Updated April 2026310 local authorities

Most Dangerous Cities in the UK 2026

Middlesbrough has the highest crime rate in the UK at 178.6 crimes per 1,000 residents annually. 177 of 310 areas recorded fewer crimes than the same period last year.

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

City of London

Safest in UK

24.0 per 1k

Middlesbrough

Highest Crime in UK

178.6 per 1k

81.3

UK Average

per 1k residents

177

Areas Improving

vs same period last year

Britain's Most Dangerous Cities — Complete Rankings

Rank	City / Town	County	Rate (per 1k)	Population	YoY
1	Middlesbrough	—	178.6	143,922	+1.9%
2	Blackpool	—	173.0	141,039	-22.8%
3	Hartlepool	—	157.9	92,338	-11.8%
4	Hackney	Inner London	140.6	259,147	-1.0%
5	Lincoln	Lincolnshire	138.0	103,814	+9.0%
6	Islington	Inner London	137.9	216,590	+0.4%
7	Southwark	Inner London	136.7	307,640	+3.3%
8	Bristol, City of	—	136.5	472,467	+9.0%
9	Lambeth	Inner London	136.1	317,650	-1.1%
10	Burnley	Lancashire	134.6	94,651	+3.1%
11	Newham	Inner London	133.2	351,030	+4.9%
12	Nottingham	—	129.7	323,635	+12.1%
13	Stockton-on-Tees	—	129.7	196,593	+18.9%
14	Stoke-on-Trent	—	129.4	258,369	+3.3%
15	Redcar and Cleveland	—	128.7	136,530	+0.8%
16	Kingston upon Hull, City of	—	127.3	267,013	+5.5%
17	Doncaster	South Yorkshire	125.3	308,104	-7.7%
18	Kensington and Chelsea	Inner London	124.7	143,373	-12.5%
19	Liverpool	Merseyside	124.3	486,088	-0.6%
20	Hyndburn	Lancashire	123.6	82,237	-20.8%
21	Derby	—	123.4	261,364	+8.6%
22	North East Lincolnshire	—	123.2	156,967	-1.7%
23	Haringey	Inner London	123.2	264,238	-3.0%
24	Bradford	West Yorkshire	122.6	546,412	-2.9%
25	Southampton	—	122.4	248,920	+3.4%
26	Westminster	Inner London	120.8	204,236	-16.7%
27	Preston	Lancashire	120.5	147,834	-15.7%
28	Tower Hamlets	Inner London	119.2	310,306	+2.1%
29	Brent	Outer London	117.7	339,821	+7.8%
30	Leeds	West Yorkshire	117.5	811,953	-5.0%
31	Leicester	—	117.3	368,571	-11.8%
32	Hammersmith and Fulham	Inner London	116.7	183,156	-1.3%
33	Peterborough	—	115.7	215,670	-4.5%
34	Hastings	East Sussex	114.0	90,995	+27.1%
35	Eastbourne	East Sussex	113.9	101,680	-2.3%
36	Birmingham	West Midlands	113.6	1,144,922	-2.0%
37	Camden	Inner London	113.3	210,136	-3.9%
38	Darlington	—	112.3	107,796	-4.0%
39	Hillingdon	Outer London	112.3	305,907	-4.4%
40	Scarborough	—	111.9	108,736	+4.2%
41	Wakefield	West Yorkshire	111.3	353,370	-10.3%
42	Lewisham	Inner London	110.4	300,553	+4.1%
43	Calderdale	West Yorkshire	109.6	206,631	-6.1%
44	Ealing	Outer London	109.1	367,116	-0.3%
45	Portsmouth	—	109.0	208,001	+1.6%
46	County Durham	—	108.8	522,067	+12.8%
47	Mansfield	Nottinghamshire	108.5	110,482	+8.8%
48	Greenwich	Outer London	108.0	289,065	-5.0%
49	Thanet	Kent	107.8	140,587	-3.6%
50	Chesterfield	Derbyshire	107.7	103,568	-1.6%
51	Hounslow	Outer London	107.4	288,181	+2.7%
52	Stevenage	Hertfordshire	106.8	89,498	+9.5%
53	Norwich	Norfolk	105.5	143,924	-3.6%
54	Worcester	Worcestershire	105.0	103,869	-20.2%
55	Boston	Lincolnshire	104.7	70,505	+6.3%
