Crime and Safety in Chester
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Chester is the third most dangerous major town in Cheshire, and is the 27th most dangerous overall out of Cheshire's 321 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Chester in 2026 is 87 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Cheshire's overall crime rate, coming in 52% higher than the Cheshire rate of 57 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Chester is the 51st most dangerous major town, and the 952nd most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In April 2026, Chester had the worst crime rate in Cheshire for theft from the person, with 11 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.12 per 1,000 daytime population. January 2022 was also a bad month for Chester residents, when it was again Cheshire's most dangerous area for theft from the person, recording 6 crimes at a rate of 0.07 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Chester are violence and sexual offences, with 3,669 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 41. This is 0.52% higher than 2025's figure of 3,650 offences and a difference of 0.33 from 2025's crime rate of 41. Chester's least common crime is robbery, with 52 offences recorded in 2026, an increase of 13% from 2025's figure of 46 crimes.
Chester 2026 Crime Scorecard
Third Most Dangerous
Major Towns, Cheshire
100% higher, regional crime rate
North West
20% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Chester is 100% higher than the North West and 20% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Chester Crime Rate Over Time
| Chester | |
| North West | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Chester Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Chester 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 Chester Compares
You can compare Chester'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 Chester's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Chester up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Chester's 1,966 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 Chester? 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
Chester • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Chester has a crime risk score of 521. This is based on analysis of 1,966 nearby areas within Chester, 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 Chester's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Chester, crime risk scores are typically around 521, while in Cheshire they are average 486.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 603 (475 for Cheshire), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 660 (Cheshire 477).
Trends in Crime Risk
Chester
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 0.33% in Chester'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 Chester's crime risk score is down 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, Chester's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 1.7%, 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
Chester
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
Chester • 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.
Public Order offences have a crime rate of 12 reports per 1,000 people in Chester, which is 1.99 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 1,024 crime reports logged by Cheshire Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Cheshire Police recorded 506 reports of Drugs in Chester, resulting in a crime rate of 5.68 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.84.
The crime rate for Shoplifting is 1.39 times the national average at 9.88 reports per 1,000. This is from 877 crime reports reported to Cheshire Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Chester
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.
Public Order offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 2.17 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 1.30 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 67% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.18 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 1.18 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 0% over this timeframe.
Robbery offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.50 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Robbery CrimeRate Index was 0.11 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 355% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Chester
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Vehicle Crime offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.31 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Vehicle Crime CrimeRate Index was 0.36 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 14% over this timeframe.
Possession of Weapons offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.00 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Possession of Weapons CrimeRate Index was 0.43 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 133% over this timeframe.
Theft From the Person offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.00 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 163% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Chester • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Chester | Cheshire | North West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 722 | 8.13 | 0.58 | 7,389 | 5.65 | 0.40 | 68,604 | 7.93 | 0.56 |
| Bicycle Theft | 69 | 0.79 | 1.08 | 625 | 0.47 | 0.64 | 2,963 | 0.35 | 0.48 |
| Burglary | 181 | 2.02 | 0.65 | 2,485 | 1.90 | 0.61 | 13,151 | 1.50 | 0.48 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 485 | 5.46 | 0.87 | 5,329 | 4.07 | 0.65 | 34,232 | 3.94 | 0.63 |
| Drugs | 506 | 5.68 | 1.84 | 3,853 | 2.94 | 0.95 | 23,463 | 2.70 | 0.87 |
| Other Crime | 125 | 1.38 | 0.75 | 1,989 | 1.52 | 0.82 | 11,008 | 1.28 | 0.69 |
| Other Theft | 498 | 5.61 | 0.99 | 4,753 | 3.62 | 0.64 | 24,256 | 2.79 | 0.49 |
| Possession of Weapons | 61 | 0.67 | 0.79 | 829 | 0.64 | 0.75 | 4,543 | 0.53 | 0.62 |
