Crime and Safety in Rayleigh
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Rayleigh is the third safest medium-sized town in Essex, and is the 117th most dangerous overall out of Essex's 315 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Rayleigh in 2026 is 40 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares favourably to Essex's overall crime rate, coming in 41% lower than the Essex rate of 69 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Rayleigh is among the top 20 safest medium-sized towns, and the 4,206th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In February 2026, Rayleigh was the worst medium-sized town in Essex for drugs, with 11 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.32 per 1,000 daytime population. March 2024 was also a bad month for Rayleigh residents, when it was Essex's most dangerous medium-sized town for burglary, recording 14 crimes at a rate of 0.41 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Rayleigh are violence and sexual offences, with 704 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 21. This is 1.6% higher than 2025's figure of 693 offences and a difference of 0.33 from 2025's crime rate of 20. Rayleigh's least common crime is bicycle theft, with 4 offences recorded in 2026, the same as 2025's figure of 4 crimes.
Rayleigh 2026 Crime Scorecard
Third Safest
Medium-Sized Towns, Essex
34% lower, regional crime rate
East of England
44% lower, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Rayleigh is 34% lower than the East of England and 44% lower than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Rayleigh Crime Rate Over Time
| Rayleigh | |
| East of England | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Rayleigh Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Rayleigh 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 Rayleigh Compares
You can compare Rayleigh'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 Rayleigh's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Rayleigh up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Rayleigh's 701 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 Rayleigh? 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
Rayleigh • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Rayleigh has a crime risk score of 362. This is based on analysis of 701 nearby areas within Rayleigh, 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 Rayleigh's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Rayleigh, crime risk scores are typically around 362, while in Essex they are average 496.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 483 (502 for Essex), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 537 (Essex 509).
Trends in Crime Risk
Rayleigh
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.
No trend could be found in Rayleigh's crime risk scores over the last 10 years, and the trend may well be static.
Looking at the previous five years, the trend in Rayleigh's crime risk score is down by 2.6%. While potentially a good indicator of the overall risk trend, cross-referencing with major cultural events and Covid's impact during this time is advised.
Over the last year, Rayleigh's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 16%, 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
Rayleigh
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
Rayleigh • 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.
Violence and Sexual Offences have a crime rate of 21 reports per 1,000 people in Rayleigh, which is 0.68 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 704 crime reports logged by Essex Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Essex Police recorded 68 reports of Drugs in Rayleigh, resulting in a crime rate of 2.03 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 0.66.
The crime rate for Possession of Weapons is 0.66 times the national average at 0.42 reports per 1,000. This is from 14 crime reports reported to Essex Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Rayleigh
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 1.30 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 0.43 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 202% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.76 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 0.62 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 23% over this timeframe.
Burglary offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.13 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Burglary CrimeRate Index was 0.70 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 81% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Rayleigh
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Public Order offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.92 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.42 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 119% over this timeframe.
Theft From the Person offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of - for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Theft From the Person CrimeRate Index was 0.46 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a near-complete decrease over this timeframe.
Possession of Weapons offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.43 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Possession of Weapons CrimeRate Index was 2.57 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 83% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Rayleigh • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Rayleigh | Essex | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 143 | 4.22 | 0.30 | 15,826 | 7.63 | 0.54 | 74,182 | 10.23 | 0.72 |
