Wirral has a crime rate of 74.5 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #134 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Wirral'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 Wirral?

As of April 2026, Wirral has an annual crime rate of 74.5 per 1,000 residents, based on 2,011 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 Wirral rank nationally for crime?

Wirral ranks #134 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 Wirral?

The most common crime type in Wirral is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 803 incidents in April 2026 — 39.9% 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 Wirral local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Merseyside Police Police

Crime in Wirral: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Wirral recorded 2,011 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 6.28 per 1,000 residents. This places Wirral at #134 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 39.9% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 11.9% compared to the same period last year.

check_circle Crime is below average compared to other UK areas.

compare_arrows Compare

Key Statistics

monitoring74.5 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment2,011 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #134 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 11.9% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

2,011

trending_down -16.8% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

74.5per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#134of 331

Ranked by annual rate

Merseyside

#1rank

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 Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 25 Anti-social behaviour: 22 Vehicle crime: 4	25
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 38	38
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 27	27
On or near Horatio Street Map	Shoplifting: 26	26
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 22 Other theft: 2	22
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 17	17
On or near Catherine Street Map	Shoplifting: 11 Public order: 4 Possession of weapons: 1	11
On or near Shopping Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 11 Anti-social behaviour: 4	11
On or near Hospital Map	Violence and sexual offences: 14	14
On or near Parking Area Map	Criminal damage and arson: 11	11

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

2,011 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

803

39.9%

Anti-social Behaviour

283

14.1%

Criminal Damage & Arson

199

9.9%

Public Order

184

9.1%

Shoplifting

139

6.9%

Drug Offences

112

5.6%

Other Theft

4.7%

Vehicle Crime

2.7%

Burglary

2.7%

Other Crime

2.0%

Weapons Possession

1.0%

Robbery

0.6%

Bicycle Theft

0.5%

Theft from Person

0.2%

Crime Analysis: Wirral

Wirral recorded 2,011 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 74.5 per 1,000 residents — broadly average for England and Wales, ranked #134 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Wirral (39.9%). Anti-social Behaviour (14.1%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (9.9%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Wirral has fallen sharply — by 11.9%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Merseyside 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

4,753

Total Stops

8.9%

Arrest Rate

139

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

3,100

Offensive weapons

524

Stolen goods

263

Article for use in theft

117

Evidence of offences under the Act

102

Articles for use in criminal damage

Fireworks

Firearms

Outcome

A no further action disposal3,758

Arrest422

Community resolution345

Summons / charged by post205

Caution (simple or conditional)14

Khat or Cannabis warning5

Penalty Notice for Disorder4

Gender

Male3,821

Female640

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

89.6%

White

4.4%

Black

3.0%

Asian

3.0%

Other

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

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

22 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Birkenhead and Tranmere	367	148.3
2	Bidston and St James	152	131.7
3	Seacombe	160	125.7
4	Rock Ferry	111	95.2
5	Claughton	99	84.7

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Greasby, Frankby and Irby	24	1.7
shield	West Kirby and Thurstaston	40	3.2
shield	Pensby and Thingwall	26	2.0
shield	Heswall	43	3.3
shield	Clatterbridge	34	2.2

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -16.8%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -11.9%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -1.2%

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.

View full methodology arrow_forward

Analyse a Postcode

Get street-level safety data for any postcode in Wirral.

Compare Wirral with other cities

Open Comparator

Police Force

local_police

Merseyside Police

139 policing neighbourhoods

call101

languageMerseyside Police website

notifications

Follow This Area

Get a free monthly email when new crime data is published for Wirral.

add_alert Follow Wirral

Free · Monthly · No spam

Free Download

PDF Crime Report

picture_as_pdf

check_circle12-month crime trend analysis
check_circleCrime type breakdown
check_circleLocal & national rankings
check_circleRisk assessment score

Free account required · Instant download

Data Integrity & Scale

verifiedPolice.uk Verified

updateMonthly Sync

Our algorithmic insights use standardized models. Read Methodology