Crime and Safety in Brighton and Hove
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Brighton and Hove is the most dangerous city in East Sussex, and is among the top 10 most dangerous overall out of East Sussex's 108 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Brighton and Hove in 2026 is 90 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to East Sussex's overall crime rate, coming in 22% higher than the East Sussex rate of 74 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Brighton and Hove is the 22nd most dangerous city, and the 628th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In January 2025, Brighton and Hove had the worst crime rate in East Sussex for theft from the person, with 25 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.08 per 1,000 daytime population. August 2025 was also a bad month for Brighton and Hove residents, when it was again East Sussex's most dangerous area for theft from the person, recording 67 crimes at a rate of 0.22 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Brighton and Hove are violence and sexual offences, with 10,159 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 33. This is 2.4% lower than 2025's figure of 10,407 offences and a difference of 0.83 from 2025's crime rate of 34. Brighton and Hove's least common crime is bicycle theft, with 390 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 7% from 2025's figure of 421 crimes.
Brighton and Hove 2026 Crime Scorecard
Most Dangerous
Cities, East Sussex
46% higher, regional crime rate
South East
25% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Brighton and Hove is 46% higher than the South East and 25% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Brighton and Hove Crime Rate Over Time
| Brighton and Hove | |
| South East | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Brighton and Hove Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Brighton and Hove 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 Brighton and Hove Compares
You can compare Brighton and Hove'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 Brighton and Hove's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Brighton and Hove up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Brighton and Hove's 4,866 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 Brighton and Hove? 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
Brighton and Hove • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Brighton and Hove has a crime risk score of 515. This is based on analysis of 4,866 nearby areas within Brighton and Hove, 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 Brighton and Hove's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Brighton and Hove, crime risk scores are typically around 515, while in East Sussex they are average 474.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 593 (474 for East Sussex), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 642 (East Sussex 468).
Trends in Crime Risk
Brighton and Hove
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 20% in Brighton and Hove'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 Brighton and Hove's crime risk score is down by 7%. 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, Brighton and Hove's crime risk score has shown a downward trend of approximately 4.0%, indicating that the risk profile is going down. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Brighton and Hove
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
Brighton and Hove • 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.
Shoplifting offences have a crime rate of 15 reports per 1,000 people in Brighton and Hove, which is 2.09 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 4,623 crime reports logged by Sussex Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Sussex Police recorded 3,011 reports of Public Order in Brighton and Hove, resulting in a crime rate of 9.72 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.68.
The crime rate for Possession of Weapons is 1.59 times the national average at 1.35 reports per 1,000. This is from 420 crime reports reported to Sussex Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Brighton and Hove
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 1.92 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 1.48 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 30% over this timeframe.
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.
Shoplifting offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.98 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 1.78 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 11% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Brighton and Hove
