Crime and Safety in Luton
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Luton is the most dangerous city in Bedfordshire, and is among the top 20 most dangerous overall out of Bedfordshire's 127 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Luton in 2026 is 74 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Bedfordshire's overall crime rate, coming in 23% higher than the Bedfordshire rate of 60 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Luton is among the top 20 safest cities, and the 1,331st most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In August 2025, Luton had the worst crime rate in Bedfordshire for theft from the person, with 18 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.07 per 1,000 daytime population. August 2024 was also a bad month for Luton residents, when it was again Bedfordshire's most dangerous area for theft from the person, recording 23 crimes at a rate of 0.09 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Luton are violence and sexual offences, with 7,928 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 30. This is 2.0% higher than 2025's figure of 7,775 offences and a difference of 0.63 from 2025's crime rate of 30. Luton's least common crime is bicycle theft, with 144 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 16% from 2025's figure of 171 crimes.
Luton 2026 Crime Scorecard
Most Dangerous
Cities, Bedfordshire
21% higher, regional crime rate
East of England
3.4% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Luton is 21% higher than the East of England and 3.4% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Luton Crime Rate Over Time
| Luton | |
| East of England | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Luton Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Luton represent the time frame between January 2016 and April 2026. Each point on the map represents an area where crimes have been recorded locally.
Use Crime Map
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.
See How Luton Compares
You can compare Luton's crime statistics against any other town, village, or city from across the country. Search for a location's name below to see how they stack up.
Introduction to Luton's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Luton up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Luton's 3,227 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.
CrimeRate Insights
Looking into a specific address in Luton? CrimeRate Insights reports convert raw numbers into practical insight for any location, from single addresses and postcodes, up to major towns and cities.
Crime rates don’t happen by themselves; they follow people and patterns. Where crowds gather - near pubs and late-night venues, around the station, by supermarkets and forecourts - incidents naturally concentrate.
That doesn’t mean an area is "bad"; it usually means footfall is higher.
Your report explores these factors in a calm, non-judgemental way, putting the numbers in context and helping you spot what’s typical for places like this.
Crime Risk Scores
Luton • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Luton has a crime risk score of 527. This is based on analysis of 3,227 nearby areas within Luton, 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 Luton's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Luton, crime risk scores are typically around 527, while in Bedfordshire they are average 406.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 602 (405 for Bedfordshire), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 627 (Bedfordshire 403).
Trends in Crime Risk
Luton
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 8% in Luton'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 Luton's crime risk score is up by 8%. 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, Luton's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 4.7%, 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
Luton
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
Luton • 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.
Possession of Weapons offences have a crime rate of 1.29 reports per 1,000 people in Luton, which is 1.52 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 334 crime reports logged by Bedfordshire Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Bedfordshire Police recorded 1,691 reports of Vehicle Crime in Luton, resulting in a crime rate of 6.48 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.51.
The crime rate for Drugs is 1.42 times the national average at 4.39 reports per 1,000. This is from 1,142 crime reports reported to Bedfordshire Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Luton
