Crime and Safety in Chelmsford
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Chelmsford is the second safest major town in Essex, and is the 23rd most dangerous overall out of Essex's 315 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Chelmsford in 2026 is 86 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Essex's overall crime rate, coming in 24% higher than the Essex rate of 69 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Chelmsford is the 48th most dangerous major town, and the 890th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In December 2021, Chelmsford had the worst crime rate in Essex for theft from the person, with 15 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.17 per 1,000 daytime population. And in January 2026, Chelmsford was the worst major town in Essex for robbery, with 11 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.12 per 1,000 daytime population. February 2026 was also a bad month for Chelmsford residents, when it was again Essex's most dangerous major town for robbery, recording 10 crimes at a rate of 0.11 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Chelmsford are violence and sexual offences, with 3,437 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 39. This is 0.32% lower than 2025's figure of 3,448 offences and a difference of 0.08 from 2025's crime rate of 39. Chelmsford's least common crime is theft from the person, with 76 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 22% from 2025's figure of 98 crimes.
Chelmsford 2026 Crime Scorecard
Second Safest
Major Towns, Essex
39% higher, regional crime rate
East of England
19% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Chelmsford is 39% higher than the East of England and 19% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Chelmsford Crime Rate Over Time
| Chelmsford | |
| East of England | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Chelmsford Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Chelmsford 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 Chelmsford Compares
You can compare Chelmsford'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 Chelmsford's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Chelmsford up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Chelmsford's 1,414 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 Chelmsford? 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
Chelmsford • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Chelmsford has a crime risk score of 543. This is based on analysis of 1,414 nearby areas within Chelmsford, 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 Chelmsford's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Chelmsford, crime risk scores are typically around 543, while in Essex they are average 496.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 629 (502 for Essex), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 669 (Essex 509).
Trends in Crime Risk
Chelmsford
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 11% in Chelmsford'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 Chelmsford's crime risk score is down by 9%. 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, Chelmsford's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 8%, 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
Chelmsford
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
Chelmsford • 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.
Drugs offences have a crime rate of 5.64 reports per 1,000 people in Chelmsford, which is 1.83 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 502 crime reports logged by Essex Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Essex Police recorded 1,092 reports of Shoplifting in Chelmsford, resulting in a crime rate of 12 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.72.
The crime rate for Violence and Sexual Offences is 1.27 times the national average at 39 reports per 1,000. This is from 3,437 crime reports reported to Essex Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Chelmsford
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.
Drugs offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 3.13 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 1.33 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 135% over this timeframe.
Possession of Weapons offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.14 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Possession of Weapons CrimeRate Index was 1.00 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 14% over this timeframe.
Shoplifting offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.91 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 1.66 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 15% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Chelmsford
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.93 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Criminal Damage and Arson CrimeRate Index was 0.79 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 18% over this timeframe.
Public Order offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.15 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 1.14 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 0.88% over this timeframe.
Vehicle Crime offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.97 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Vehicle Crime CrimeRate Index was 1.23 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 21% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Chelmsford • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Chelmsford | Essex | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 685 | 7.69 | 0.54 | 15,826 | 7.63 | 0.54 | 74,182 | 10.23 | 0.72 |
| Bicycle Theft | 91 | 1.02 | 1.40 | 1,211 | 0.59 | 0.81 | 5,325 | 0.72 | 0.99 |
| Burglary | 219 | 2.46 | 0.79 | 5,328 | 2.58 | 0.82 | 17,593 | 2.42 | 0.77 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 468 | 5.27 | 0.84 | 12,427 | 5.98 | 0.95 | 40,107 | 5.51 | 0.88 |
| Drugs | 502 | 5.64 | 1.83 | 6,807 | 3.27 | 1.06 | 18,935 | 2.59 | 0.84 |
| Other Crime | 192 | 2.15 | 1.16 | 3,330 | 1.61 | 0.87 | 12,241 | 1.70 | 0.92 |
| Other Theft | 524 | 5.90 | 1.04 | 10,377 | 4.98 | 0.88 | 34,703 | 4.78 | 0.84 |
| Possession of Weapons | 81 | 0.91 | 1.07 | 1,752 | 0.84 | 0.99 | 5,931 | 0.83 | 0.98 |
