Crime and Safety in Plymouth
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Plymouth is the most dangerous city in Devon, and is among the top 20 most dangerous overall out of Devon's 403 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Plymouth in 2026 is 84 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Devon's overall crime rate, coming in 37% higher than the Devon rate of 62 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Plymouth is the 27th safest city, and the 838th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In February 2017, Plymouth had the worst crime rate in Devon for theft from the person, with 25 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.09 per 1,000 daytime population. And in January 2026, Plymouth was the worst city in Devon for anti-social behaviour, with 242 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.81 per 1,000 daytime population. January 2026 was also a bad month for Plymouth residents, when it was Devon's most dangerous city for burglary, recording 68 crimes at a rate of 0.23 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Plymouth are violence and sexual offences, with 12,965 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 44. This is 4.1% higher than 2025's figure of 12,459 offences and a difference of 1.70 from 2025's crime rate of 42. Plymouth's least common crime is bicycle theft, with 116 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 1.7% from 2025's figure of 118 crimes.
Plymouth 2026 Crime Scorecard
Most Dangerous
Cities, Devon
38% higher, regional crime rate
South West
17% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Plymouth is 38% higher than the South West and 17% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Plymouth Crime Rate Over Time
| Plymouth | |
| South West | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Plymouth Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Plymouth 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 Plymouth Compares
You can compare Plymouth'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 Plymouth's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Plymouth up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Plymouth's 6,283 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 Plymouth? 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
Plymouth • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Plymouth has a crime risk score of 610. This is based on analysis of 6,283 nearby areas within Plymouth, 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 Plymouth's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Plymouth, crime risk scores are typically around 610, while in Devon they are average 560.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 696 (565 for Devon), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 731 (Devon 560).
Trends in Crime Risk
Plymouth
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 17% in Plymouth'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 Plymouth's crime risk score is up by 19%. 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, Plymouth's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 9%, 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
Plymouth
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
Plymouth • 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 1.50 reports per 1,000 people in Plymouth, which is 1.76 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 447 crime reports logged by Devon & Cornwall Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Devon & Cornwall Police recorded 12,965 reports of Violence and Sexual Offences in Plymouth, resulting in a crime rate of 44 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.43.
The crime rate for Criminal Damage and Arson is 1.27 times the national average at 8.00 reports per 1,000. This is from 2,374 crime reports reported to Devon & Cornwall Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Plymouth
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 1.15 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.20 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 475% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.57 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 0.83 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 89% over this timeframe.