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 1.20 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Robbery CrimeRate Index was 0.89 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 35% over this timeframe.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.96 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Criminal Damage and Arson CrimeRate Index was 0.73 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 32% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.07 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 0.93 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 15% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Luton
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Burglary offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.50 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Burglary CrimeRate Index was 0.50 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 1.00 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.94 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 6% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Luton • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Luton | Bedfordshire | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 3,129 | 12.00 | 0.85 | 9,711 | 11.80 | 0.84 | 74,182 | 10.23 | 0.72 |
| Bicycle Theft | 144 | 0.55 | 0.75 | 510 | 0.63 | 0.86 | 5,325 | 0.72 | 0.99 |
| Burglary | 639 | 2.45 | 0.78 | 1,914 | 2.33 | 0.74 | 17,593 | 2.42 | 0.77 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 1,512 | 5.82 | 0.93 | 4,118 | 5.01 | 0.80 | 40,107 | 5.51 | 0.88 |
| Drugs | 1,142 | 4.39 | 1.42 | 2,542 | 3.10 | 1.00 | 18,935 | 2.59 | 0.84 |
| Other Crime | 481 | 1.85 | 1.00 | 1,398 | 1.70 | 0.92 | 12,241 | 1.70 | 0.92 |
| Other Theft | 1,492 | 5.73 | 1.01 | 3,737 | 4.55 | 0.80 | 34,703 | 4.78 | 0.84 |
| Possession of Weapons | 334 | 1.29 | 1.52 | 675 | 0.82 | 0.96 | 5,931 | 0.83 | 0.98 |
| Public Order | 1,513 | 5.80 | 1.00 | 3,933 | 4.79 | 0.83 | 32,088 | 4.42 | 0.76 |
| Robbery | 362 | 1.40 | 1.19 | 778 | 0.95 | 0.81 | 4,492 | 0.61 | 0.52 |
| Shoplifting | 1,918 | 7.35 | 1.03 | 4,465 | 5.41 | 0.76 | 43,068 | 5.94 | 0.83 |
| Theft From the Person | 238 | 0.92 | 0.59 | 401 | 0.49 | 0.32 | 3,654 | 0.52 | 0.34 |
| Vehicle Crime | 1,691 | 6.48 | 1.51 | 4,302 | 5.22 | 1.21 | 27,821 | 3.84 | 0.89 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 7,928 | 30.43 | 1.00 | 20,856 | 25.34 | 0.83 | 200,684 | 27.65 | 0.91 |
Download | |||||||||
Total Crime by Year
Luton | Bedfordshire | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 19,394 | 74.46 | 1.03 | 49,629 | 60.34 | 0.84 | 446,642 | 61.53 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 19,562 | 74.97 | 1.01 | 50,593 | 62.50 | 0.84 | 441,082 | 61.31 | 0.83 |
| 2024 | 18,544 | 72.29 | 0.96 | 48,363 | 61.03 | 0.81 | 443,460 | 62.34 | 0.83 |
| 2023 | 18,708 | 74.40 | 0.94 | 48,105 | 61.98 | 0.78 | 474,715 | 67.51 | 0.85 |
| 2022 | 17,386 | 70.00 | 0.91 | 45,286 | 59.29 | 0.77 | 471,617 | 67.78 | 0.88 |
| 2021 | 17,334 | 70.16 | 1.02 | 45,355 | 60.31 | 0.88 | 437,869 | 63.51 | 0.93 |
| 2020 | 20,694 | 84.02 | 1.13 | 52,754 | 70.86 | 0.96 | 465,376 | 67.88 | 0.92 |
| 2019 | 22,309 | 90.77 | 1.19 | 57,063 | 77.48 | 1.02 | 482,539 | 70.87 | 0.93 |
| 2018 | 17,840 | 72.71 | 1.02 | 44,957 | 61.49 | 0.86 | 439,882 | 64.91 | 0.91 |
| 2017 | 17,286 | 70.42 | 1.10 | 42,454 | 58.37 | 0.91 | 396,747 | 58.76 | 0.92 |
| 2016 | 5,740 | 23.42 | 1.23 | 13,539 | 18.66 | 0.98 | 116,493 | 17.30 | 0.91 |
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Comparing Luton to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Luton | 74.46 | - |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 7% more dangerous |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 11% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 13% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 31% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 41% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 41% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 43% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 44% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 45% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 68% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
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You can find out more, or get a CrimeRate Insights report that includes further analysis.
Offences In and Around Luton's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Luton that are named and have had crimes recorded within their boundaries in the 12 months to Apr 2026.