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Vehicle Crime offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.06 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Vehicle Crime CrimeRate Index was 0.66 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 61% over this timeframe.
Theft From the Person offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.58 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Theft From the Person CrimeRate Index was 0.69 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 16% over this timeframe.
Possession of Weapons offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.57 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Possession of Weapons CrimeRate Index was 1.29 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 22% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Brighton and Hove • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Brighton and Hove | East Sussex | South East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 6,376 | 20.57 | 1.46 | 16,018 | 17.42 | 1.23 | 115,500 | 10.87 | 0.77 |
| Bicycle Theft | 390 | 1.24 | 1.70 | 670 | 0.74 | 1.01 | 7,315 | 0.68 | 0.93 |
| Burglary | 839 | 2.71 | 0.87 | 2,223 | 2.42 | 0.77 | 23,535 | 2.23 | 0.71 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 2,060 | 6.64 | 1.06 | 5,927 | 6.45 | 1.03 | 58,501 | 5.50 | 0.88 |
| Drugs | 1,451 | 4.67 | 1.51 | 2,829 | 3.07 | 0.99 | 25,203 | 2.37 | 0.77 |
| Other Crime | 659 | 2.12 | 1.15 | 1,777 | 1.93 | 1.04 | 17,151 | 1.61 | 0.87 |
| Other Theft | 2,415 | 7.80 | 1.37 | 5,101 | 5.53 | 0.97 | 51,336 | 4.84 | 0.85 |
| Possession of Weapons | 420 | 1.35 | 1.59 | 1,053 | 1.15 | 1.35 | 8,736 | 0.81 | 0.95 |
| Public Order | 3,011 | 9.72 | 1.68 | 6,717 | 7.31 | 1.26 | 54,745 | 5.15 | 0.89 |
| Robbery | 486 | 1.56 | 1.32 | 965 | 1.06 | 0.90 | 7,588 | 0.72 | 0.61 |
| Shoplifting | 4,623 | 14.91 | 2.09 | 10,717 | 11.65 | 1.63 | 72,983 | 6.88 | 0.96 |
| Theft From the Person | 470 | 1.52 | 0.98 | 654 | 0.71 | 0.46 | 4,668 | 0.45 | 0.29 |
| Vehicle Crime | 865 | 2.80 | 0.65 | 2,380 | 2.58 | 0.60 | 34,099 | 3.22 | 0.75 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 10,159 | 32.78 | 1.08 | 26,607 | 28.96 | 0.95 | 286,815 | 26.98 | 0.89 |
Download | |||||||||
Total Crime by Year
Brighton and Hove | East Sussex | South East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 27,848 | 89.82 | 1.25 | 67,620 | 73.56 | 1.02 | 652,675 | 61.44 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 29,201 | 94.51 | 1.28 | 68,053 | 74.58 | 1.01 | 670,274 | 63.35 | 0.86 |
| 2024 | 28,476 | 92.69 | 1.23 | 68,083 | 75.18 | 1.00 | 690,903 | 65.86 | 0.87 |
| 2023 | 27,387 | 90.03 | 1.14 | 65,164 | 72.58 | 0.92 | 713,547 | 68.83 | 0.87 |
| 2022 | 26,873 | 88.99 | 1.16 | 62,324 | 70.05 | 0.91 | 704,444 | 68.58 | 0.89 |
| 2021 | 23,999 | 79.03 | 1.15 | 57,091 | 64.36 | 0.94 | 625,484 | 61.36 | 0.89 |
| 2020 | 28,055 | 91.91 | 1.24 | 65,780 | 74.02 | 1.00 | 669,219 | 65.97 | 0.89 |
| 2019 | 26,000 | 85.01 | 1.11 | 60,704 | 68.18 | 0.89 | 666,505 | 65.82 | 0.86 |
| 2018 | 25,025 | 81.95 | 1.15 | 58,790 | 66.08 | 0.93 | 644,142 | 63.85 | 0.90 |
| 2017 | 25,156 | 82.01 | 1.28 | 56,884 | 63.98 | 1.00 | 552,696 | 55.04 | 0.86 |
| 2016 | 7,420 | 24.17 | 1.27 | 16,489 | 18.56 | 0.97 | 160,273 | 15.99 | 0.84 |
Download | |||||||||
Comparing Brighton and Hove to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 11% safer |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 8% safer |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 6% safer |
| Brighton and Hove | 89.82 | - |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 9% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 16% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 17% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 19% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 19% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 20% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 39% 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 Brighton and Hove's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Brighton and Hove 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Steine Gardens | 115 | 29 | 72 | 15 | 208 | 332 |
| Kings Lawns | 17 | 3 | 6 | - | 10 | 11 |
| Brunswick Lawns | 4 | 2 | - | - | 4 | 5 |
| Surrenden Field | 19 | - | 1 | 1 | 11 | 11 |
| Western Lawns | 61 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 42 | 57 |
| Kelly Road Allotments | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Mile Oak Allotments | 3 | - | 1 | - | 13 | 2 |
| Mile Oak Recreation Ground | 6 | 1 | 4 | - | 17 | 9 |
| Foredown Allotments | 5 | - | - | - | 3 | 1 |
| Greenleas Recreation Ground | 2 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 5 |
| St Helen's Park | 4 | - | 2 | - | 19 | 10 |
| Hangleton Park | 11 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 30 | 17 |
| Lark Hill Allotments | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Horsdean Allotments | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Patcham Court Allotments | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 2 |