Burglary offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.58 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Burglary CrimeRate Index was 0.30 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 93% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Plymouth
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
No significant decreases identified.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Plymouth • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Plymouth | Devon | South West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 4,498 | 15.13 | 1.07 | 14,607 | 10.70 | 0.76 | 82,030 | 12.62 | 0.89 |
| Bicycle Theft | 116 | 0.39 | 0.53 | 569 | 0.41 | 0.56 | 3,702 | 0.54 | 0.74 |
| Burglary | 636 | 2.13 | 0.68 | 2,566 | 1.86 | 0.59 | 15,750 | 2.42 | 0.77 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 2,374 | 8.00 | 1.27 | 8,474 | 6.20 | 0.99 | 36,459 | 5.64 | 0.90 |
| Drugs | 966 | 3.25 | 1.05 | 2,715 | 1.99 | 0.64 | 10,358 | 1.60 | 0.52 |
| Other Crime | 560 | 1.86 | 1.01 | 2,063 | 1.50 | 0.81 | 8,931 | 1.38 | 0.75 |
| Other Theft | 2,000 | 6.71 | 1.18 | 6,727 | 4.91 | 0.86 | 31,450 | 4.85 | 0.85 |
| Possession of Weapons | 447 | 1.50 | 1.76 | 1,242 | 0.90 | 1.06 | 3,967 | 0.62 | 0.73 |
| Public Order | 1,830 | 6.13 | 1.06 | 6,162 | 4.50 | 0.78 | 36,669 | 5.63 | 0.97 |
| Robbery | 197 | 0.66 | 0.56 | 561 | 0.40 | 0.34 | 4,567 | 0.70 | 0.59 |
| Shoplifting | 2,033 | 6.86 | 0.96 | 7,254 | 5.30 | 0.74 | 37,365 | 5.76 | 0.81 |
| Theft From the Person | 198 | 0.66 | 0.43 | 607 | 0.44 | 0.28 | 2,043 | 0.33 | 0.21 |
| Vehicle Crime | 795 | 2.68 | 0.62 | 2,359 | 1.75 | 0.41 | 16,666 | 2.56 | 0.60 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 12,965 | 43.58 | 1.43 | 43,244 | 31.62 | 1.04 | 189,257 | 29.13 | 0.96 |
Download | |||||||||
Total Crime by Year
Plymouth | Devon | South West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 25,117 | 84.41 | 1.17 | 84,543 | 61.78 | 0.86 | 397,184 | 61.16 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 24,961 | 84.32 | 1.14 | 83,193 | 61.39 | 0.83 | 402,192 | 62.40 | 0.84 |
| 2024 | 16,886 | 57.38 | 0.76 | 56,860 | 42.28 | 0.56 | 357,420 | 55.92 | 0.74 |
| 2023 | 19,184 | 65.88 | 0.83 | 62,696 | 47.11 | 0.60 | 360,086 | 56.89 | 0.72 |
| 2022 | 20,020 | 69.48 | 0.90 | 64,490 | 49.13 | 0.64 | 351,958 | 56.19 | 0.73 |
| 2021 | 19,466 | 67.73 | 0.99 | 60,586 | 46.74 | 0.68 | 311,592 | 50.21 | 0.73 |
| 2020 | 21,147 | 73.48 | 0.99 | 66,378 | 51.61 | 0.70 | 343,342 | 55.68 | 0.75 |
| 2019 | 21,738 | 75.55 | 0.99 | 72,309 | 56.53 | 0.74 | 348,574 | 56.87 | 0.75 |
| 2018 | 21,295 | 73.79 | 1.04 | 70,466 | 55.35 | 0.78 | 340,408 | 55.87 | 0.79 |
| 2017 | 18,327 | 63.76 | 1.00 | 58,856 | 46.67 | 0.73 | 312,784 | 51.72 | 0.81 |
| 2016 | 5,098 | 17.78 | 0.93 | 16,752 | 13.33 | 0.70 | 92,229 | 15.29 | 0.80 |
Download | |||||||||
Comparing Plymouth to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 6% safer |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 2.0% safer |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 0.38% safer |
| Plymouth | 84.41 | - |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 16% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 24% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 24% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 26% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 27% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 28% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 48% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
To download charts and tables, you must subscribed to CrimeRate Pro
You can find out more, or get a CrimeRate Insights report that includes further analysis.
Offences In and Around Plymouth's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Plymouth 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plympton Community Sports Centre | 1 | - | - | - | 3 | 1 |
| York Road Allotments | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| Newnham Park Allotments | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 |
| Saltram Community Allotments | 1 | - | 1 | - | 3 | 1 |
| Barn Park Allotments | 3 | - | 1 | - | 8 | 12 |
| Core Fitness Gym | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | 6 |
| Lipson Community Sports Centre | - | - | 1 | - | 21 | 0 |
| Bladder Meadow | 4 | 1 | - | - | 17 | 6 |
| Ham Green | 6 | - | 1 | - | 24 | 12 |
