What is the crime rate in central bedfordshire?

As of March 2026, central bedfordshire has an annual crime rate of 59.3 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,482 recorded offences in the latest month.

How does central bedfordshire rank nationally for crime?

central bedfordshire ranks #104 out of 330 local authorities by total crime volume.

What is the most common crime in central bedfordshire?

The most common crime type in central bedfordshire is Violence & Sexual Offences with 547 incidents in March 2026, accounting for 36.9% of all crime.

March 2026 Source: Bedfordshire Police Police

central bedfordshire Crime Intelligence Report

central bedfordshire recorded 1,482 crimes in March 2026, equating to a crime rate of 5.04 per 1,000 residents. This places central bedfordshire at #104 of 330 local authorities nationally by total crime volume. Crime has increased by 1.2% compared to the previous month. Year-on-year, crime levels are 13.8% lower.

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

Total Crimes

1,482

trending_up +1.2% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

59.3per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#64of 330

Top 20% Safest UK

National Population

294,251

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 Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 19 Shoplifting: 7	19
On or near Shopping Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 18 Anti-social behaviour: 5 Theft from the person: 1	18
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 22	22
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 19 Burglary: 2	19
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 10 Other theft: 5	10
On or near Petrol Station Map	Violence and sexual offences: 12	12
On or near Armistice Croft Map	Violence and sexual offences: 7 Criminal damage and arson: 3	7
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 10	10
On or near Petrol Station Map	Other theft: 9	9
On or near Supermarket Map	Anti-social behaviour: 8	8

Crime Breakdown

March 2026

1,482 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

547

36.9%

Anti-social Behaviour

282

19.0%

Vehicle Crime

112

7.6%

Criminal Damage & Arson

6.7%

Other Theft

5.8%

Shoplifting

5.6%

Public Order

5.3%

Drug Offences

3.9%

Burglary

3.5%

Other Crime

3.0%

Weapons Possession

1.1%

Robbery

1.0%

Theft from Person

0.3%

Bicycle Theft

0.3%

Stop & Search

March 2026

381

Total Stops

13.4%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

253

Offensive weapons

Article for use in theft

Stolen goods

Firearms

Outcome

A no further action disposal275

Arrest51

Community resolution39

Summons / charged by post14

Khat or Cannabis warning2

Gender

Male210

Female25

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

63.0%

White

18.5%

Asian

17.9%

Black

0.6%

Other

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

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

31 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Tithe Farm	54	90.3
2	Houghton Hall	79	89.0
3	Sandy	76	81.9
4	Leighton Buzzard South	128	80.6
5	Dunstable-Northfields	89	78.7

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Northill	17	2.3
shield	Westoning, Flitton and Greenfield	13	2.7
shield	Linslade	38	3.2
shield	Barton-le-Clay	11	2.2
shield	Ampthill	48	3.2

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +1.2%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -13.8%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.6%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 330 local authorities in England & Wales.

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