Compare changes in Police.uk street-level incidents per 1,000 residents between consecutive complete 12-month periods across England and Wales.
Feb 2024–Jan 2025Previous 12-month period
Feb 2025–Jan 2026Current 12-month period
306 councils284 England and 22 Wales
These are changes in reported street-level crime, not a direct measure of personal risk. Police recording practices, public reporting and local activity can affect comparisons. A falling rate does not mean crime is absent.
Coverage safeguards: councils require at least 20,000 residents and 20 incidents in the preceding period. Greater Manchester remains excluded because its police data was unavailable throughout the comparison window.
Largest rate increases: Shoplifting
Largest rate increases for Shoplifting
Rank
Council area
Nation
Rate change
% change
Previous rate
Current rate
Current incidents
1
Westminster
England
+8.0
+26.5%
30.3
38.3
8,141
2
Hastings
England
+7.7
+78.6%
9.8
17.5
1,587
3
Canterbury
England
+6.2
+59.7%
10.4
16.7
2,711
4
Kensington and Chelsea
England
+5.9
+36.5%
16.1
21.9
3,194
5
North East Lincolnshire
England
+5.1
+49.1%
10.3
15.4
2,467
6
Ipswich
England
+3.9
+40.9%
9.6
13.5
1,880
7
Southend-on-Sea
England
+2.9
+35.4%
8.2
11.1
2,054
8
Dartford
England
+2.5
+15.5%
15.9
18.4
2,322
9
Cheltenham
England
+2.3
+24.0%
9.7
12.0
1,461
10
Eastbourne
England
+2.2
+10.1%
21.8
24.0
2,491
11
Middlesbrough
England
+2.2
+17.1%
12.7
14.9
2,277
12
Runnymede
England
+2.1
+48.5%
4.3
6.4
594
13
Tower Hamlets
England
+2.0
+28.6%
7.1
9.1
3,044
14
Haringey
England
+2.0
+27.7%
7.2
9.2
2,457
15
Sandwell
England
+2.0
+26.0%
7.5
9.5
3,350
16
Stockton-on-Tees
England
+1.9
+17.7%
10.8
12.7
2,623
17
North East Derbyshire
England
+1.9
+110.0%
1.7
3.6
387
18
Camden
England
+1.8
+11.2%
16.2
18.0
3,909
19
Melton
England
+1.8
+37.5%
4.7
6.5
357
20
Redbridge
England
+1.8
+34.2%
5.2
7.0
2,244
Largest rate decreases: Shoplifting
Largest rate decreases for Shoplifting
Rank
Council area
Nation
Rate change
% change
Previous rate
Current rate
Current incidents
1
Merthyr Tydfil
Wales
-4.3
-30.0%
14.3
10.0
586
2
Bracknell Forest
England
-3.4
-39.5%
8.6
5.2
684
3
Newport
Wales
-3.2
-20.9%
15.1
11.9
2,012
4
Bath and North East Somerset
England
-3.0
-27.1%
11.2
8.2
1,647
5
Vale of Glamorgan
Wales
-2.9
-28.8%
10.1
7.2
972
6
Swansea
Wales
-2.8
-26.1%
10.7
7.9
1,969
7
Ashfield
England
-2.6
-19.0%
13.6
11.0
1,440
8
Barking and Dagenham
England
-2.5
-36.9%
6.7
4.2
1,008
9
Barnsley
England
-2.4
-26.1%
9.1
6.7
1,693
10
York
England
-2.3
-18.9%
12.4
10.1
2,109
11
Newark and Sherwood
England
-2.3
-19.9%
11.7
9.4
1,206
12
Rushmoor
England
-2.3
-22.8%
10.2
7.9
837
13
Halton
England
-2.3
-37.6%
6.2
3.8
507
14
Croydon
England
-2.3
-23.3%
9.8
7.5
3,094
15
Northumberland
England
-2.3
-24.4%
9.4
7.1
2,362
16
Gravesham
England
-2.2
-34.9%
6.4
4.2
465
17
Hyndburn
England
-2.2
-26.9%
8.3
6.1
529
18
St Albans
England
-2.2
-21.0%
10.6
8.4
1,265
19
Lincoln
England
-2.2
-8.9%
24.9
22.7
2,348
20
Wakefield
England
-2.2
-20.5%
10.7
8.5
3,144
Methodology and limitations
Ranking measure
The change in reported incidents per 1,000 residents between consecutive complete rolling 12-month periods. Absolute rate change determines rank; percentage change is supplementary.
Stability thresholds
Councils need at least 20,000 residents and 20 incidents in the previous period. This prevents tiny populations or baselines from dominating the rankings.
Comparable coverage
The newest 24-month window with complete geographic-force coverage is selected automatically, except Greater Manchester Police. British Transport Police is outside this measure.
Source: Police.uk street-level crime and anti-social behaviour data. Population denominator: Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates via Nomis. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.