Crime and Safety in Southend-on-Sea
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Southend-on-Sea is the most dangerous city in Essex, and is among the top 20 most dangerous overall out of Essex's 315 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Southend-on-Sea in 2026 is 99 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Essex's overall crime rate, coming in 43% higher than the Essex rate of 69 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Southend-on-Sea is the 21st most dangerous city, and the 621st most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In January 2026, Southend-on-Sea was the worst city in Essex for anti-social behaviour, with 133 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.76 per 1,000 daytime population. January 2026 was also a bad month for Southend-on-Sea residents, when it was Essex's most dangerous city for burglary, recording 52 crimes at a rate of 0.30 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Southend-on-Sea are violence and sexual offences, with 8,077 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 46. This is 1.7% higher than 2025's figure of 7,944 offences and a difference of 0.75 from 2025's crime rate of 45. Southend-on-Sea's least common crime is theft from the person, with 130 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 1.5% from 2025's figure of 132 crimes.
Southend-on-Sea 2026 Crime Scorecard
Most Dangerous
Cities, Essex
60% higher, regional crime rate
East of England
37% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Southend-on-Sea is 60% higher than the East of England and 37% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Southend-on-Sea Crime Rate Over Time
| Southend-on-Sea | |
| East of England | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Southend-on-Sea Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Southend-on-Sea 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 Southend-on-Sea Compares
You can compare Southend-on-Sea'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 Southend-on-Sea's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Southend-on-Sea up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Southend-on-Sea's 3,144 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 Southend-on-Sea? 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
Southend-on-Sea • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Southend-on-Sea has a crime risk score of 468. This is based on analysis of 3,144 nearby areas within Southend-on-Sea, 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 Southend-on-Sea's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Southend-on-Sea, crime risk scores are typically around 468, while in Essex they are average 496.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 533 (502 for Essex), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 573 (Essex 509).
Trends in Crime Risk
Southend-on-Sea
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 2.7% in Southend-on-Sea'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 Southend-on-Sea's crime risk score is down by 14%. 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, Southend-on-Sea'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
Southend-on-Sea
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
Southend-on-Sea • 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 12 reports per 1,000 people in Southend-on-Sea, which is 1.71 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 2,123 crime reports logged by Essex Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Essex Police recorded 240 reports of Possession of Weapons in Southend-on-Sea, resulting in a crime rate of 1.37 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.61.
The crime rate for Drugs is 1.59 times the national average at 4.92 reports per 1,000. This is from 861 crime reports reported to Essex Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Southend-on-Sea
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.
Shoplifting offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.44 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 1.20 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 20% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.71 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 1.43 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 20% over this timeframe.
Drugs offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.83 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 1.67 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 10% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Southend-on-Sea
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
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 1.31 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 12% over this timeframe.
Theft From the Person offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.25 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Theft From the Person CrimeRate Index was 0.92 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 73% over this timeframe.
Robbery offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.90 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Robbery CrimeRate Index was 1.78 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 49% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Southend-on-Sea • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Southend-on-Sea | Essex | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 1,892 | 10.82 | 0.77 | 15,826 | 7.63 | 0.54 | 74,182 | 10.23 | 0.72 |
| Bicycle Theft | 225 | 1.27 | 1.74 | 1,211 | 0.59 | 0.81 | 5,325 | 0.72 | 0.99 |
| Burglary | 563 | 3.22 | 1.03 | 5,328 | 2.58 | 0.82 | 17,593 | 2.42 | 0.77 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 1,245 | 7.12 | 1.13 | 12,427 | 5.98 | 0.95 | 40,107 | 5.51 | 0.88 |
| Drugs | 861 | 4.92 | 1.59 | 6,807 | 3.27 | 1.06 | 18,935 | 2.59 | 0.84 |
| Other Crime | 342 | 1.96 | 1.06 | 3,330 | 1.61 | 0.87 | 12,241 | 1.70 | 0.92 |
| Other Theft | 1,094 | 6.26 | 1.10 | 10,377 | 4.98 | 0.88 | 34,703 | 4.78 | 0.84 |
| Possession of Weapons | 240 | 1.37 | 1.61 | 1,752 | 0.84 | 0.99 | 5,931 | 0.83 | 0.98 |
| Public Order | 1,156 | 6.61 | 1.14 | 10,675 | 5.12 | 0.88 | 32,088 | 4.42 | 0.76 |
