Luton has a crime rate of 90.39 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #208 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Luton'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 Luton?

As of April 2026, Luton has an annual crime rate of 90.39 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,865 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 Luton rank nationally for crime?

Luton ranks #208 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 Luton?

The most common crime type in Luton is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 674 incidents in April 2026 — 36.1% 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 Luton local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Bedfordshire Police Police

Crime in Luton: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Luton recorded 1,865 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 8.28 per 1,000 residents. This places Luton at #208 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 36.1% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 3.5% compared to the same period last year.

info Crime is above average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring90.39 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment1,865 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #208 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 3.5% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

1,865

trending_up +2.1% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

90.39per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#208of 331

Ranked by annual rate

National Population

225,261

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: 40	40
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 22 Public order: 6	22
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 25	25
On or near Parking Area Map	Vehicle crime: 11 Public order: 6 Other theft: 4	11
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 15 Criminal damage and arson: 5	15
On or near Prince Way Map	Shoplifting: 17 Theft from the person: 2	17
On or near Petrol Station Map	Other theft: 17	17
On or near Shopping Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 17	17
On or near Maida Road Map	Shoplifting: 14 Robbery: 1	14
On or near Bridge Street Map	Other theft: 7 Drugs: 4 Public order: 4	7

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

1,865 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

674

36.1%

Anti-social Behaviour

294

15.8%

Criminal Damage & Arson

134

7.2%

Vehicle Crime

133

7.1%

Other Theft

130

7.0%

Public Order

124

6.6%

Shoplifting

123

6.6%

Drug Offences

4.9%

Other Crime

2.5%

Burglary

1.7%

Robbery

1.7%

Weapons Possession

1.3%

Theft from Person

0.7%

Bicycle Theft

0.6%

Crime Analysis: Luton

Luton recorded 1,865 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 90.39 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, ranked #208 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Luton (36.1%). Anti-social Behaviour (15.8%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (7.2%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Luton has fallen slightly — by 3.5%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Bedfordshire 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

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

19 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	South	460	149.9
2	High Town	141	121.2
3	Farley	154	104.8
4	Biscot	134	100.3
5	Dallow	137	83.1

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Bramingham	28	3.8
shield	Barnfield	37	4.5
shield	Saints	72	4.4
shield	Round Green	71	5.6
shield	Challney	88	4.5

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +2.1%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -3.5%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -1.1%

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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