St. Ives Crime Overview
St. Ives is among the top 5 most dangerous small towns in Cambridgeshire, and is the 50th most dangerous overall out of Cambridgeshire's 265 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in St. Ives in 2020 was 61 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares favourably to Cambridgeshire's overall crime rate, coming in 16% lower than the Cambridgeshire rate of 71 per 1,000 residents. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, St. Ives is the 299th most dangerous small town, and the 1,980th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In August 2020, St. Ives was the worst small town in Cambridgeshire for bicycle theft, with 19 crimes reported and a crime rate of 1.1 per 1,000 inhabitants. February 2020 was also a bad month for St. Ives residents, when it was Cambridgeshire's most dangerous small town for criminal damage and arson, recording 16 crimes at a rate of 0.94 per 1,000 residents. St. Ives recorded 6 reports of drugs during September 2020, making its crime rate of 0.35 the worst small town for drugs in Cambridgeshire that month.
The most common crimes in St. Ives are violence and sexual offences, with 459 offences during 2020, giving a crime rate of 27. This is 7% higher than 2019's figure of 428 offences and a difference of 1.82 from 2019's crime rate of 25. St. Ives's least common crime is robbery, with 7 offences recorded in 2020, a decrease of 86% from 2019's figure of 13 crimes.
Compare St. Ives to other towns and cities
See how St. Ives shapes up compared to other locations around the country, including side-by-side comparisons of specific crime types, and separate charting of how St. Ives and your comparison town's crime rates stack up against one another.
St. Ives Crime Map
Crime in St. Ives Compared To Cambridgeshire
Summary of Crimes in St. Ives This Year
| St. Ives | Cambridgeshire | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime | Count | Rate | Count | Rate | Rate Difference |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 272 | 15.98 | 15,574 | 18.21 | 14% safer |
| Bicycle Theft | 40 | 2.35 | 3,077 | 3.60 | 53% safer |
| Burglary | 47 | 2.76 | 3,817 | 4.46 | 62% safer |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 103 | 6.05 | 6,970 | 8.15 | 35% safer |
| Drugs | 40 | 2.35 | 2,021 | 2.36 | 0.43% safer |
| Other Crime | 21 | 1.23 | 1,414 | 1.65 | 34% safer |
| Other Theft | 92 | 5.41 | 4,815 | 5.63 | 4.1% safer |
| Possession of Weapons | 10 | 0.59 | 615 | 0.72 | 22% safer |
| Public Order | 97 | 5.70 | 6,032 | 7.05 | 24% safer |
| Robbery | 7 | 0.41 | 541 | 0.63 | 54% safer |
| Shoplifting | 57 | 3.35 | 2,652 | 3.10 | 7% more dangerous |
| Theft From the Person | 13 | 0.76 | 524 | 0.61 | 20% more dangerous |
| Vehicle Crime | 59 | 3.47 | 4,244 | 4.96 | 43% safer |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 459 | 26.97 | 24,340 | 28.45 | 5% safer |
St. Ives Compared to Nearby Small Towns
| Small Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whittlesey | 913 | 54.39 | 13% safer |
| Bretton | 736 | 56.67 | 8% safer |
| Orton Waterville | 576 | 56.72 | 8% safer |
| Chatteris | 641 | 57.48 | 7% safer |
| Ely | 1,282 | 59.23 | 3.7% safer |
| St. Ives | 1,045 | 61.41 | - |
| Soham | 807 | 61.70 | 0.47% more dangerous |
| Ramsey | 504 | 61.87 | 0.74% more dangerous |
| Littleport | 735 | 74.33 | 17% more dangerous |
| March | 1,755 | 76.12 | 19% more dangerous |
Crime Over Time in St. Ives
View crime percentage over time forSt. Ives Crime Trends
| Crime Rate Per 1,000 Residents | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Trend |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 24 | 17 | 17 | 16 | Safer |
| Bicycle Theft | 4.6 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.4 | Safer |
| Burglary | 7 | 5 | 4.8 | 2.8 | Safer |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 11 | 8 | 7 | 6 | Safer |
| Drugs | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.4 | Getting worse |
| Other Crime | 1.1 | 0.71 | 1.2 | 1.2 | Getting worse |
| Other Theft | 8 | 6 | 8 | 5 | Safer |
| Possession of Weapons | 0.41 | 0.35 | 1.0 | 0.59 | Getting worse |
| Public Order | 3.6 | 3.8 | 7 | 6 | Getting worse |
| Robbery (inc. mugging) | 0.88 | 0.65 | 0.76 | 0.41 | Safer |
| Shoplifting | 5 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.4 | Safer |
| Theft From the Person (inc. pickpocketing) | 1.2 | 1.8 | 0.53 | 0.76 | Safer |
| Vehicle Crime | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.5 | Getting worse |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 19 | 19 | 25 | 27 | Getting worse |
Changes In St. Ives's Crime Rates Over Time
Offences in St. Ives's Green Spaces
We only display green spaces in St. Ives that are named, and have had crimes recorded within their boundaries during 2020.
