Updated March 2026310 local authorities

Most Dangerous Cities in the UK 2026

Middlesbrough has the highest crime rate in the UK at 179.3 crimes per 1,000 residents annually. 168 of 310 areas recorded fewer crimes than the same period last year.

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

City of London

Safest in UK

24.2 per 1k

Middlesbrough

Highest Crime in UK

179.3 per 1k

81.5

UK Average

per 1k residents

168

Areas Improving

vs same period last year

Complete Rankings

Rank	City / Town	County	Rate (per 1k)	Population	YoY
1	Middlesbrough	—	179.3	143,922	+7.7%
2	Blackpool	—	178.1	141,039	-26.7%
3	Hartlepool	—	159.0	92,338	+0.9%
4	Hackney	Inner London	141.4	259,147	-0.7%
5	Islington	Inner London	138.2	216,590	-2.5%
6	Lincoln	Lincolnshire	138.1	103,814	+9.4%
7	Southwark	Inner London	137.1	307,640	-3.2%
8	Lambeth	Inner London	136.2	317,650	+10.2%
9	Bristol, City of	—	136.1	472,467	+16.6%
10	Burnley	Lancashire	134.9	94,651	-1.2%
11	Newham	Inner London	132.8	351,030	+7.1%
12	Nottingham	—	129.7	323,635	+7.6%
13	Redcar and Cleveland	—	129.4	136,530	-6.0%
14	Stoke-on-Trent	—	129.1	258,369	+5.6%
15	Stockton-on-Tees	—	128.5	196,593	+12.8%
16	Kingston upon Hull, City of	—	126.8	267,013	+4.8%
17	Kensington and Chelsea	Inner London	126.4	143,373	-7.3%
18	Doncaster	South Yorkshire	126.0	308,104	+5.2%
19	Liverpool	Merseyside	125.8	486,088	-0.1%
20	Hyndburn	Lancashire	124.8	82,237	-10.3%
21	Haringey	Inner London	124.5	264,238	-5.4%
22	Preston	Lancashire	123.7	147,834	-14.5%
23	Derby	—	123.5	261,364	+2.9%
24	Bradford	West Yorkshire	123.4	546,412	-7.7%
25	North East Lincolnshire	—	122.9	156,967	-9.0%
26	Southampton	—	122.7	248,920	+1.0%
27	Westminster	Inner London	122.5	204,236	-20.9%
28	Leicester	—	119.6	368,571	-5.7%
29	Tower Hamlets	Inner London	119.2	310,306	+1.1%
30	Leeds	West Yorkshire	118.6	811,953	-4.1%
31	Brent	Outer London	117.8	339,821	+4.8%
32	Hammersmith and Fulham	Inner London	117.5	183,156	-1.4%
33	Peterborough	—	116.5	215,670	+3.8%
34	Eastbourne	East Sussex	114.4	101,680	+12.4%
35	Birmingham	West Midlands	114.3	1,144,922	-3.7%
36	Camden	Inner London	113.9	210,136	-4.3%
37	Wakefield	West Yorkshire	112.9	353,370	-9.7%
38	Hillingdon	Outer London	112.6	305,907	+2.2%
39	Scarborough	—	111.9	108,736	+3.9%
40	Hastings	East Sussex	111.3	90,995	+13.2%
41	Calderdale	West Yorkshire	110.7	206,631	-14.1%
42	Lewisham	Inner London	110.4	300,553	+3.9%
43	Portsmouth	—	110.0	208,001	+3.1%
44	Thanet	Kent	109.3	140,587	-0.5%
45	Ealing	Outer London	108.5	367,116	+2.8%
46	Greenwich	Outer London	108.4	289,065	-3.2%
47	Chesterfield	Derbyshire	108.2	103,568	-6.0%
48	Hounslow	Outer London	108.0	288,181	+2.8%
49	Mansfield	Nottinghamshire	108.0	110,482	+7.9%
50	Worcester	Worcestershire	106.8	103,869	+6.9%
51	Stevenage	Hertfordshire	106.8	89,498	+9.4%
52	Norwich	Norfolk	106.6	143,924	+1.5%
53	Blackburn with Darwen	—	106.5	154,741	-14.5%
54	Sheffield	South Yorkshire	104.9	556,523	-0.2%
