.4%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Hertfordshire Constabulary 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

641

Total Stops

17.8%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

373

Article for use in theft

135

Offensive weapons

Stolen goods

Articles for use in criminal damage

Psychoactive substances

Firearms

Evidence of offences under the Act

Outcome

A no further action disposal400

Arrest114

Community resolution83

Not recorded32

Summons / charged by post7

Caution (simple or conditional)5

Gender

Male345

Other204

Female76

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

68.9%

White

16.8%

Black

11.2%

Asian

3.1%

Other

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

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

16 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Hatfield Central	149	186.8
2	Handside	131	114.1
3	Peartree	91	96.8
4	Hatfield East	62	84.8
5	Hatfield South West	91	81.8

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Northaw and Cuffley	21	3.0
shield	Welwyn East	26	3.0
shield	Brookmans Park and Little Heath	34	4.3
shield	Sherrards	19	3.2
shield	Panshanger	28	4.6

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +0.4%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -3.4%

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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Police Force

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Hertfordshire Constabulary

33 policing neighbourhoods

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