| Bicycle Theft | 4 | 0.12 | 0.60 | 1,211 | 0.59 | 0.81 | 5,325 | 0.72 | 0.99 |
| Burglary | 55 | 1.65 | 0.53 | 5,328 | 2.58 | 0.82 | 17,593 | 2.42 | 0.77 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 116 | 3.44 | 0.55 | 12,427 | 5.98 | 0.95 | 40,107 | 5.51 | 0.88 |
| Drugs | 68 | 2.03 | 0.66 | 6,807 | 3.27 | 1.06 | 18,935 | 2.59 | 0.84 |
| Other Crime | 31 | 0.93 | 0.61 | 3,330 | 1.61 | 0.87 | 12,241 | 1.70 | 0.92 |
| Other Theft | 68 | 2.04 | 0.36 | 10,377 | 4.98 | 0.88 | 34,703 | 4.78 | 0.84 |
| Possession of Weapons | 14 | 0.42 | 0.66 | 1,752 | 0.84 | 0.99 | 5,931 | 0.83 | 0.98 |
| Public Order | 77 | 2.29 | 0.39 | 10,675 | 5.12 | 0.88 | 32,088 | 4.42 | 0.76 |
| Robbery | 12 | 0.36 | 0.52 | 1,433 | 0.69 | 0.58 | 4,492 | 0.61 | 0.52 |
| Shoplifting | 120 | 3.55 | 0.50 | 13,424 | 6.46 | 0.91 | 43,068 | 5.94 | 0.83 |
| Theft From the Person | 5 | 0.15 | 0.22 | 997 | 0.49 | 0.32 | 3,654 | 0.52 | 0.34 |
| Vehicle Crime | 92 | 2.73 | 0.63 | 10,314 | 4.97 | 1.16 | 27,821 | 3.84 | 0.89 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 704 | 20.79 | 0.68 | 65,641 | 31.56 | 1.04 | 200,684 | 27.65 | 0.91 |
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Total Crime by Year
Rayleigh | Essex | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 1,366 | 40.50 | 0.58 | 143,716 | 69.14 | 0.96 | 446,642 | 61.53 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 1,270 | 37.72 | 0.53 | 139,780 | 67.68 | 0.91 | 441,082 | 61.31 | 0.83 |
| 2024 | 1,391 | 41.35 | 0.56 | 150,055 | 73.45 | 0.97 | 443,460 | 62.34 | 0.83 |
| 2023 | 1,604 | 47.87 | 0.63 | 162,636 | 80.64 | 1.02 | 474,715 | 67.51 | 0.85 |
| 2022 | 1,546 | 46.15 | 0.62 | 166,739 | 83.60 | 1.09 | 471,617 | 67.78 | 0.88 |
| 2021 | 1,404 | 41.98 | 0.63 | 150,121 | 75.78 | 1.11 | 437,869 | 63.51 | 0.93 |
| 2020 | 1,553 | 46.06 | 0.64 | 162,259 | 82.34 | 1.11 | 465,376 | 67.88 | 0.92 |
| 2019 | 1,659 | 48.96 | 0.66 | 161,365 | 82.25 | 1.08 | 482,539 | 70.87 | 0.93 |
| 2018 | 1,295 | 38.18 | 0.56 | 137,578 | 70.55 | 0.99 | 439,882 | 64.91 | 0.91 |
| 2017 | 1,156 | 34.13 | 0.55 | 122,860 | 63.43 | 0.99 | 396,747 | 58.76 | 0.92 |
| 2016 | 400 | 11.80 | 0.63 | 37,128 | 19.19 | 1.01 | 116,493 | 17.30 | 0.91 |
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Rayleigh Compared to Nearby Medium-Sized Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Medium-Sized Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loughton | 2,545 | 68.13 | 68% more dangerous |
| Braintree | 3,311 | 65.43 | 62% more dangerous |
| Brentwood | 4,383 | 66.33 | 64% more dangerous |
| Canvey Island | 2,535 | 64.23 | 59% more dangerous |
| Witham | 1,943 | 61.07 | 51% more dangerous |
| Wickford | 1,595 | 54.83 | 35% more dangerous |
| Rayleigh | 1,366 | 40.50 | - |
| Thundersley and South Benfleet | 2,038 | 40.21 | 0.72% safer |
| Billericay | 1,170 | 38.18 | 6% safer |
Comparing Rayleigh to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Rayleigh | 40.50 | - |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 96% more dangerous |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 104% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 108% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 142% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 158% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 159% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 163% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 164% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 166% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 209% more dangerous |
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Offences In and Around Rayleigh's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Rayleigh 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweyne Park | 4 | - | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Brooklands Public Gardens | 2 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 0 |
| King George's Field | 13 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 12 |
| Fairview Playing Field | 1 | - | - | - | 7 | 5 |
| Lower Wyburns Allotment Site | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 |
Recent Crimes in Rayleigh
The 20 most recent crime reports in Rayleigh.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Lodgelands Close | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Humber Close | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Tudor Close | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Sirdar Road | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Robbery | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near St Martin'S Close | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Essex Close | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Barringtons Close | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Barringtons Close | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Tudor Close | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Pearsons Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Pearsons Avenue | |
| 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
Rayleigh 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 Rayleigh 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.
Rayleigh Data Points
For Rayleigh, 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 E04004087.
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 Rayleigh's daytime - or "workday" - population of 25,983 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 Rayleigh