56	Sheffield	South Yorkshire	104.4	556,523	-5.6%
57	Blackburn with Darwen	—	104.4	154,741	-13.8%
58	Reading	—	104.4	174,223	+8.3%
59	Nuneaton and Bedworth	Warwickshire	104.3	134,198	+1.2%
60	Dartford	Kent	104.0	116,754	-1.1%
61	Rotherham	South Yorkshire	103.4	265,806	+16.9%
62	Sedgemoor	—	103.3	125,341	+4.4%
63	Southend-on-Sea	—	103.1	180,685	+6.7%
64	Watford	Hertfordshire	103.0	102,245	+5.6%
65	Brighton and Hove	—	103.0	277,103	-0.2%
66	Enfield	Outer London	102.6	329,985	+2.5%
67	Crawley	West Sussex	102.5	118,492	-2.3%
68	Barking and Dagenham	Outer London	102.4	218,871	-8.8%
69	Denbighshire	—	102.0	95,820	+7.1%
70	Plymouth	—	101.7	264,695	+4.8%
71	Newcastle upon Tyne	Tyne and Wear	101.3	300,127	-11.3%
72	Canterbury	Kent	101.1	157,429	+4.7%
73	Great Yarmouth	Norfolk	100.7	99,750	-8.5%
74	Barnsley	South Yorkshire	100.2	244,572	-4.7%
75	Croydon	Outer London	99.9	390,724	+0.3%
76	Harlow	Essex	99.4	93,330	+1.5%
77	Torbay	—	98.5	139,324	+5.6%
78	Medway	—	98.2	279,773	-5.4%
79	Slough	—	98.2	158,500	+7.7%
80	Waltham Forest	Outer London	97.5	278,428	-5.2%
81	Merthyr Tydfil	—	97.4	58,839	-7.8%
82	Sandwell	West Midlands	97.0	341,832	0.0%
83	Cardiff	—	96.4	362,310	+2.5%
84	Swale	Kent	96.4	151,677	-2.0%
85	Walsall	West Midlands	95.5	284,126	+1.4%
86	Conwy	—	95.5	114,743	+15.5%
87	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	95.2	263,726	-10.6%
88	Wandsworth	Inner London	95.1	327,506	+1.5%
89	Wrexham	—	93.7	135,122	+13.9%
90	Milton Keynes	—	93.6	287,060	-0.6%
91	Exeter	Devon	93.6	130,707	-8.4%
92	Bassetlaw	Nottinghamshire	93.5	117,803	+2.0%
93	Coventry	West Midlands	93.5	345,321	-3.3%
94	South Tyneside	Tyne and Wear	93.4	147,777	-16.6%
95	Ashfield	Nottinghamshire	93.0	126,299	+13.9%
96	Thurrock	—	92.8	175,993	+9.2%
97	Kirklees	West Yorkshire	92.5	433,213	-3.9%
98	Basildon	Essex	91.8	187,567	+0.4%
99	Ipswich	Suffolk	91.4	139,643	+18.1%
100	Pendle	Lancashire	90.9	95,758	-8.3%
101	Redbridge	Outer London	90.6	310,261	+0.8%
102	Gravesham	Kent	90.5	106,902	+5.5%
103	Luton	—	90.4	225,261	-3.5%
104	Sunderland	Tyne and Wear	90.3	274,173	-11.8%
105	Lancaster	Lancashire	89.9	142,939	-21.7%
106	Barrow-in-Furness	—	89.9	67,406	—
107	St. Helens	Merseyside	89.3	183,248	-2.0%
108	Broxbourne	Hertfordshire	89.0	99,007	+18.8%
109	Knowsley	Merseyside	88.8	154,518	-0.9%
110	Oxford	Oxfordshire	88.5	162,040	+3.3%
111	Barnet	Outer London	88.4	389,344	+4.1%
112	East Lindsey	Lincolnshire	88.3	142,295	+12.1%
113	Bedford	—	88.1	185,224	+3.9%
114	Cambridge	Cambridgeshire	88.0	145,674	+2.9%
115	Carlisle	—	87.7	110,025	+32933.3%
116	Colchester	Essex	87.1	192,716	+6.4%
117	Welwyn Hatfield	Hertfordshire	87.0	119,835	-3.4%
118	Fenland	Cambridgeshire	86.6	102,461	-3.8%
119	Tendring	Essex	86.5	148,293	+18.3%
120	Havering	Outer London	86.4	262,052	-0.1%
121	Telford and Wrekin	—	86.0	185,543	-25.4%
122	Maidstone	Kent	85.8	175,781	+2.9%
123	Somerset West and Taunton	—	85.7	157,447	+7.5%
124	North Lincolnshire	—	85.3	169,684	+5.1%
125	Rossendale	Lancashire	85.3	70,868	-13.3%