| Name | ASB | Drugs | Public Order | Robbery | VSO | All Others | Crimes per Hectare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Ives Rugby Club | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0.29 |
Comparing St. Ives to the UK's Major Cities
| Small Town | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| St. Ives | 61.41 | - |
| Barnet | 67.71 | 9% more dangerous |
| Coventry | 77.41 | 21% more dangerous |
| Croydon | 83.22 | 26% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 85.81 | 28% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 86.21 | 29% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.44 | 37% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 102.87 | 40% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 107.28 | 43% more dangerous |
| Bradford | 133.02 | 54% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 137.10 | 55% more dangerous |
Crime in St. Ives's Neighbourhoods
| Neighbourhood | Crime Count | Crime Rate | Danger Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Ives North | 437 | 45 | Second |
| St Ives South | 572 | 78 | First |
Crime in St. Ives During Coronavirus Lockdowns
Looking at the months the UK was in lockdown in 2020 due to Covid-19, how did crime rates in St. Ives change compared to the same month in 2019? The biggest increase in lockdown crime came in August, when St. Ives saw a 1,800% increase in bicycle theft. St. Ives saw a large fall in criminal damage and arson during November, when it fell by 92% compared to November in 2019.
| Crime | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-Social Behaviour | -5% | -22% | - | -13% | +14% | +35% | -18% | - | -5% | -33% |
| Bicycle Theft | -86% | -67% | -78% | -80% | -25% | +1,800% | +250% | - | -50% | - |
| Burglary | -56% | -60% | - | -33% | -40% | +20% | - | -67% | -75% | -63% |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | +9% | +20% | -31% | -40% | -8% | +17% | -43% | +22% | -92% | -55% |
| Drugs | +100% | - | +33% | - | +133% | - | +100% | -75% | - | -67% |
| Other Crime | -67% | - | +300% | - | +50% | -60% | - | +100% | - | +300% |
| Other Theft | -71% | -14% | - | -31% | +80% | -56% | -9% | -60% | -40% | - |
| Possession of Weapons | +200% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Public Order | +40% | -56% | +10% | -13% | -50% | -25% | +11% | +60% | - | -43% |
| Robbery | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Shoplifting | -71% | -90% | +67% | -25% | +200% | +233% | -43% | +133% | -80% | -67% |
| Theft From the Person | - | - | -50% | - | - | - | - | - | +100% | +100% |
| Vehicle Crime | +275% | -75% | -25% | +150% | -14% | -67% | +200% | +67% | -25% | -40% |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | -11% | -14% | -5% | +48% | -39% | +52% | +7% | +30% | -19% | +64% |
Frequently Asked Questions About Crime in St. Ives
What police force serves St. Ives?
St. Ives's local territorial police force is the Cambridgeshire Constabulary.How dangerous is St. Ives?
St. Ives is among the top 5 most dangerous small towns in Cambridgeshire.What is St. Ives's most common crime?
The most common crimes in St. Ives are violence and sexual offences.What is the least common crime in St. Ives?
St. Ives's least common crime is robbery (inc. mugging).Last updated: 07 May 2021