Bedfordshire Crime Statistics
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
The overall crime rate in Bedfordshire as of April 2026 is 60 crimes per 1,000 people, and the most common crimes are violence and sexual offences, with reports coming from roughly every 25 out of 1,000 daytime population.
Comparing Bedfordshire's larger towns and cities, and using Crime Risk Scores - which are calculated by taking severity of each crime type into account - Luton is the most dangerous. The next most dangerous is Bedford, and Dunstable comes in as third most dangerous. There are safer parts of Bedfordshire, identified using the same Crime Risk measurement, starting with Leighton-Linslade which ranks as the safest area in Bedfordshire.
Bedfordshire Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Bedfordshire represent the time frame between January 2016 and April 2026. Each point on the map represents an area where crimes have been recorded locally.
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Hover over a point to see a breakdown of crime types recorded at that location. You can also filter by individual crime types, or use a combinations of offences to visualise the data you need.
Introduction to Bedfordshire's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Bedfordshire up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Bedfordshire's 22,003 postcodes using three area sizes for comparison:
- Within a Five-Minute Walk
- Within a Ten-Minute Walk
- Within a Fifteen-Minute Walk
Individual crime risk scores and index figures are for the 12-month period ending April 2026 unless otherwise stated.
Crime Risk Scores
Bedfordshire • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Bedfordshire has a crime risk score of 406. This is based on analysis of 22,003 nearby areas within Bedfordshire, with "most" referring to roughly two thirds of the nearby locations.
Crime risk scores are on a scale of 1 to 1,000 and consider the severity of the crimes involved, as determined by sentencing guidelines. A score of 1 represents the lowest risk, and 1,000 the highest risk. This approach ensures that - unlike overall crime rate figures - bicycle theft is not given the same importance in Bedfordshire's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Bedfordshire, crime risk scores are typically around 406, while in East of England they are average 453.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 405 (444 for East of England), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 403 (East of England 443).
Trends in Crime Risk
Bedfordshire
Calculated via Seasonal and Trend decomposition using Loess, the Seasonality Adjusted line represents the original data with seasonality subtracted, and the Trend line has been plotted unadjusted. Overall trend direction has been identified using the Mann-Kendall trend test, and rate calculated from the slope of the best-fit line identified from linear regression.
The 10-year trend indicates a decrease of 1.4% in Bedfordshire's crime risk score. This is potentially a strong signal of how the crime risk is evolving. Cross-referencing with major cultural events and Covid's impact during this time is advised.
Looking at the previous five years, the trend in Bedfordshire's crime risk score is up by 5%. While potentially a good indicator of the overall risk trend, analysis may offer further insight when combined with the checks mentioned above.
Over the last year, Bedfordshire's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 1.3%, indicating that the risk profile is going up. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Bedfordshire
The CrimeRate Index shows how crime rates compare against the national average.
1.0 equals the average
2.0 is double
3.0 triple
0.5 is half and
0.25 a quarter.
Highest Crime Rates
Bedfordshire • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Excluding other crime and other theft because their geographic location is often not relevant, anti-social behaviour as its definition is too wide, and bicycle theft for its specificity.
Vehicle Crime offences have a crime rate of 5.22 reports per 1,000 people in Bedfordshire, which is 1.21 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 4,302 crime reports logged by Bedfordshire Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Bedfordshire Police recorded 2,542 reports of Drugs in Bedfordshire, resulting in a crime rate of 3.10 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.00.
The crime rate for Possession of Weapons is 0.96 times the national average at 0.82 reports per 1,000. This is from 675 crime reports reported to Bedfordshire Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Bedfordshire
Excluding other crime and other theft, anti-social behaviour, and bicycle theft, and calculated with the same STL method described in Trends in Crime Risk, using CrimeRate Index figures to identify crime types that are trending above or below the national average, and the analysis timeframe limited to the last three years.
Robbery offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.90 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Robbery CrimeRate Index was 0.67 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 34% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.87 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 0.75 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 16% over this timeframe.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.78 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Criminal Damage and Arson CrimeRate Index was 0.75 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 4.0% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Bedfordshire
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Burglary offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.67 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Burglary CrimeRate Index was 0.67 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 0% over this timeframe.
Public Order offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.81 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.83 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 2.4% over this timeframe.