| Keston Allotments | 6 | - | - | - | 2 | 1 |
| Peace Gardens | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Withdean Stadium | 4 | - | - | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Nevill Playing Field | 2 | - | 2 | - | 3 | 3 |
| North Nevill Allotments | 2 | - | 2 | - | - | 6 |
| Hove Park | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 66 |
| Peacock Lane Allotments | 5 | - | - | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Blakers Park | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 3 |
| Carden Recreation Ground | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 8 | 4 |
| Charltons Allotments | 12 | - | 2 | - | 13 | 11 |
| Coldean Allotments | 6 | - | 2 | - | 14 | 8 |
| Roedale Valley Allotments | 10 | - | 3 | - | 14 | 16 |
| Hollingbury Park | 8 | - | 1 | - | 14 | 13 |
| Lower Roedale Allotments | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| Moulsecoomb Place Allotments | 3 | - | 3 | - | 3 | 23 |
| Thompson Road Allotments | 29 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 28 | 105 |
| Moulsecoomb Estate Allotments | 8 | 3 | 5 | - | 27 | 9 |
| Moulsecoomb Community Leisure Centre | 11 | - | 6 | - | 8 | 5 |
| Manton Road Allotments | 4 | - | - | - | 1 | 3 |
| St Louie Home Allotments | 9 | - | - | - | 16 | 4 |
| Victoria Recreation Ground | 8 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 24 | 22 |
| Vale Park | 21 | 3 | 4 | - | 45 | 13 |
| Aldrington Recreation Ground | 9 | 3 | 4 | - | 5 | 11 |
| Portland Recreation Ground | 22 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 30 | 23 |
| King Alfred Sports Centre | 13 | 1 | 9 | - | 20 | 34 |
| Waverley Crescent Allotments | 6 | - | 1 | - | 4 | 13 |
| Old Water Works Allotments | 27 | - | 5 | - | 53 | 25 |
| Tenantry Down Allotments | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| Race Hill Farm Allotments | 16 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 63 | 27 |
| Prince Regent Swimming Complex | 29 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 23 | 29 |
| Chates Farm Allotments | 5 | 1 | 3 | - | 12 | 7 |
| Tarner Park | 29 | 6 | 8 | - | 22 | 25 |
| Dorset Gardens Peace Park | 44 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 61 | 37 |
| Walpole Road Allotments | 1 | - | 2 | - | 11 | 6 |
| Stanley Deason Leisure Centre | 27 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 48 | 24 |
| St Marks Allotments | - | - | 1 | - | 4 | 4 |
| Bevendean Recreation Ground | 1 | - | - | - | 7 | 4 |
| Withdean Park | 1 | - | - | - | 5 | 2 |
| Moulsecoomb Wild Park | 66 | 12 | 11 | - | 52 | 34 |
| Easthill Park | 1 | - | 2 | - | 6 | 4 |
| Eastbrook Allotments | 1 | - | - | - | 8 | 3 |
| Portslade Cemetery | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 6 |
| Knoll Recreation Ground | 31 | 1 | 5 | - | 14 | 9 |
| Weald Allotments | 6 | - | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Davis Park | 6 | 1 | 3 | - | 6 | 13 |
| Dyke Road Park | 10 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 18 |
| Preston Park | 24 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 30 | 32 |
| St Ann's Well Gardens | 37 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 45 | 26 |
| Clifton Gardens | 2 | - | - | - | 2 | 0 |
| Pavilion Gardens | 229 | 41 | 91 | 14 | 131 | 210 |
| Saunders Recreation Ground | 40 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 74 | 47 |
| Brighton Extra Mural Cemetery | 12 | 6 | 4 | - | 28 | 17 |
| Lewes Road Cemetery | 26 | 8 | 7 | - | 31 | 93 |
| Brighton Borough Cemetery | 15 | 3 | 5 | - | 22 | 8 |
| Brighton and Preston Cemetery | 10 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 27 | 31 |
| Victoria Gardens | 89 | 36 | 38 | 6 | 129 | 108 |
| Queen's Park | 17 | 11 | 6 | - | 20 | 19 |
| Beach Sports Venue | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | 13 | 12 |
| Sea Lanes | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 12 | 10 |
| Preston Park | 4 | - | 2 | - | 11 | 9 |
Recent Crimes in Brighton and Hove
The 20 most recent crime reports in Brighton and Hove.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Park Crescent Road | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near The Meadway | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Manor Crescent |
Methodology & Data Sources
Brighton and Hove 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 Brighton and Hove during July 2026 will typically become available in September 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.
Brighton and Hove Data Points
For Brighton and Hove, 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 E43000034.
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 Brighton and Hove's daytime - or "workday" - population of 264,775 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 Brighton and Hove