Updated March 2026310 local authorities

Safest Cities in the UK 2026

City of London is the safest local authority in the UK with an annual crime rate of just 24.2 crimes per 1,000 residents. 168 of 310 areas recorded fewer crimes than the same period last year. The UK average is 81.5 per 1,000.

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

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 24.2 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

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