Is Brighton and Hove safe?

Brighton and Hove has a crime rate of 103.0 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #246 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Brighton and Hove'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 Brighton and Hove?

As of April 2026, Brighton and Hove has an annual crime rate of 103.0 per 1,000 residents, based on 3,071 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 Brighton and Hove rank nationally for crime?

Brighton and Hove ranks #246 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 Brighton and Hove?

The most common crime type in Brighton and Hove is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 811 incidents in April 2026 — 26.4% 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 Brighton and Hove local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Sussex Police Police

Crime in Brighton and Hove: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Brighton and Hove recorded 3,071 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 10.94 per 1,000 residents. This places Brighton and Hove at #246 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 26.4% of all offences recorded.

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

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Key Statistics

monitoring103.0 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment3,071 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #246 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 0.2% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

3,071

trending_up +3.5% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

103.0per 1k

High Risk

National Safety

#246of 331

Top 21% Riskiest UK

National Population

277,103

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: 146 Violence and sexual offences: 23	146
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 37	37
On or near Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 37	37
On or near Nightclub Map	Violence and sexual offences: 36	36
On or near Supermarket Map	Public order: 36	36
On or near Grenville Street Map	Shoplifting: 30	30
On or near Nightclub Map	Anti-social behaviour: 30	30
On or near Hospital Map	Violence and sexual offences: 16 Public order: 8	16
On or near Marshalls Row Map	Shoplifting: 24	24
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 23	23

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

3,071 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

811

26.4%

Anti-social Behaviour

733

23.9%

Shoplifting

408

13.3%

Public Order

288

9.4%

Other Theft

192

6.3%

Criminal Damage & Arson

170

5.5%

Vehicle Crime

116

3.8%

Drug Offences

3.1%

Other Crime

2.3%

Burglary

1.7%

Bicycle Theft

1.4%

Robbery

1.2%

Weapons Possession

1.1%

Theft from Person

0.7%

Crime Analysis: Brighton and Hove

Brighton and Hove recorded 3,071 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 103.0 per 1,000 residents — one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, placing it in the top quarter nationally (#246 of 331 local authorities).

Violence & Sexual Offences makes up the largest share of crime in Brighton and Hove at 26.4%. Anti-social Behaviour (23.9%) and Shoplifting (13.3%) are the next most common categories.

Crime levels in Brighton and Hove have held relatively steady over the past year at around 103.0 crimes per 1,000 residents. The trend chart above shows how individual offence categories have shifted month to month within that overall picture.

All figures are published monthly by Sussex 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

613

Total Stops

26.9%

Arrest Rate

273

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

365

Offensive weapons

123

Stolen goods

Article for use in theft

Articles for use in criminal damage

Psychoactive substances

Firearms

Outcome

A no further action disposal337

Arrest165

Community resolution78

Summons / charged by post28

Penalty Notice for Disorder2

Caution (simple or conditional)2

Not recorded1

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

81.7%

White

10.5%

Black

4.0%

Asian

3.8%

Other

Stop & search data published by Sussex 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	Regency	542	246.0
2	St. Peter's and North Laine	552	183.1
3	Queen's Park	246	163.2
4	Central Hove	103	115.2
5	East Brighton	246	108.8

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Withdean	56	3.8
shield	Preston Park	80	5.3
shield	Woodingdean	41	4.2
shield	Hove Park	55	4.4
shield	Hanover and Elm Grove	71	4.4

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +3.5%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -0.2%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.3%

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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