126	Gateshead	Tyne and Wear	85.2	196,149	-11.6%
127	West Northamptonshire	—	84.3	425,723	-0.7%
128	Halton	—	84.3	128,478	-4.2%
129	Pembrokeshire	—	83.7	123,359	-0.4%
130	Worthing	West Sussex	83.6	111,338	+8.5%
131	North Northamptonshire	—	83.6	359,523	-1.9%
132	Erewash	Derbyshire	83.3	112,908	-5.9%
133	York	—	83.2	202,821	-7.0%
134	Kingston upon Thames	Outer London	82.7	168,065	+5.3%
135	Spelthorne	Surrey	82.7	102,960	-3.2%
136	Hertsmere	Hertfordshire	82.7	107,827	+2.6%
137	Dover	Kent	82.2	116,411	-17.3%
138	Newcastle-under-Lyme	Staffordshire	82.0	123,299	-2.7%
139	Wyre Forest	Worcestershire	82.0	101,609	-23.3%
140	Dacorum	Hertfordshire	82.0	155,081	-2.9%
141	North Somerset	—	81.7	216,729	+9.3%
142	Bromley	Outer London	81.0	329,991	-4.1%
143	Swindon	—	80.8	233,411	+4.2%
144	Bolsover	Derbyshire	80.6	80,270	+10.2%
145	Newark and Sherwood	Nottinghamshire	80.3	122,959	+3.2%
146	Bath and North East Somerset	—	80.3	193,409	+15.8%
147	North Tyneside	Tyne and Wear	79.7	208,968	-14.5%
148	Cannock Chase	Staffordshire	79.7	100,523	+5.8%
149	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	—	79.1	400,195	-1.4%
150	West Lindsey	Lincolnshire	79.1	95,153	+11.4%
151	Redditch	Worcestershire	79.0	87,034	-30.6%
152	Swansea	—	78.9	238,491	-11.4%
153	Carmarthenshire	—	78.7	187,898	+16.2%
154	Havant	Hampshire	78.6	124,210	+5.3%
155	Sefton	Merseyside	78.5	279,233	+0.9%
156	Epsom and Ewell	Surrey	78.4	80,937	+34.9%
157	Rhondda Cynon Taf	—	78.2	237,653	-15.7%
158	Harrow	Outer London	78.0	261,205	+5.0%
159	Folkestone and Hythe	Kent	77.7	109,759	-12.9%
160	Amber Valley	Derbyshire	77.1	126,204	+5.3%
161	Wyre	Lancashire	77.0	111,946	-13.9%
162	Runnymede	Surrey	76.4	88,079	-1.6%
163	Tamworth	Staffordshire	76.2	78,642	+1.7%
164	South Somerset	—	75.9	172,670	+10.2%
165	Bridgend	—	75.9	145,490	-8.3%
166	South Ribble	Lancashire	75.8	111,035	-17.5%
167	Solihull	West Midlands	75.4	216,240	-3.1%
168	Guildford	Surrey	75.2	143,647	-11.2%
169	Isle of Wight	—	75.2	140,459	-7.1%
170	Rushmoor	Hampshire	75.1	99,759	-11.7%
171	Chorley	Lancashire	75.0	117,733	0.0%
172	South Gloucestershire	—	74.8	290,424	+11.2%
173	Broxtowe	Nottinghamshire	74.8	110,940	+24.0%
174	Arun	West Sussex	74.7	164,887	+1.5%
175	Dudley	West Midlands	74.6	323,488	-2.9%
176	Ashford	Kent	74.5	132,747	-1.5%
177	Wirral	Merseyside	74.5	320,199	-11.9%
178	Gwynedd	—	74.5	117,392	+3.0%
179	South Holland	Lincolnshire	74.4	95,122	-6.7%
180	Gosport	Hampshire	74.0	81,949	-1.6%
181	Charnwood	Leicestershire	74.0	183,970	-4.3%
182	Chelmsford	Essex	73.9	181,523	+18.5%
183	Mendip	—	73.5	116,089	-12.3%
184	Neath Port Talbot	—	73.5	142,290	-6.5%
185	Bexley	Outer London	73.4	246,475	+0.2%
186	Warwick	Warwickshire	73.3	148,454	+10.3%
187	Northumberland	—	73.2	320,566	-2.4%
188	Stafford	Staffordshire	72.5	136,870	+7.5%
189	Sutton	Outer London	71.7	209,636	+2.3%
190	Rugby	Warwickshire	71.3	114,363	+3.6%
191	Merton	Outer London	71.1	215,187	-6.5%
192	East Staffordshire	Staffordshire	70.8	124,021	-4.8%
