Most dangerous parts of UK mapped - check crime levels in your area

Latest crime stats reveal people in Middlesborough are most likely to be preyed on by criminals.

A raft of data released this morning also shows nearly 2% of people in England and Wales suffered sex assaults in the year to March. And a massive jump in fraud cases fuelled a rise in overall crime, even as cases involving knives, robberies and homicides dropped.

Shoplifting rose again to record levels, while stark figures show that more than two million cases went unsolved over that period. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that 9.4million crimes occured - a 7% rise on the previous year.

But overall crime has dropped significantly in the past decade, numbercrunchers reckon. Here we look at some of the key takeaways from the crime data released today, including an interactive map that shows the situation in your area.

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Overall crime

In the year ending March 2025, more than 5.3 million non-fraud crimes were recorded by the 43 domestic police forces in England and Wales. That was about 92,000 fewer crimes than in the year ending March 2024, a 2% fall.

However separate figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimates there were around 9.4million crimes, a 7% increase on the previous year. But this was largely driven by a 31% rise in fraud - more on that below - researchers said.

The overall total of 9.4 million crimes is 16% lower than the total of 11.2 million for 2016/17.

Areas with highest crime rates

Crime rates, the number of crimes recorded in each area for every 1,000 people, show people in Middlesbrough are the most likely to fall victim.

While Westminster consistently has the highest crime rate in the country, currently at 423 crimes for every 1,000 residents, that includes huge numbers of tourists. The same is likely true of Camden (195 crimes per 1,000 residents).

Outside central London, Middlesbrough remains the most crime-plagued part of the nation. Last year there were more than 23,000 crimes in the North East city. While that was a 5% fall from the previous year, it still added up to a crime rate of 158 offences for every 1,000 people. That’s the equivalent of one in every six people who live in Middlesbrough falling victim to a crime last year.

After Middlesbrough, Blackpool in Lancashire has the highest crime rate (154 crimes per 1,000 people), a fraction higher than affluent Kensington and Chelsea in central London (154), followed by Manchester (152), and Hartlepool (142).

Sex assaults

Alarming data shows nearly two in 10 adults in England and Wales were victims of sex assault in the year to March.

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate around 900,000 over-16s experienced sexual assault, including attempted offences, in that time. The grim stats also reveal that one in eight women experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking in that time.

Labour has promised to halve cases of violence against women and girls within the next 10 years after describing it as a "national emergency" when it came to power.

The latest ONS crime figures also show:

• 7.8% of people aged 16 years and over (around 3.8 million people) had experienced domestic abuse in the last year
• 2.9% (around 1.4 million people) had experienced stalking
• 1.9% (around 900,000 people) had experienced sexual assault
• 8.6% (around 4.2 million people) had experienced some form of harassment

Knife crime

The ONS figures show a slight decrease in crimes involving knives and sharp instruments.

There were 53,047 offences, a 1% fall compared to 53,685 offences the previous year. There was a 9% rise in London, where the Met Police recorded 16,297 cases. London accounts for 31% of knife-related crimes in England and Wales.

There was a big fall in the West Midlands, which recorded a 15% drop to 4,469 offences. Greater Manchester Police saw a 2% rise, with 3,398 cases.

There was a significant drop in hospital admissions with stab wounds. Latest provisional NHS data shows these were down by 10% to 3,508 in the year to March. This was a huge 26% below figures from the year ending March 2020, when there were 4,769 admissions.

Robberies and theft

Police recorded 78,804 incidents in the year to March - a 3% decrease compared to 12 months previously. The figures make a distinction between business and personal property - with the former up by 50% but the latter dropping by 10%.

Meanwhile the CSEW restimates 2.8 million thefts in a year - which it says was "no statistically significant change".

Fraud

This has seen a huge jump, with an estimated 4.2million cases in a year, according to the CSEW.

This was a 31% increase compared with the previous year, when there were around 3.2million incidents. The rise was driven by a 30% increase in bank and credit account fraud, with about 2.4 million cases.

There was also a 23% rise in consumer and retail fraud. Of the estimated 4.2 million incidents of fraud, around three million involved a loss. Victims were fully reimbursed in 2.1 million of these cases.

Homicides

Tragically 535 people were killed in the year to March.

This was the lowest figure since 2014, and a 6% drop on the previous 12 months. Data recorded by police said the homicide rate was 8.8 per one million people, down from 9.4 a year earlier.

Knives or sharp instruments were used in 40% of homicides, which is a drop from 46% in the previous year.

Shoplifting

There was a 20% increase in shoplifting, with 530,643 offences, latest figures show.

There has been sharp rises in these offences since the pandemic - with shoplifting at its highest level since current police recording practices began in 2003.

A Tory law change which means thefts valued at under £200 are less likely to be prosecuted is being reversed in Labour's Crime and Policing Bill. The Government has vowed to tackle an "epidemic" of shop thefts.

Paddy Lillis, general secretary of trade union Usdaw, said: “The scale of the epidemic of retail crime is laid bare in these shocking police recorded crime statistics and Usdaw’s own survey.

"It is increasingly common for retail stores to be targeted by organised crime gangs stealing to order. This is in no way a victimless crime, with weapons and violence used to ensure these criminals are not stopped. Having to deal with repeated and persistent offences can cause issues beyond the theft itself, like anxiety, fear and physical harm to retail workers."

Unsolved crimes

There were 2,071,156 unsolved crimes in the year to March - equivalent to 5,674 a day, the figures show.

Lib Dem home affairs spokeswoman Lisa Smart said: "Every day, thousands of innocent victims are being left without the justice they deserve after falling victim to heartless criminals. It is an absolute scandal.

"The previous Conservative government left behind a legacy of failure, but the Labour government has not been quick enough to address the unsolved crime epidemic - particularly as shoplifting spirals out of control. This neglect of victims cannot be allowed to continue. Our high streets and communities deserve better than this. If the Government wants to deliver safer streets, cracking down on the unsolved shoplifting epidemic must take priority."

What has the Government said?

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Serious violence has fallen, including the first falls in knife crime for four years, and overall charge rates are rising so more criminals are finally facing justice. That is welcome progress.

“But the four-year increase in shop theft and street crime reflects the decimation of neighbourhood policing over the past decade. That is why as part of our Plan for Change, this summer our new Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee means over 500 town centres are getting extra neighbourhood patrols and action on town centre crime, and we are delivering the first 3,000 increase in neighbourhood officers and PCSOs in communities by next spring.

“As part of our mission to tackle the national emergency of Violence Against Women and Girls, we have made sure that for the first time the figures are being recorded in a combined way, showing that 1 in 8 women were victims of domestic abuse, stalking or sexual assault last year. That is why we have already started to put domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms, invested in major new perpetrator programmes, and why we are publishing a transformative cross-government VAWG strategy in September, because everybody has a right to feel safe on our streets.”

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