| Public Order | 634 | 7.13 | 1.23 | 10,675 | 5.12 | 0.88 | 32,088 | 4.42 | 0.76 |
| Robbery | 89 | 0.99 | 0.84 | 1,433 | 0.69 | 0.58 | 4,492 | 0.61 | 0.52 |
| Shoplifting | 1,092 | 12.27 | 1.72 | 13,424 | 6.46 | 0.91 | 43,068 | 5.94 | 0.83 |
| Theft From the Person | 76 | 0.86 | 0.55 | 997 | 0.49 | 0.32 | 3,654 | 0.52 | 0.34 |
| Vehicle Crime | 225 | 2.53 | 0.59 | 10,314 | 4.97 | 1.16 | 27,821 | 3.84 | 0.89 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 3,437 | 38.63 | 1.27 | 65,641 | 31.56 | 1.04 | 200,684 | 27.65 | 0.91 |
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Total Crime by Year
Chelmsford | Essex | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 7,630 | 85.76 | 1.19 | 143,716 | 69.14 | 0.96 | 446,642 | 61.53 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 7,600 | 85.19 | 1.15 | 139,780 | 67.68 | 0.91 | 441,082 | 61.31 | 0.83 |
| 2024 | 8,756 | 98.48 | 1.31 | 150,055 | 73.45 | 0.97 | 443,460 | 62.34 | 0.83 |
| 2023 | 8,808 | 100.10 | 1.27 | 162,636 | 80.64 | 1.02 | 474,715 | 67.51 | 0.85 |
| 2022 | 8,735 | 100.48 | 1.31 | 166,739 | 83.60 | 1.09 | 471,617 | 67.78 | 0.88 |
| 2021 | 7,228 | 83.23 | 1.21 | 150,121 | 75.78 | 1.11 | 437,869 | 63.51 | 0.93 |
| 2020 | 8,603 | 98.97 | 1.33 | 162,259 | 82.34 | 1.11 | 465,376 | 67.88 | 0.92 |
| 2019 | 8,565 | 98.66 | 1.29 | 161,365 | 82.25 | 1.08 | 482,539 | 70.87 | 0.93 |
| 2018 | 6,958 | 80.18 | 1.13 | 137,578 | 70.55 | 0.99 | 439,882 | 64.91 | 0.91 |
| 2017 | 6,150 | 71.19 | 1.11 | 122,860 | 63.43 | 0.99 | 396,747 | 58.76 | 0.92 |
| 2016 | 1,842 | 21.41 | 1.12 | 37,128 | 19.19 | 1.01 | 116,493 | 17.30 | 0.91 |
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Chelmsford Compared to Nearby Major Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Major Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basildon | 12,950 | 98.18 | 14% more dangerous |
| Colchester | 11,853 | 95.64 | 12% more dangerous |
| Harlow | 9,193 | 86.19 | 0.50% more dangerous |
| Chelmsford | 7,630 | 85.76 | - |
| Grays | 3,909 | 82.46 | 3.8% safer |
Comparing Chelmsford to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 7% safer |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 3.6% safer |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 1.9% safer |
| Chelmsford | 85.76 | - |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 14% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 22% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 22% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 24% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 25% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 26% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 46% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
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Offences In and Around Chelmsford's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Chelmsford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield Green | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Wallasea Gardens Play Area | 1 | - | - | - | 3 | 1 |
| Marconi Ponds Nature Reserve | - | - | - | - | 3 | 1 |
| Dovedale Sports Centre | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | 6 | 3 |
| Brownings Avenue Play Area | 2 | 1 | - | - | 12 | 5 |
| Copperfield Road Play Area | 2 | - | - | - | 5 | 0 |
| Melbourne Park Playing Field | 26 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 15 |
| Melbourne Park Play Area | 5 | - | - | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Pollards Meadow | 7 | - | 1 | - | 9 | 5 |
| Bishopscourt Allotments | - | - | - | - | 10 | 0 |
| Central Park | 14 | 25 | 13 | 4 | 89 | 95 |
| Riverside Leisure Centre | 1 | 8 | 60 | 1 | 173 | 67 |
| Hill Road Allotment Site | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | 21 | 6 |
| Coronation Park | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | 3 | 10 |
| Lionmede Recreation Ground | 7 | - | 1 | - | 3 | 1 |
| Princess Marie Louise Bowling Club | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | 13 | 11 |
| Borough Cemetery | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | 14 | 6 |
| Oaklands Park | 3 | - | 3 | - | 23 | 32 |
| Chelmer Park | 8 | 3 | 1 | - | 22 | 16 |
| Andrew's Playing Field | - | - | - | - | 5 | 5 |
| Tower Gardens | 4 | - | 3 | 1 | 11 | 5 |
| Admirals Park | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 12 |
| West Park Golf Centre | 1 | - | 2 | - | - | 2 |
| Hylands Park | - | 6 | - | - | 13 | 7 |
| New London Road Cemetery | 1 | - | 1 | - | 3 | 2 |
| Pollards Meadow Play Area | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Sky Blue Play Area | - | 12 | 2 | - | 11 | 44 |
Recent Crimes in Chelmsford
The 20 most recent crime reports in Chelmsford.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Wharf Road | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Fox Crescent | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Wharf Road | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Rose Glen | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Fox Crescent | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Boyne Drive | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Portreath Place | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Boyne Drive | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Welland Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Avon Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Rose Glen | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Stapleford Close | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Wharf Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Mews Court | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Hainault Grove | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Boyne Drive | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Camborne Close | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Estella Mead | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Fox Crescent | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Boyne Drive |
Methodology & Data Sources
Chelmsford 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 Chelmsford 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.
Chelmsford Data Points
For Chelmsford, 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 E43000285.
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 Chelmsford's daytime - or "workday" - population of 71,941 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 Chelmsford