Leeds has a crime rate of 117.48 per 1,000 residents — below the national average for England and Wales, placing it among the lower-crime areas in the UK at #281 of 331 local authorities. Crime levels vary significantly across Leeds'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 Leeds?

As of April 2026, Leeds has an annual crime rate of 117.48 per 1,000 residents, based on 8,726 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 Leeds rank nationally for crime?

Leeds ranks #281 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 Leeds?

The most common crime type in Leeds is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 3,195 incidents in April 2026 — 36.6% 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 Leeds local authority area.

April 2026 Source: West Yorkshire Police Police

Crime in Leeds: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Leeds is among the safer areas in England and Wales, recording 8,726 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 10.47 per 1,000 residents. This places Leeds at #281 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 36.6% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 5.0% compared to the same period last year.

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

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Key Statistics

monitoring117.48 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment8,726 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #281 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 5.0% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

8,726

trending_down -2.3% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

117.48per 1k

High Risk

National Safety

#281of 331

Top 9% Riskiest UK

West Yorkshire

#4rank

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	Shoplifting: 161 Burglary: 10	161
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 117	117
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 48 Violence and sexual offences: 39	48
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 48 Possession of weapons: 3	48
On or near Petrol Station Map	Other theft: 34 Anti-social behaviour: 17	34
On or near Duncan Street Map	Violence and sexual offences: 32 Drugs: 6 Theft from the person: 6	32
On or near Shopping Area Map	Public order: 21 Burglary: 9 Robbery: 8	21
On or near Millshaw Road Map	Shoplifting: 40 Other crime: 4	40
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 44	44
On or near Rutland Mount Map	Shoplifting: 40	40

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

8,726 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

3,195

36.6%

Anti-social Behaviour

881

10.1%

Shoplifting

827

9.5%

Public Order

697

8.0%

Criminal Damage & Arson

638

7.3%

Other Theft

551

6.3%

Vehicle Crime

478

5.5%

Burglary

473

5.4%

Drug Offences

298

3.4%

Other Crime

266

3.0%

Robbery

167

1.9%

Theft from Person

1.0%

Weapons Possession

1.0%

Bicycle Theft

0.9%

Crime Analysis: Leeds

Leeds recorded 8,726 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 117.48 per 1,000 residents — one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, placing it in the top quarter nationally (#281 of 331 local authorities).

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Leeds (36.6%). Anti-social Behaviour (10.1%) and Shoplifting (9.5%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Leeds has fallen slightly — by 5.0%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by West Yorkshire 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

1,630

Total Stops

17.2%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

1,121

Article for use in theft

153

Stolen goods

105

Offensive weapons

102

Firearms

Psychoactive substances

Articles for use in criminal damage

Fireworks

Outcome

A no further action disposal1,052

Arrest280

Community resolution207

Summons / charged by post57

Not recorded20

Caution (simple or conditional)14

Gender

Male1,347

Female162

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

57.3%

White

33.0%

Asian

8.7%

Black

0.9%

Other

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

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

33 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Little London & Woodhouse	1,065	183.6
2	Hunslet & Riverside	727	176.1
3	Gipton & Harehills	492	173.6
4	Killingbeck & Seacroft	393	164.7
5	Armley	373	150.8

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Harewood	59	2.4
shield	Adel & Wharfedale	126	2.9
shield	Moortown	109	4.6
shield	Wetherby	90	3.6
shield	Garforth & Swillington	93	4.5

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -2.3%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -5.0%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.9%

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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