55	Reading	—	104.8	174,223	+8.0%
56	Sedgemoor	—	103.7	125,341	+14.7%
57	Boston	Lincolnshire	103.7	70,505	+5.1%
58	Dartford	Kent	103.6	116,754	+0.6%
59	Crawley	West Sussex	103.5	118,492	-8.3%
60	Newcastle upon Tyne	Tyne and Wear	103.4	300,127	-19.4%
61	Nuneaton and Bedworth	Warwickshire	103.3	134,198	+2.5%
62	Brighton and Hove	—	103.3	277,103	-0.4%
63	Watford	Hertfordshire	102.9	102,245	-1.8%
64	Enfield	Outer London	102.7	329,985	+3.1%
65	Barking and Dagenham	Outer London	102.6	218,871	+1.6%
66	Southend-on-Sea	—	102.2	180,685	+10.9%
67	Rotherham	South Yorkshire	102.2	265,806	+13.1%
68	Plymouth	—	102.2	264,695	+0.1%
69	Denbighshire	—	102.1	95,820	-12.4%
70	Canterbury	Kent	101.8	157,429	+2.5%
71	Great Yarmouth	Norfolk	101.8	99,750	+8.2%
72	Darlington	—	101.5	107,796	-7.0%
73	Barnsley	South Yorkshire	101.2	244,572	+2.4%
74	Croydon	Outer London	100.0	390,724	+3.2%
75	Harlow	Essex	99.8	93,330	-4.7%
76	Torbay	—	99.8	139,324	+6.8%
77	Medway	—	99.4	279,773	-0.6%
78	Swale	Kent	98.3	151,677	-14.5%
79	Waltham Forest	Outer London	98.2	278,428	-6.0%
80	County Durham	—	98.2	522,067	+13.3%
81	Slough	—	97.9	158,500	+8.3%
82	Merthyr Tydfil	—	97.5	58,839	-18.7%
83	Sandwell	West Midlands	97.3	341,832	-3.9%
84	Cardiff	—	96.8	362,310	-14.2%
85	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	96.4	263,726	-7.1%
86	Exeter	Devon	95.9	130,707	-3.4%
87	South Tyneside	Tyne and Wear	95.8	147,777	-17.9%
88	Walsall	West Midlands	95.7	284,126	+5.3%
89	Wandsworth	Inner London	95.1	327,506	-2.1%
90	Conwy	—	94.4	114,743	-4.2%
91	Coventry	West Midlands	94.1	345,321	-1.5%
92	Milton Keynes	—	93.9	287,060	+14.3%
93	Bassetlaw	Nottinghamshire	93.6	117,803	+19.2%
94	Kirklees	West Yorkshire	93.3	433,213	-6.0%
95	Ashfield	Nottinghamshire	93.2	126,299	-0.8%
96	Wrexham	—	93.0	135,122	-6.6%
97	Pendle	Lancashire	93.0	95,758	-10.7%
98	Thurrock	—	92.5	175,993	+4.0%
99	Sunderland	Tyne and Wear	92.4	274,173	-16.4%
100	Lancaster	Lancashire	92.2	142,939	-19.6%
101	Basildon	Essex	92.0	187,567	-2.1%
102	Luton	—	91.4	225,261	-2.7%
103	Ipswich	Suffolk	91.0	139,643	+7.1%
104	Redbridge	Outer London	90.5	310,261	+2.8%
105	Gravesham	Kent	90.4	106,902	-5.6%
106	St. Helens	Merseyside	89.8	183,248	+3.5%
107	Knowsley	Merseyside	89.3	154,518	+8.1%
108	Oxford	Oxfordshire	88.7	162,040	-12.2%
109	Cambridge	Cambridgeshire	88.5	145,674	-0.9%
110	Telford and Wrekin	—	88.5	185,543	-5.7%
111	Broxbourne	Hertfordshire	88.4	99,007	+17.8%
112	Welwyn Hatfield	Hertfordshire	88.3	119,835	-3.6%
113	Barnet	Outer London	88.2	389,344	+9.1%
114	Bedford	—	88.1	185,224	+10.0%
115	Colchester	Essex	87.4	192,716	+14.0%
116	Fenland	Cambridgeshire	87.3	102,461	-7.5%
117	Gateshead	Tyne and Wear	87.1	196,149	-29.2%
118	East Lindsey	Lincolnshire	86.9	142,295	+19.5%
119	Havering	Outer London	86.6	262,052	+1.6%
120	Rossendale	Lancashire	86.5	70,868	-6.5%
121	Maidstone	Kent	86.2	175,781	-9.1%
122	Tendring	Essex	85.5	148,293	+11.1%
123	North Northamptonshire	—	84.9	359,523	-9.0%