| Newnham Meadows | - | 1 | 1 | - | 14 | 5 |
| Freedom Fields | 21 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 56 | 33 |
| Ditch Gardens Allotments | 4 | - | - | - | 2 | 5 |
| Gym | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Gaia Spa | - | - | - | - | 3 | 1 |
| Plympton Cricket Club | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Marley Park | 1 | - | - | - | 18 | 6 |
| Peverell Park Road Allotments | - | 1 | 3 | - | 8 | 9 |
| Plymouth Life Centre | 15 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 58 | 21 |
| Bolitho Park | 2 | 1 | - | - | 25 | 8 |
| Lucas Lane Allotments | - | - | - | - | 4 | 4 |
| Marjons Sports Centre | 3 | - | - | - | 1 | 5 |
| Pike Road Allotments | 20 | 1 | 3 | - | 12 | 6 |
| Peacock Meadow | 2 | - | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Plympton Bowling Club | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | 0 |
| Plympton Boxing Club | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 |
| Brockley Road Allotments | - | 1 | 2 | - | 13 | 8 |
| Embankment Road Allotments | - | - | - | - | 3 | 2 |
| Dunstone Lane Allotments | - | - | 2 | - | 2 | 2 |
| Goodwin Park | 22 | 1 | 10 | - | 57 | 20 |
| Frys and Mays Allotments | - | 1 | 1 | - | 3 | 0 |
| Central Park | 67 | 9 | 20 | 3 | 129 | 76 |
| Central Park Avenue Allotments | 2 | 1 | - | - | 2 | 3 |
| Mutley Park | 10 | 1 | 2 | - | 7 | 15 |
| Collings Park Playing Field | 3 | - | - | - | 5 | 7 |
| Thorn Park | 2 | - | - | - | 3 | 3 |
| Cumberland Gardens | 14 | 3 | 10 | - | 67 | 70 |
| Ford Park Cemetery | 5 | 4 | 4 | - | 15 | 13 |
| Melbourne Green | 8 | - | 2 | - | 23 | 7 |
| Drake's Place | 9 | 4 | 4 | - | 35 | 24 |
| Beaumont Park | 38 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 69 | 159 |
| Stoggy Lane Allotments | - | - | - | - | 2 | 3 |
| Saltram | 2 | - | 1 | - | 10 | 5 |
| Horsham Fields | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 |
| Kendal Place Allotments | - | 1 | 1 | - | 37 | 10 |
| Southway Drive Allotments | - | - | - | - | 9 | 4 |
| West Park Terrace Allotments | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 21 | 18 |
| Bridwell Road Allotments | - | - | - | - | 3 | 1 |
| Knowle Avenue Allotments | 5 | 1 | - | - | 26 | 6 |
| Parkside Allotments | 12 | 1 | 5 | - | 37 | 12 |
| Henderson Place Allotments | 6 | 3 | 2 | - | 25 | 15 |
| Chaucer Way Allotments | 2 | - | 3 | - | 7 | 1 |
| Kitto Centre | - | - | - | - | 4 | 5 |
| Fosters Field Allotments | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| Hermon Terrace Allotments | 2 | - | - | - | 8 | 8 |
| Hartley Park | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 | 7 |
| Lower Compton Allotments | - | 1 | 1 | - | 4 | 5 |
| Mount Pleasant Recreation Ground | 17 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 80 | 98 |
| Penlee Gardens | - | - | - | - | 4 | 3 |
| Rowdens Reservoir Allotments | 1 | - | 2 | - | 12 | 5 |
| Devonport Park | 55 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 85 | 44 |
| The Rectory | - | - | - | - | 4 | 3 |
| Victoria Park | 59 | 15 | 28 | 4 | 129 | 95 |
| The Brickfields | 23 | 2 | 12 | - | 78 | 51 |
| Swarthmore Allotments | 4 | - | - | - | 8 | 12 |
| Nancy Astor | 5 | 4 | 4 | - | 31 | 13 |
| Seymour Road Allotments | 2 | - | 1 | - | 11 | 5 |
| Tothill Park | 19 | 1 | 9 | - | 43 | 25 |
| Millbay Park Recreation Ground | 14 | 2 | 4 | - | 25 | 46 |
| Lydia's Garden | 17 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 58 | 20 |
| Hoe Park | 45 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 90 | 42 |
| The Astor Playing Field | 12 | 1 | 5 | - | 40 | 15 |
| Hooe Allotments | - | - | 2 | - | 2 | 2 |
| Devils Point Park | 6 | - | 2 | - | 4 | 2 |
| King George V Memorial Playnig Field | 5 | - | - | - | 10 | 6 |
Recent Crimes in Plymouth
The 20 most recent crime reports in Plymouth.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area |
Methodology & Data Sources
Plymouth 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 Plymouth during June 2026 will typically become available in August 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.
Plymouth Data Points
For Plymouth, 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 E43000021.
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 Plymouth's daytime - or "workday" - population of 260,693 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 Plymouth