| Public Order | 1,024 | 11.52 | 1.99 | 9,119 | 6.98 | 1.20 | 36,702 | 4.23 | 0.73 |
| Robbery | 52 | 0.58 | 0.49 | 458 | 0.35 | 0.30 | 3,301 | 0.38 | 0.32 |
| Shoplifting | 877 | 9.88 | 1.39 | 5,365 | 4.10 | 0.58 | 27,614 | 3.18 | 0.45 |
| Theft From the Person | 60 | 0.66 | 0.43 | 264 | 0.21 | 0.14 | 1,948 | 0.23 | 0.15 |
| Vehicle Crime | 98 | 1.10 | 0.26 | 2,191 | 1.67 | 0.39 | 14,353 | 1.67 | 0.39 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 3,669 | 41.28 | 1.36 | 37,331 | 28.56 | 0.94 | 178,380 | 20.58 | 0.68 |
Download | |||||||||
Total Crime by Year
Chester | Cheshire | North West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 7,705 | 86.63 | 1.20 | 74,591 | 57.03 | 0.79 | 375,914 | 43.36 | 0.60 |
| 2025 | 7,465 | 83.60 | 1.13 | 75,689 | 58.27 | 0.79 | 373,106 | 43.34 | 0.59 |
| 2024 | 7,543 | 85.00 | 1.13 | 76,482 | 59.44 | 0.79 | 380,165 | 44.52 | 0.59 |
| 2023 | 8,210 | 92.14 | 1.17 | 85,426 | 67.07 | 0.85 | 418,544 | 49.63 | 0.63 |
| 2022 | 7,044 | 79.42 | 1.04 | 75,838 | 60.39 | 0.79 | 410,255 | 49.27 | 0.64 |
| 2021 | 5,995 | 67.38 | 0.99 | 77,168 | 62.01 | 0.90 | 363,499 | 44.00 | 0.64 |
| 2020 | 7,116 | 79.81 | 1.08 | 84,160 | 68.11 | 0.92 | 388,434 | 47.29 | 0.64 |
| 2019 | 7,060 | 78.74 | 1.04 | 80,803 | 65.69 | 0.86 | 412,412 | 50.39 | 0.66 |
| 2018 | 7,909 | 87.94 | 1.24 | 81,117 | 66.34 | 0.93 | 361,592 | 44.45 | 0.63 |
| 2017 | 6,362 | 71.02 | 1.11 | 62,384 | 51.37 | 0.80 | 303,042 | 37.41 | 0.59 |
| 2016 | 1,479 | 16.53 | 0.87 | 15,857 | 13.13 | 0.69 | 87,310 | 10.80 | 0.57 |
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Chester Compared to Nearby Major Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Major Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warrington | 7,975 | 100.25 | 16% more dangerous |
| Crewe | 6,618 | 96.20 | 11% more dangerous |
| Chester | 7,705 | 86.63 | - |
| Ellesmere Port | 5,558 | 77.06 | 11% safer |
| Runcorn | 4,726 | 73.12 | 16% safer |
| Widnes | 4,768 | 72.81 | 16% safer |
Comparing Chester to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 8% safer |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 4.5% safer |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 2.9% safer |
| Chester | 86.63 | - |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 13% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 21% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 21% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 23% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 24% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 24% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 44% more dangerous |
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Offences In and Around Chester's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Chester 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countess of Chester Country Park | 1 | - | - | - | 4 | 1 |
| King Charles Tower Garden | 28 | 21 | 43 | 2 | 64 | 48 |
| Saxon Way Play Area | 1 | 1 | - | - | 10 | 8 |
| Dicksons Drive Field | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Lime Wood Fields | 27 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 41 | 24 |
| Blacon Youth Village Play Area | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | 6 | 0 |
| Hoole Lane Play Area | - | - | - | - | 4 | 0 |
| Upton Dene Play Area | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 |
| North gate ponds | - | 5 | 1 | - | 2 | 2 |
| Blacon Community Nature Park | 2 | - | 1 | - | 12 | 3 |
| King George V Sports Hub | 2 | 10 | 36 | - | 50 | 23 |
| Saughall Road Allotments | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Water Tower Gardens | 4 | 2 | - | - | 9 | 2 |
| Alexandra Park | 11 | 6 | 10 | - | 27 | 11 |
| General Cemetery | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Caldy Nature Park | 1 | - | 1 | - | 7 | 7 |
| Blacon Adventure Playground | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | 6 | 0 |
| Sealand Road Allotments | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Northgate Arena Leisure Centre | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 2 | 2 |
| Kingsway Allotments | 1 | - | - | - | 3 | 0 |
| Coronation Playing Field | - | - | - | - | 1 | 3 |
| Linden Grove Allotments | - | - | - | - | 10 | 2 |
| Hoole Allotments | 3 | - | - | - | 2 | 5 |
| St Annes Playing Field | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | 18 | 6 |
| Francis Street Play Area | 4 | 7 | 2 | - | 15 | 9 |
| Leadworks Lane Park | 9 | 17 | 10 | - | 24 | 16 |
| Richmond House Garden | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 0 |
| St Giles Cemetery | 2 | 3 | 9 | - | 7 | 4 |
| Roman Gardens | 12 | 13 | 24 | - | 43 | 69 |
| Grosvenor Park | 8 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 68 | 31 |
| Sandy Lane Park | 1 | 2 | - | - | 4 | 0 |
| Queens Road Community Park | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 |
| Boughton Heath Allotments | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| General Cemetery | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | 10 | 6 |
| Beeston View 1 and 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 |
| The Acorns Play Area | 1 | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| The Cop | 6 | 4 | 2 | - | 14 | 9 |
| Old Laundry Corner | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| Narrow Community Park | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 |
| Cherry Grove Play Area | 2 | - | 1 | - | 15 | 10 |
Recent Crimes in Chester
The 20 most recent crime reports in Chester.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Nightclub |
Methodology & Data Sources
Chester 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 Chester 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.
Chester Data Points
For Chester, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2022 release of their Built Up Areas dataset, using the BUA22CD column value K08000001.
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 Chester's daytime - or "workday" - population of 79,235 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 Chester