124	Dover	Kent	84.8	116,411	-2.1%
125	North Lincolnshire	—	84.7	169,684	-1.4%
126	Wyre Forest	Worcestershire	84.5	101,609	+5.9%
127	West Northamptonshire	—	84.5	425,723	-6.6%
128	Somerset West and Taunton	—	84.4	157,447	+5.6%
129	Halton	—	84.4	128,478	-1.8%
130	Pembrokeshire	—	84.2	123,359	+22.1%
131	Spelthorne	Surrey	84.0	102,960	+5.0%
132	Erewash	Derbyshire	83.7	112,908	+7.8%
133	Hertsmere	Hertfordshire	83.7	107,827	-13.0%
134	York	—	83.4	202,821	-4.6%
135	Worthing	West Sussex	83.1	111,338	+8.5%
136	Kingston upon Thames	Outer London	82.8	168,065	+5.8%
137	Dacorum	Hertfordshire	82.6	155,081	-16.1%
138	Newcastle-under-Lyme	Staffordshire	82.3	123,299	+18.1%
139	Barrow-in-Furness	—	82.2	67,406	+28350.0%
140	North Somerset	—	81.9	216,729	+3.0%
141	Swindon	—	81.5	233,411	+8.2%
142	North Tyneside	Tyne and Wear	81.3	208,968	-17.9%
143	Redditch	Worcestershire	81.3	87,034	+8.7%
144	Newark and Sherwood	Nottinghamshire	81.0	122,959	+5.3%
145	Bromley	Outer London	80.8	329,991	+2.4%
146	Bolsover	Derbyshire	80.4	80,270	+4.7%
147	Rhondda Cynon Taf	—	80.0	237,653	-14.3%
148	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	—	80.0	400,195	-2.9%
149	Swansea	—	79.9	238,491	-8.7%
150	Wyre	Lancashire	79.2	111,946	-24.6%
151	Sefton	Merseyside	79.2	279,233	-6.1%
152	Bath and North East Somerset	—	79.1	193,409	+22.2%
153	Cannock Chase	Staffordshire	79.1	100,523	+11.0%
154	Carlisle	—	78.8	110,025	+98700.0%
155	Havant	Hampshire	78.7	124,210	+1.5%
156	Folkestone and Hythe	Kent	78.4	109,759	+6.8%
157	West Lindsey	Lincolnshire	78.2	95,153	+12.0%
158	Harrow	Outer London	77.9	261,205	+9.1%
159	Amber Valley	Derbyshire	77.4	126,204	+7.5%
160	Epsom and Ewell	Surrey	77.3	80,937	-1.5%
161	Carmarthenshire	—	77.2	187,898	+13.2%
162	South Ribble	Lancashire	77.1	111,035	-19.7%
163	Bridgend	—	77.0	145,490	-8.4%
164	South Somerset	—	76.3	172,670	+11.2%
165	Guildford	Surrey	76.3	143,647	-12.2%
166	Runnymede	Surrey	76.3	88,079	+5.5%
167	Chorley	Lancashire	76.1	117,733	-6.0%
168	Isle of Wight	—	76.0	140,459	-3.4%
169	Tamworth	Staffordshire	76.0	78,642	+1.3%
170	Rushmoor	Hampshire	75.9	99,759	-19.1%
171	Gosport	Hampshire	75.7	81,949	-18.2%
172	Wirral	Merseyside	75.4	320,199	+11.9%
173	Ashford	Kent	75.4	132,747	-10.2%
174	Dudley	West Midlands	75.3	323,488	-4.9%
175	Arun	West Sussex	75.3	164,887	+2.6%
176	South Holland	Lincolnshire	75.1	95,122	+3.8%
177	Solihull	West Midlands	75.1	216,240	+1.8%
178	Charnwood	Leicestershire	75.0	183,970	+4.5%
179	Northumberland	—	74.8	320,566	-17.4%
180	Neath Port Talbot	—	74.6	142,290	-12.0%
181	South Gloucestershire	—	74.4	290,424	+17.5%
182	Gwynedd	—	74.4	117,392	-0.6%
183	Mendip	—	74.2	116,089	+20.1%
184	Broxtowe	Nottinghamshire	74.1	110,940	+24.8%
185	Chelmsford	Essex	73.8	181,523	+9.9%
186	Warwick	Warwickshire	73.2	148,454	+2.3%
187	Bexley	Outer London	73.2	246,475	+0.9%
188	Stafford	Staffordshire	71.8	136,870	+31.5%
189	Rugby	Warwickshire	71.6	114,363	+15.4%
190	Sutton	Outer London	71.4	209,636	+1.2%