| Name | ASB | Drugs | Public Order | Robbery | VSO | All Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Moor | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 33 |
| Stopsley Common | 17 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 49 |
| Stony Hill | 3 | - | 1 | 4 | 14 | 48 |
| Stockingstone Leisure Gardens | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Luton Town and Indians Cricket Club | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 | 0 |
| Great Bramingham Park | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
| Berry Leys Play Area | 1 | - | - | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Lea Manor Recreation Centre | 12 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 13 |
| Purley Centre Seniors Play Area | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Leagrave Park | 13 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 34 | 26 |
| Limbury Leisure Gardens | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Wardown Park | 36 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 32 | 32 |
| People's Park | 14 | 3 | - | 1 | 24 | 28 |
| The Vale Cemetery and Crematorium | 9 | 3 | 2 | - | 4 | 29 |
| Ashcroft Road Recreation Ground | 5 | - | 2 | - | 11 | 8 |
| Bell's Close Park | 38 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 42 | 43 |
| Luton Hoo Memorial Park | 1 | - | 1 | - | 8 | 2 |
| Stockwood Park | 112 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 28 | 43 |
| Andover Close Allotments | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 20 |
| Foxdell Recreation Ground | - | - | - | - | 3 | 2 |
| Blundell Road Recreation Ground | 9 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 38 | 19 |
| Beech Hill Bowling Green | 6 | 1 | 4 | - | 15 | 18 |
| Kingsway Park | 8 | 2 | 6 | - | 32 | 35 |
| Cohens Yard Play Area | 5 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 17 |
| Wigmore Lane Leisure Gardens | 1 | - | 2 | - | 9 | 3 |
| Ferndale Leisure Gardens | 16 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 51 | 36 |
| Castlecroft Road Recreation Ground | 2 | - | 1 | - | 6 | 3 |
| St Peter's Little Park | 7 | 2 | 1 | - | 5 | 15 |
| Brantwood Park | 26 | 22 | 14 | 4 | 68 | 48 |
| Homestead Way Play Area | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Stockwood Park Rugby Club | 85 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 10 |
| Hart Hill Adventure Playground | 1 | - | 1 | - | 25 | 13 |
| Manor Road Park | 22 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 70 | 69 |
| Vauxhall Recreation Club | 5 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 59 |
| Wigmore Valley Park | 5 | - | 1 | - | 3 | 8 |
| Pope's Meadow | 3 | 2 | - | - | 6 | 9 |
| Leagrave Common | 12 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 18 |
| Natural Play Space | - | - | 1 | - | 3 | 1 |
Recent Crimes in Luton
The 20 most recent crime reports in Luton.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Rotheram Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Newark Road | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near St Vincent Gardens | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Reginald Street | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Downs Road | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Alice Court | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Windmill Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Frederick Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Frederick Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Daisy Place | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Corncastle Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Windmill Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Lewsey Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Jersey Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Jersey Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Rotheram Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Tudor Road |
Methodology & Data Sources
Luton Crime Report
Data Sources & Processing
Every month, CrimeRate processes crime reports from data.police.uk, the UK's official provider of open crime report data. Each crime report includes anonymised coordinates, most often "snapped" to the middle of the nearest street, or to the nearest major landmark. The reports also include the month and year the crime was reported, as well as the type of crime.
Data releases on data.police.uk happen once a month, with a two-month delay. This means that, for example, crimes reported in Luton during August 2026 will typically become available in October 2026. The latest release is for Apr 2026 and was released in Jun 2026. To provide current and historical crime statistics, CrimeRate processed 61,669,232 crime reports for the latest release.
Luton Data Points
For Luton, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2023 release of their Parishes and Non Civil Parished Areas dataset, using the PARNCP23CD column value E43000027.
Due to the 2021 Census being conducted during a UK-wide Coronavirus lockdown, the daytime population figures released so far cannot be relied on for purposes such as comparing crime rates. Instead, CrimeRate uses Luton's daytime - or "workday" - population of 203,964 from the ONS 2011 Census for calculations throughout the site.
All geographic boundaries use the full resolution - extent of the realm versions where provided to avoid missing crime reports near coastlines and rivers - the banks of the Thames in particular - that would otherwise not be included when using the clipped to the coastline datasets.
Calculating Crime Rates
CrimeRate locates the UK region, county, and town/city/village locality for each crime report, and calculates the crime rate by taking the sum of all crime reports, dividing it by the locality's daytime / "workday" population, and multiplying the result by 1,000 to get the crime rate per 1,000.
Crime Risk Score Calculations
CrimeRate calculates crime counts for local, nearby, and wider areas for every postcode in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The postcodes locations are deduplicated by a process that ensures distinct points are approximately 50 metres apart. This process removes the bias that would otherwise come from counting the same crimes several times in heavily populated areas.
Using a custom algorithm developed in-house, CrimeRate applies a crime severity weighting to each area's crime counts, based on the type of crime reported. This increases or decreases the crime count, or zeroes it out entirely, depending on the crime type. A separate crime severity rate is then calculated, standardised, and scaled to fit the crime risk score range of 1 to 1,000, with 1 being the lowest score, and 1,000 the highest.
Crime risk scores undergo further analysis per town, city, and village plus other areas including police forces and neighbourhoods. CrimeRate uses percentiles to work out the most common range of crime risk scores in each locality. This includes identifying the high and low bounds where approximately 68% of scores fall, and finding the median (50th percentile) for easy reference.
The crime types with a weight of zero are: Anti-Social Behaviour; Bicycle Theft; Other Crime; Other Theft; and Shoplifting. The highest weights to are assigned to Violence & Sexual Offences, and the lowest to Vehicle Crime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crime in Luton