Is Peterborough safe?

Peterborough has a crime rate of 115.66 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #278 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Peterborough'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 Peterborough?

As of April 2026, Peterborough has an annual crime rate of 115.66 per 1,000 residents, based on 2,441 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 Peterborough rank nationally for crime?

Peterborough ranks #278 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 Peterborough?

The most common crime type in Peterborough is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 903 incidents in April 2026 — 37.0% 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 Peterborough local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Cambridgeshire Constabulary Police

Crime in Peterborough: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Peterborough recorded 2,441 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 11.03 per 1,000 residents. This places Peterborough at #278 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 37.0% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 4.5% compared to the same period last year.

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

compare_arrows Compare

Key Statistics

monitoring115.66 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment2,441 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #278 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 4.5% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

2,441

trending_up +2.3% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

115.66per 1k

High Risk

National Safety

#278of 331

Top 10% Riskiest UK

National Population

215,670

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: 73 Burglary: 5	73
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 75	75
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 25 Anti-social behaviour: 13	25
On or near Shopping Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 35	35
On or near Sandford Map	Violence and sexual offences: 23 Other theft: 5 Criminal damage and arson: 5	23
On or near Supermarket Map	Public order: 13 Anti-social behaviour: 9 Other theft: 6	13
On or near Park/Open Space Map	Violence and sexual offences: 25	25
On or near Shopping Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 16 Public order: 9	16
On or near Petrol Station Map	Violence and sexual offences: 20	20
On or near Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 11	11

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

2,441 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

903

37.0%

Anti-social Behaviour

402

16.5%

Shoplifting

231

9.5%

Criminal Damage & Arson

190

7.8%

Public Order

159

6.5%

Other Theft

123

5.0%

Vehicle Crime

4.0%

Drug Offences

3.7%

Burglary

3.5%

Other Crime

2.7%

Weapons Possession

1.5%

Bicycle Theft

1.0%

Robbery

0.8%

Theft from Person

0.6%

Crime Analysis: Peterborough

Peterborough recorded 2,441 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 115.66 per 1,000 residents — one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, placing it in the top quarter nationally (#278 of 331 local authorities).

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Peterborough (37.0%). Anti-social Behaviour (16.5%) and Shoplifting (9.5%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Peterborough has fallen slightly — by 4.5%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Lincolnshire 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.

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

22 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Central	445	185.9
2	Paston and Walton	155	128.3
3	Bretton	124	122.8
4	Park	123	111.9
5	Ravensthorpe	159	106.2

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Glinton and Castor	26	2.9
shield	Barnack	18	5.1
shield	Orton Waterville	71	3.7
shield	Wittering	19	5.2
shield	Gunthorpe	62	6.6

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +2.3%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -4.5%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.7%

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 Peterborough.

Compare Peterborough with other cities

Open Comparator

Police Force

local_police

Lincolnshire Police

58 policing neighbourhoods

call101

languageLincolnshire Police website

notifications

Follow This Area

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

add_alert Follow Peterborough

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