| Robbery | 230 | 1.32 | 1.12 | 1,433 | 0.69 | 0.58 | 4,492 | 0.61 | 0.52 |
| Shoplifting | 2,123 | 12.16 | 1.71 | 13,424 | 6.46 | 0.91 | 43,068 | 5.94 | 0.83 |
| Theft From the Person | 130 | 0.75 | 0.48 | 997 | 0.49 | 0.32 | 3,654 | 0.52 | 0.34 |
| Vehicle Crime | 966 | 5.52 | 1.28 | 10,314 | 4.97 | 1.16 | 27,821 | 3.84 | 0.89 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 8,077 | 46.23 | 1.52 | 65,641 | 31.56 | 1.04 | 200,684 | 27.65 | 0.91 |
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Total Crime by Year
Southend-on-Sea | Essex | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 17,252 | 98.71 | 1.37 | 143,716 | 69.14 | 0.96 | 446,642 | 61.53 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 15,916 | 91.44 | 1.24 | 139,780 | 67.68 | 0.91 | 441,082 | 61.31 | 0.83 |
| 2024 | 16,943 | 97.70 | 1.30 | 150,055 | 73.45 | 0.97 | 443,460 | 62.34 | 0.83 |
| 2023 | 18,827 | 109.35 | 1.38 | 162,636 | 80.64 | 1.02 | 474,715 | 67.51 | 0.85 |
| 2022 | 19,788 | 115.41 | 1.50 | 166,739 | 83.60 | 1.09 | 471,617 | 67.78 | 0.88 |
| 2021 | 17,162 | 99.78 | 1.46 | 150,121 | 75.78 | 1.11 | 437,869 | 63.51 | 0.93 |
| 2020 | 18,433 | 106.66 | 1.44 | 162,259 | 82.34 | 1.11 | 465,376 | 67.88 | 0.92 |
| 2019 | 18,988 | 109.73 | 1.44 | 161,365 | 82.25 | 1.08 | 482,539 | 70.87 | 0.93 |
| 2018 | 15,126 | 87.48 | 1.23 | 137,578 | 70.55 | 0.99 | 439,882 | 64.91 | 0.91 |
| 2017 | 14,135 | 81.94 | 1.28 | 122,860 | 63.43 | 0.99 | 396,747 | 58.76 | 0.92 |
| 2016 | 4,323 | 25.08 | 1.32 | 37,128 | 19.19 | 1.01 | 116,493 | 17.30 | 0.91 |
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Comparing Southend-on-Sea to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 19% safer |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 16% safer |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 15% safer |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 0.85% safer |
| Southend-on-Sea | 98.71 | - |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 6% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 6% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 8% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 8% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 9% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 27% more dangerous |
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Offences In and Around Southend-on-Sea's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Southend-on-Sea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repton Green | - | - | - | - | 6 | 0 |
| Belfairs Park | 5 | - | 1 | - | 10 | 7 |
| Eastwood Park | - | 6 | 6 | 1 | 40 | 10 |
| Belfairs Sports Ground | - | - | 1 | - | 3 | 4 |
| Bridgwater Drive Allotments | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Rochford Road Allotments | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 14 |
| The Jones Memorial Recreation Ground | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 18 |
| Manchester Drive Allotments | 6 | - | 2 | - | 32 | 41 |
| Chalkwell Park | 6 | 3 | 6 | - | 24 | 14 |
| Springfield Drive Allotments | 3 | - | 1 | - | 12 | 6 |
| Priory Park | 12 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 38 | 21 |
| The Victory Sports Ground | 4 | 5 | 3 | - | 18 | 10 |
| Churchill Gardens | 9 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 39 | 32 |
| Norwich Avenue Allotments | 10 | 2 | 2 | - | 33 | 30 |
| Hamstel Road Allotments | 16 | 2 | 5 | - | 63 | 25 |
| Southchurch Hall Gardens | 6 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 26 | 62 |
| Sandringham Road Allotments | 8 | - | 1 | - | 2 | 4 |
| Lifstan Way Allotments | 5 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 36 | 8 |
| Southchurch Park | 12 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 21 | 23 |
| Shoeburyness Park | 10 | - | 3 | 2 | 34 | 18 |
| Elm Road Allotments | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 9 |
| St Andrews Road Allotments | - | - | 1 | - | 2 | 7 |
| Gunners Park | 30 | 2 | 3 | - | 9 | 35 |
| Friars Park | 5 | - | 3 | - | 41 | 17 |
| Growing Together Allotments | 10 | 1 | 1 | - | 10 | 8 |
| Oak Wood Park | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| Cherry Orchard Jubilee Country Park | 2 | - | 1 | - | 9 | 5 |
| Scotts Park | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Cockethurst Recreation Ground | - | - | - | - | 8 | 13 |
| Manners Way Allotments | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 6 |
| Sutton Road Cemetery | - | - | - | - | 5 | 3 |
| Bonchurch Recreation Ground | 4 | - | - | - | 2 | 0 |
| Blenheim Park | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | 5 | 2 |
| Bournes Green Park | 22 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 64 | 30 |
| Shoebury Common | 2 | - | 1 | - | 2 | 4 |
| Delaware Road Allotments | 14 | 2 | 2 | - | 26 | 5 |
Recent Crimes in Southend-on-Sea
The 20 most recent crime reports in Southend-on-Sea.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Bellevue Place | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Bellevue Place | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Penhurst Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Arundel Gardens | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Theft from the person | On or near Trinity Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Wallace Street | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Wallace Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Oban Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Pantile Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Ailsa Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Selbourne Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Pantile Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Mcdivitt Walk | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Oban Road |
Methodology & Data Sources
Southend-on-Sea 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 Southend-on-Sea 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.
Southend-on-Sea Data Points
For Southend-on-Sea, 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 E43000028.
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 Southend-on-Sea's daytime - or "workday" - population of 146,207 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 Southend-on-Sea