Theft From the Person offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.25 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Theft From the Person CrimeRate Index was 0.38 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 34% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Bedfordshire • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Bedfordshire | East of England | Bedfordshire Police | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 9,711 | 11.80 | 0.84 | 74,182 | 10.23 | 0.72 | 9,750 | 11.81 | 0.84 |
| Bicycle Theft | 510 | 0.63 | 0.86 | 5,325 | 0.72 | 0.99 | 510 | 0.62 | 0.85 |
| Burglary | 1,914 | 2.33 | 0.74 | 17,593 | 2.42 | 0.77 | 1,920 | 2.32 | 0.74 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 4,118 | 5.01 | 0.80 | 40,107 | 5.51 | 0.88 | 4,130 | 5.01 | 0.80 |
| Drugs | 2,542 | 3.10 | 1.00 | 18,935 | 2.59 | 0.84 | 2,550 | 3.09 | 1.00 |
| Other Crime | 1,398 | 1.70 | 0.92 | 12,241 | 1.70 | 0.92 | 1,407 | 1.70 | 0.92 |
| Other Theft | 3,737 | 4.55 | 0.80 | 34,703 | 4.78 | 0.84 | 3,745 | 4.52 | 0.79 |
| Possession of Weapons | 675 | 0.82 | 0.96 | 5,931 | 0.83 | 0.98 | 676 | 0.81 | 0.95 |
| Public Order | 3,933 | 4.79 | 0.83 | 32,088 | 4.42 | 0.76 | 3,941 | 4.78 | 0.82 |
| Robbery | 778 | 0.95 | 0.81 | 4,492 | 0.61 | 0.52 | 778 | 0.95 | 0.81 |
| Shoplifting | 4,465 | 5.41 | 0.76 | 43,068 | 5.94 | 0.83 | 4,483 | 5.43 | 0.76 |
| Theft From the Person | 401 | 0.49 | 0.32 | 3,654 | 0.52 | 0.34 | 402 | 0.48 | 0.31 |
| Vehicle Crime | 4,302 | 5.22 | 1.21 | 27,821 | 3.84 | 0.89 | 4,309 | 5.21 | 1.21 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 20,856 | 25.34 | 0.83 | 200,684 | 27.65 | 0.91 | 20,926 | 25.31 | 0.83 |
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Total Crime by Year
Bedfordshire | East of England | Bedfordshire Police | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 49,629 | 60.34 | 0.84 | 446,642 | 61.53 | 0.85 | 49,777 | 60.23 | 0.84 |
| 2025 | 50,593 | 62.50 | 0.84 | 441,082 | 61.31 | 0.83 | 50,717 | 62.38 | 0.84 |
| 2024 | 48,363 | 61.03 | 0.81 | 443,460 | 62.34 | 0.83 | 48,470 | 60.85 | 0.81 |
| 2023 | 48,105 | 61.98 | 0.78 | 474,715 | 67.51 | 0.85 | 48,249 | 61.93 | 0.78 |
| 2022 | 45,286 | 59.29 | 0.77 | 471,617 | 67.78 | 0.88 | 45,414 | 59.15 | 0.77 |
| 2021 | 45,355 | 60.31 | 0.88 | 437,869 | 63.51 | 0.93 | 45,518 | 60.20 | 0.88 |
| 2020 | 52,754 | 70.86 | 0.96 | 465,376 | 67.88 | 0.92 | 52,944 | 70.92 | 0.96 |
| 2019 | 57,063 | 77.48 | 1.02 | 482,539 | 70.87 | 0.93 | 57,256 | 77.35 | 1.01 |
| 2018 | 44,957 | 61.49 | 0.86 | 439,882 | 64.91 | 0.91 | 45,073 | 61.36 | 0.86 |
| 2017 | 42,454 | 58.37 | 0.91 | 396,747 | 58.76 | 0.92 | 42,565 | 58.26 | 0.91 |
| 2016 | 13,539 | 18.66 | 0.98 | 116,493 | 17.30 | 0.91 | 13,580 | 18.65 | 0.98 |
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The Bedfordshire Streets With The Highest Crime Counts
Each police crime report that CrimeRate receives has a street name automatically assigned to it by the police data team, and this table uses the coordinates to count crimes, rather than the street name alone. That way, if Bedfordshire has multiple identical street names - which is not unusual - they will be treated separately by CrimeRate's systems.
| Street | Crime Count | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Way Luton | 152 | ||||||||
| Abbott Crescent Kempston | 95 | ||||||||
| Adelaide Square Bedford | 89 | ||||||||
| Market Square Leighton-Linslade | 50 | ||||||||
| Petrol Station Elstow | 47 | ||||||||
| Armistice Croft Blunham | 44 | ||||||||
| Holmfield Close Toddington | 33 | ||||||||
| Houghton Park Road Houghton Regis | 28 | ||||||||
| Old Milton Road Thurleigh | 24 | ||||||||
| Horace Close Eastcotts | 22 | ||||||||
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Town and City Comparison
| Town / City | Crime Count | Crime Rate | CrimeRate Index | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | 9,044 | 91.19 | 1.27 | ||||||
| Kempston | 1,849 | 76.56 | 1.10 | ||||||
| Luton | 19,394 | 74.46 | 1.03 | ||||||
| Dunstable | 2,715 | 59.90 | 0.83 | ||||||
| Houghton Regis | 1,660 | 58.18 | 0.84 | ||||||
| Brickhill | 588 | 53.63 | 0.80 | ||||||
| Sandy | 693 | 53.00 | 0.79 | ||||||
| Leighton-Linslade | 2,423 | 52.13 | 0.74 | ||||||
| Biggleswade | 1,166 | 48.02 | 0.69 | ||||||
| Stotfold | 372 | 36.09 | 0.59 | ||||||
| Flitwick | 497 | 34.79 | 0.54 | ||||||
| Ampthill | 293 | 29.07 | 0.52 | ||||||
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