Plymouth has a crime rate of 101.68 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #241 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Plymouth'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 Plymouth?

As of April 2026, Plymouth has an annual crime rate of 101.68 per 1,000 residents, based on 2,579 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 Plymouth rank nationally for crime?

Plymouth ranks #241 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 Plymouth?

The most common crime type in Plymouth is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 1,140 incidents in April 2026 — 44.2% 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 Plymouth local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Devon & Cornwall Police Police

Crime in Plymouth: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Plymouth recorded 2,579 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 9.72 per 1,000 residents. This places Plymouth at #241 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 44.2% of all offences recorded. Crime is up 4.8% compared to the same period last year.

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

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Key Statistics

monitoring101.68 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment2,579 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #241 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_upCrime up 4.8% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

2,579

trending_up +2.6% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

101.68per 1k

High Risk

National Safety

#241of 331

Top 22% Riskiest UK

National Population

264,695

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: 96	96
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 75	75
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 40 Shoplifting: 30	40
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 29	29
On or near Nightclub Map	Violence and sexual offences: 23 Criminal damage and arson: 5	23
On or near Hospital Map	Violence and sexual offences: 23	23
On or near Marlborough Row Map	Shoplifting: 14 Other theft: 5	14
On or near Supermarket Map	Other theft: 19	19
On or near Royal Parade Map	Violence and sexual offences: 14 Public order: 4	14
On or near Parking Area Map	Public order: 13 Drugs: 4	13

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

2,579 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

1,140

44.2%

Anti-social Behaviour

357

13.8%

Shoplifting

234

9.1%

Criminal Damage & Arson

215

8.3%

Other Theft

184

7.1%

Public Order

166

6.4%

Vehicle Crime

2.4%

Drug Offences

1.9%

Other Crime

1.7%

Weapons Possession

1.6%

Burglary

1.6%

Theft from Person

0.8%

Robbery

0.7%

Bicycle Theft

0.3%

Crime Analysis: Plymouth

Plymouth recorded 2,579 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 101.68 per 1,000 residents — one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, placing it in the top quarter nationally (#241 of 331 local authorities).

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Plymouth (44.2%). Anti-social Behaviour (13.8%) and Shoplifting (9.1%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Plymouth has risen slightly — by 4.8%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Devon & Cornwall 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

473

Total Stops

19.2%

Arrest Rate

213

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

286

Offensive weapons

Article for use in theft

Stolen goods

Articles for use in criminal damage

Firearms

Outcome

A no further action disposal304

Arrest91

Community resolution37

Not recorded34

Summons / charged by post5

Caution (simple or conditional)1

Khat or Cannabis warning1

Gender

Male379

Female76

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

93.5%

White

3.0%

Black

2.8%

Asian

0.7%

Other

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

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

20 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	St Peter and the Waterfront	693	201.6
2	Devonport	241	119.5
3	Stoke	133	116.4
4	Sutton and Mount Gould	134	115.2
5	Efford and Lipson	117	103.2

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Plymstock Dunstone	16	1.2
shield	Plympton St Mary	48	3.7
shield	Moor View	135	4.8
shield	Plympton Chaddlewood	27	3.3
shield	Plymstock Radford	76	5.3

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +2.6%

Year-on-Yeartrending_up +4.8%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.5%

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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