193	Fylde	Lancashire	70.3	81,375	-18.3%
194	Flintshire	—	70.2	154,960	+3.9%
195	Ceredigion	—	70.1	71,473	+190.2%
196	St Albans	Hertfordshire	69.7	148,169	-2.0%
197	Epping Forest	Essex	69.5	134,980	+2.4%
198	Cherwell	Oxfordshire	69.1	161,015	+8.5%
199	Brentwood	Essex	68.9	77,048	-4.7%
200	Cheshire West and Chester	—	68.1	357,149	-2.3%
201	Woking	Surrey	68.1	103,943	+2.0%
202	Allerdale	—	67.7	96,153	+29250.0%
203	Cornwall	—	67.7	570,305	-0.1%
204	High Peak	Derbyshire	67.6	90,935	-1.4%
205	Reigate and Banstead	Surrey	67.6	150,846	+3.7%
206	Powys	—	67.3	133,169	+47.2%
207	North East Derbyshire	Derbyshire	67.1	102,003	+19.7%
208	South Kesteven	Lincolnshire	66.9	143,405	+7.7%
209	Huntingdonshire	Cambridgeshire	66.3	180,832	-13.1%
210	Richmond upon Thames	Outer London	66.2	195,277	-4.0%
211	Warrington	—	65.6	210,973	-1.4%
212	Vale of Glamorgan	—	65.5	131,939	+7.2%
213	Blaby	Leicestershire	65.4	102,924	-1.8%
214	Isle of Anglesey	—	65.2	68,879	+12.3%
215	Basingstoke and Deane	Hampshire	64.9	185,154	-6.3%
216	North Devon	Devon	64.9	98,612	-3.2%
217	East Hertfordshire	Hertfordshire	63.8	150,159	+6.3%
218	Chichester	West Sussex	63.6	124,071	-0.7%
219	Wychavon	Worcestershire	63.1	132,495	-8.8%
220	Tandridge	Surrey	62.9	87,877	+1.3%
221	Tonbridge and Malling	Kent	62.5	132,201	+3.3%
222	Cheshire East	—	62.3	398,772	+3.7%
223	Gedling	Nottinghamshire	62.1	117,264	-0.1%
224	Lichfield	Staffordshire	61.9	106,436	-1.4%
225	Tunbridge Wells	Kent	61.9	115,314	+12.5%
226	Windsor and Maidenhead	—	61.8	153,497	+13.6%
227	Staffordshire Moorlands	Staffordshire	61.8	95,844	-0.9%
228	Three Rivers	Hertfordshire	61.7	93,772	+23.7%
229	Hinckley and Bosworth	Leicestershire	61.6	113,641	-10.4%
230	Stratford-on-Avon	Warwickshire	61.5	134,724	-0.9%
231	West Lancashire	Lancashire	61.5	117,429	-24.8%
232	South Derbyshire	Derbyshire	61.3	107,206	-18.4%
233	Bracknell Forest	—	61.3	124,605	-1.7%
234	Eastleigh	Hampshire	60.9	136,444	+3.9%
235	North Hertfordshire	Hertfordshire	60.8	133,210	+2.0%
236	Rother	East Sussex	60.5	93,114	-13.1%
237	North West Leicestershire	Leicestershire	60.4	104,707	-6.7%
238	Copeland	—	60.2	67,076	+40400.0%
239	North Warwickshire	Warwickshire	60.0	65,036	-12.7%
240	Melton	Leicestershire	59.7	51,752	-19.2%
241	Buckinghamshire	—	59.6	553,078	+1.8%
242	Lewes	East Sussex	59.3	99,909	+4.5%
243	King's Lynn and West Norfolk	Norfolk	59.2	154,326	+0.5%
244	Central Bedfordshire	—	58.8	294,251	-2.1%
245	Oadby and Wigston	Leicestershire	58.6	57,747	-1.3%
246	Sevenoaks	Kent	58.6	120,515	+8.2%
247	Mole Valley	Surrey	58.6	87,387	+11.4%
248	Bromsgrove	Worcestershire	57.9	99,183	-23.9%
249	Braintree	Essex	57.7	155,265	+3.0%
250	Herefordshire, County of	—	57.5	187,032	-18.3%
251	West Berkshire	—	57.4	161,447	-12.6%
252	Adur	West Sussex	57.3	64,543	+10.5%
253	East Riding of Yorkshire	—	57.2	342,215	+5.4%
254	Wiltshire	—	57.1	510,333	+5.0%
255	West Suffolk	Suffolk	56.9	179,948	-1.3%
256	East Cambridgeshire	Cambridgeshire	56.6	87,763	+2.6%
257	Eden	—	56.3	54,737	+22400.0%