191	Fylde	Lancashire	71.1	81,375	-13.9%
192	Merton	Outer London	71.1	215,187	-13.3%
193	East Staffordshire	Staffordshire	71.0	124,021	+15.7%
194	Flintshire	—	70.7	154,960	+1.7%
195	St Albans	Hertfordshire	70.0	148,169	+0.3%
196	Epping Forest	Essex	69.6	134,980	-6.2%
197	Brentwood	Essex	68.9	77,048	-7.1%
198	Cherwell	Oxfordshire	68.7	161,015	-6.2%
199	Cornwall	—	68.6	570,305	-2.2%
200	High Peak	Derbyshire	68.4	90,935	+3.0%
201	Woking	Surrey	68.2	103,943	+2.0%
202	Cheshire West and Chester	—	68.1	357,149	-0.4%
203	Reigate and Banstead	Surrey	68.1	150,846	-9.2%
204	Huntingdonshire	Cambridgeshire	67.4	180,832	-16.7%
205	Richmond upon Thames	Outer London	67.2	195,277	-9.0%
206	North East Derbyshire	Derbyshire	66.7	102,003	+11.3%
207	South Kesteven	Lincolnshire	66.1	143,405	+10.9%
208	North Devon	Devon	66.1	98,612	-5.9%
209	Blaby	Leicestershire	65.7	102,924	-5.0%
210	Vale of Glamorgan	—	65.7	131,939	-4.0%
211	Warrington	—	65.6	210,973	+10.9%
212	Basingstoke and Deane	Hampshire	65.4	185,154	+2.2%
213	Isle of Anglesey	—	64.7	68,879	+19.8%
214	Powys	—	64.4	133,169	+4.6%
215	Wychavon	Worcestershire	64.0	132,495	-3.3%
216	Chichester	West Sussex	64.0	124,071	+4.3%
217	East Hertfordshire	Hertfordshire	63.8	150,159	-1.3%
218	West Lancashire	Lancashire	63.0	117,429	-14.1%
219	Tandridge	Surrey	63.0	87,877	-15.2%
220	Hinckley and Bosworth	Leicestershire	62.9	113,641	-2.0%
221	Tonbridge and Malling	Kent	62.8	132,201	-3.1%
222	Stratford-on-Avon	Warwickshire	62.6	134,724	+9.6%
223	Cheshire East	—	62.2	398,772	+3.7%
224	South Derbyshire	Derbyshire	62.0	107,206	+5.6%
225	Tunbridge Wells	Kent	62.0	115,314	-3.4%
226	Windsor and Maidenhead	—	61.8	153,497	+2.9%
227	Gedling	Nottinghamshire	61.8	117,264	-4.3%
228	Allerdale	—	61.7	96,153	+29850.0%
229	Staffordshire Moorlands	Staffordshire	61.6	95,844	-12.0%
230	Three Rivers	Hertfordshire	61.6	93,772	+2.5%
231	Lichfield	Staffordshire	61.6	106,436	+3.0%
232	Rother	East Sussex	61.6	93,114	+2.7%
233	Bracknell Forest	—	61.2	124,605	-3.0%
234	North West Leicestershire	Leicestershire	61.2	104,707	-2.5%
235	Ceredigion	—	61.1	71,473	+13.1%
236	North Warwickshire	Warwickshire	61.0	65,036	+6.9%
237	Eastleigh	Hampshire	60.9	136,444	+6.8%
238	Melton	Leicestershire	60.9	51,752	-28.5%
239	North Hertfordshire	Hertfordshire	60.7	133,210	-0.7%
240	Buckinghamshire	—	60.0	553,078	-4.4%
241	Lewes	East Sussex	59.9	99,909	-4.3%
242	Oadby and Wigston	Leicestershire	59.5	57,747	-18.7%
243	Central Bedfordshire	—	59.3	294,251	-13.8%
244	King's Lynn and West Norfolk	Norfolk	59.2	154,326	-10.5%
245	Bromsgrove	Worcestershire	59.1	99,183	-3.4%
246	Sevenoaks	Kent	58.9	120,515	+5.9%
247	Herefordshire, County of	—	58.7	187,032	-0.7%
248	Mole Valley	Surrey	58.6	87,387	-18.4%
249	West Berkshire	—	58.5	161,447	-9.7%
250	Adur	West Sussex	58.4	64,543	-14.4%
251	Surrey Heath	Surrey	57.6	90,456	-11.3%
252	Braintree	Essex	57.6	155,265	+1.1%
253	Wiltshire	—	57.3	510,333	+2.0%
254	Teignbridge	Devon	57.2	134,802	-2.7%
