Is West Berkshire safe?

West Berkshire has a crime rate of 57.36 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #60 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across West Berkshire'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 West Berkshire?

As of April 2026, West Berkshire has an annual crime rate of 57.36 per 1,000 residents, based on 839 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 West Berkshire rank nationally for crime?

West Berkshire ranks #60 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 West Berkshire?

The most common crime type in West Berkshire is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 326 incidents in April 2026 — 38.9% 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 West Berkshire local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Thames Valley Police Police

Crime in West Berkshire: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

West Berkshire recorded 839 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 4.93 per 1,000 residents. This places West Berkshire at #60 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 38.9% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 12.6% 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

monitoring57.36 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment839 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #60 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 12.6% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

839

trending_down -6.8% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

57.36per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#60of 331

Top 19% Safest UK

National Population

161,447

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 Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 32	32
On or near Hospital Map	Violence and sexual offences: 16	16
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 13	13
On or near Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 12	12
On or near Stirrup Close Map	Shoplifting: 10	10
On or near Park/Open Space Map	Shoplifting: 7 Robbery: 2	7
On or near Ferndale Avenue Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9	9
On or near Sports/Recreation Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 5 Criminal damage and arson: 2	5
On or near Shopping Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 5	5
On or near Parking Area Map	Public order: 5	5

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

839 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

326

38.9%

Anti-social Behaviour

114

13.6%

Shoplifting

10.8%

Criminal Damage & Arson

8.8%

Public Order

8.3%

Other Theft

5.7%

Vehicle Crime

4.3%

Burglary

3.3%

Drug Offences

2.6%

Other Crime

1.8%

Bicycle Theft

1.1%

Robbery

0.4%

Weapons Possession

0.4%

Crime Analysis: West Berkshire

West Berkshire recorded 839 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 57.36 per 1,000 residents — among the lower-crime areas in England and Wales, ranked #60 of 331 by crime rate.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in West Berkshire (38.9%). Anti-social Behaviour (13.6%) and Shoplifting (10.8%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in West Berkshire has fallen sharply — by 12.6%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Thames Valley 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

1,430

Total Stops

10.5%

Arrest Rate

108

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

960

Offensive weapons

182

Stolen goods

179

Article for use in theft

Articles for use in criminal damage

Firearms

Game or poaching equipment

Fireworks

Outcome

A no further action disposal963

Community resolution278

Arrest150

Not recorded13

Penalty Notice for Disorder11

Khat or Cannabis warning7

Summons / charged by post4

Caution (simple or conditional)4

Gender

Male1,194

Female205

Other18

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

61.8%

White

18.7%

Asian

17.7%

Black

1.8%

Other

Stop & search data published by Thames Valley 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	Newbury Central	95	118.1
2	Thatcham Central	80	75.7
3	Newbury Greenham	83	74.1
4	Burghfield & Mortimer	54	66.4
5	Newbury Speen	58	64.2

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Thatcham Colthrop & Crookham	4	1.0
shield	Bucklebury	5	1.0
shield	Basildon	6	1.6
shield	Ridgeway	6	1.4
shield	Aldermaston	26	2.5

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -6.8%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -12.6%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -1.9%

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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