258	Castle Point	Essex	56.0	89,582	+4.1%
259	Teignbridge	Devon	56.0	134,802	-8.9%
260	Test Valley	Hampshire	55.9	130,491	-6.3%
261	Selby	—	55.8	91,988	-3.0%
262	Surrey Heath	Surrey	55.7	90,456	-11.8%
263	Elmbridge	Surrey	55.6	138,755	+3.0%
264	South Cambridgeshire	Cambridgeshire	55.5	162,117	+21.6%
265	Mid Devon	Devon	55.3	82,853	+1.1%
266	Winchester	Hampshire	55.2	127,444	+5.9%
267	South Staffordshire	Staffordshire	55.1	110,475	-10.1%
268	Shropshire	—	54.9	323,607	-16.2%
269	Malvern Hills	Worcestershire	54.7	79,487	-8.9%
270	Uttlesford	Essex	54.2	91,344	+1.4%
271	Fareham	Hampshire	53.7	114,512	-6.9%
272	Breckland	Norfolk	53.4	141,477	+8.2%
273	Vale of White Horse	Oxfordshire	53.1	138,913	+1.1%
274	East Suffolk	Suffolk	52.8	246,060	+1.3%
275	South Lakeland	—	52.6	104,450	—
276	Harrogate	—	52.2	162,668	-6.2%
277	Mid Sussex	West Sussex	52.2	152,566	+6.9%
278	New Forest	Hampshire	51.9	175,782	-10.8%
279	Rushcliffe	Nottinghamshire	51.8	119,077	+12.9%
280	North Kesteven	Lincolnshire	50.3	118,072	+21.2%
281	Ribble Valley	Lancashire	50.0	61,565	-18.2%
282	Torridge	Devon	49.9	68,114	+2.0%
283	Hambleton	—	49.9	90,692	-1.8%
284	Dorset	—	49.4	379,580	-7.0%
285	Harborough	Leicestershire	49.4	97,623	-9.7%
286	Derbyshire Dales	Derbyshire	48.5	71,535	+1.5%
287	Horsham	West Sussex	47.9	146,776	+3.4%
288	West Oxfordshire	Oxfordshire	47.8	114,236	-3.3%
289	Maldon	Essex	47.1	66,211	-2.2%
290	Rochford	Essex	47.1	85,662	+6.5%
291	Wealden	East Sussex	45.8	160,152	+8.0%
292	East Devon	Devon	45.6	150,823	-9.3%
293	South Norfolk	Norfolk	45.5	141,948	-3.3%
294	South Oxfordshire	Oxfordshire	44.6	149,088	+0.5%
295	North Norfolk	Norfolk	44.4	102,978	+25.2%
296	East Hampshire	Hampshire	44.2	125,742	-10.5%
297	West Devon	Devon	43.4	57,094	+6.6%
298	Ryedale	—	43.1	54,707	-30.5%
299	South Hams	Devon	43.0	88,628	-6.3%
300	Hart	Hampshire	42.7	99,404	-21.1%
301	Wokingham	—	42.7	177,502	-17.5%
302	Babergh	Suffolk	42.6	92,342	-9.7%
303	Craven	—	42.4	56,927	-10.0%
304	Rutland	—	41.0	41,050	-28.7%
305	Waverley	Surrey	40.9	128,226	+0.6%
306	Mid Suffolk	Suffolk	39.9	102,701	-4.8%
307	Richmondshire	—	38.5	49,781	+3.9%
308	Broadland	Norfolk	37.9	131,723	-11.6%
309	Isles of Scilly	—	32.4	2,055	-60.0%
310	City of London	Inner London	24.0	8,584	-5.7%

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the safest city in the UK? expand_more

City of London is currently the safest city in the UK with an annual crime rate of 24.0 crimes per 1,000 residents.

Which city has the highest crime rate in the UK? expand_more

Middlesbrough has the highest crime rate at 178.6 crimes per 1,000 residents annually.

Is crime in the UK getting better or worse? expand_more

177 of 331 local authorities recorded fewer crimes than the same period last year.

Data: Police.uk (OGL v3.0) · Population: ONS Census 2021 · Methodology

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Britain's Most Dangerous Cities — Complete Rankings

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