255	West Suffolk	Suffolk	56.9	179,948	+1.1%
256	East Riding of Yorkshire	—	56.9	342,215	+8.7%
257	Test Valley	Hampshire	56.7	130,491	-3.6%
258	Shropshire	—	56.1	323,607	-1.8%
259	East Cambridgeshire	Cambridgeshire	56.1	87,763	+3.3%
260	Castle Point	Essex	56.1	89,582	+5.5%
261	Elmbridge	Surrey	56.1	138,755	+2.2%
262	Selby	—	56.0	91,988	+0.6%
263	Mid Devon	Devon	55.5	82,853	+1.7%
264	South Cambridgeshire	Cambridgeshire	55.5	162,117	+3.0%
265	South Staffordshire	Staffordshire	55.4	110,475	+15.6%
266	Malvern Hills	Worcestershire	54.9	79,487	-2.5%
267	Winchester	Hampshire	54.8	127,444	+5.4%
268	Copeland	—	54.6	67,076	—
269	Uttlesford	Essex	54.1	91,344	-2.9%
270	Fareham	Hampshire	53.9	114,512	0.0%
271	Vale of White Horse	Oxfordshire	53.8	138,913	-0.3%
272	Breckland	Norfolk	53.2	141,477	-1.5%
273	Harrogate	—	53.2	162,668	-12.9%
274	East Suffolk	Suffolk	53.0	246,060	-0.4%
275	New Forest	Hampshire	52.7	175,782	-7.0%
276	Eden	—	52.2	54,737	+13650.0%
277	Mid Sussex	West Sussex	51.9	152,566	0.0%
278	Ribble Valley	Lancashire	51.8	61,565	-3.5%
279	Rushcliffe	Nottinghamshire	51.5	119,077	+2.7%
280	Hambleton	—	50.2	90,692	+4.4%
281	Torridge	Devon	50.1	68,114	-10.6%
282	Dorset	—	50.0	379,580	-6.8%
283	Harborough	Leicestershire	49.7	97,623	-1.8%
284	Derbyshire Dales	Derbyshire	49.6	71,535	-17.8%
285	North Kesteven	Lincolnshire	49.4	118,072	+11.9%
286	Horsham	West Sussex	48.4	146,776	+3.4%
287	West Oxfordshire	Oxfordshire	48.2	114,236	-18.1%
288	South Lakeland	—	47.3	104,450	+5975.0%
289	Maldon	Essex	47.1	66,211	+20.3%
290	Rochford	Essex	46.4	85,662	+9.9%
291	East Devon	Devon	46.4	150,823	+14.9%
292	Wealden	East Sussex	46.0	160,152	+2.1%
293	South Norfolk	Norfolk	45.7	141,948	-4.1%
294	Ryedale	—	45.3	54,707	+19.7%
295	East Hampshire	Hampshire	45.1	125,742	-0.6%
296	South Oxfordshire	Oxfordshire	44.5	149,088	-4.4%
297	North Norfolk	Norfolk	44.4	102,978	+12.3%
298	West Devon	Devon	43.6	57,094	+5.4%
299	Hart	Hampshire	43.5	99,404	+8.0%
300	Craven	—	43.4	56,927	-15.3%
301	Wokingham	—	43.4	177,502	-5.7%
302	South Hams	Devon	43.3	88,628	0.0%
303	Rutland	—	42.7	41,050	-0.7%
304	Babergh	Suffolk	42.3	92,342	-4.3%
305	Waverley	Surrey	41.9	128,226	-0.8%
306	Mid Suffolk	Suffolk	40.3	102,701	-1.1%
307	Richmondshire	—	38.8	49,781	-8.3%
308	Broadland	Norfolk	38.0	131,723	-3.3%
309	Isles of Scilly	—	31.5	2,055	-14.3%
310	City of London	Inner London	24.2	8,584	+0.9%

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 24.2 crimes per 1,000 residents.

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

Middlesbrough has the highest crime rate at 179.3 crimes per 1,000 residents annually.

Is crime in the UK getting better or worse? expand_more

168 of 330 local authorities recorded fewer crimes than the same period last year.

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

Most Dangerous Cities in the UK 2026

Complete Rankings

Frequently Asked Questions

Cookie Intelligence

Unlock Full Access