Crime and Safety in Harpenden
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Harpenden is the safest medium-sized town in Hertfordshire, and is the 49th safest overall out of Hertfordshire's 140 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Harpenden in 2026 is 35 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares favourably to Hertfordshire's overall crime rate, coming in 42% lower than the Hertfordshire rate of 60 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Harpenden is among the top 10 safest medium-sized towns, and the 4,800th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In February 2025, Harpenden was the worst medium-sized town in Hertfordshire for burglary, with 25 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.74 per 1,000 daytime population. August 2025 was also a bad month for Harpenden residents, when it was Hertfordshire's most dangerous medium-sized town for vehicle crime, recording 18 crimes at a rate of 0.53 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Harpenden are violence and sexual offences, with 340 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 10. This is 2.7% higher than 2025's figure of 331 offences and a difference of 0.27 from 2025's crime rate of 10. Harpenden's least common crimes are possession of weapons, with 6 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 14% from 2025's figure of 7 crimes.
Harpenden 2026 Crime Scorecard
Safest
Medium-Sized Towns, Hertfordshire
43% lower, regional crime rate
East of England
51% lower, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Harpenden is 43% lower than the East of England and 51% lower than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Harpenden Crime Rate Over Time
| Harpenden | |
| East of England | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Harpenden Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Harpenden 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 Harpenden Compares
You can compare Harpenden'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 Harpenden's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Harpenden up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Harpenden's 960 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 Harpenden? 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
Harpenden • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Harpenden has a crime risk score of 176. This is based on analysis of 960 nearby areas within Harpenden, 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 Harpenden's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Harpenden, crime risk scores are typically around 176, while in Hertfordshire they are average 456.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 189 (472 for Hertfordshire), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 190 (Hertfordshire 489).
Trends in Crime Risk
Harpenden
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 25% in Harpenden'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 Harpenden's crime risk score is up by 25%. 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, Harpenden's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 2.0%, 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
Harpenden
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
Harpenden • 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.
Vehicle Crime offences have a crime rate of 4.86 reports per 1,000 people in Harpenden, which is 1.13 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 163 crime reports logged by Hertfordshire Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Hertfordshire Police recorded 99 reports of Burglary in Harpenden, resulting in a crime rate of 2.96 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 0.95.
The crime rate for Shoplifting is 0.72 times the national average at 5.10 reports per 1,000. This is from 171 crime reports reported to Hertfordshire Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Harpenden
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.
Vehicle Crime offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.03 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Vehicle Crime CrimeRate Index was 0.41 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 151% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.29 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 0.36 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 19% over this timeframe.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.61 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Criminal Damage and Arson CrimeRate Index was 0.48 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 27% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Harpenden
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Shoplifting offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.59 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 1.08 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 45% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Harpenden • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Harpenden | Hertfordshire | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 281 | 8.32 | 0.59 | 21,601 | 15.50 | 1.10 | 74,182 | 10.23 | 0.72 |
| Bicycle Theft | 18 | 0.54 | 0.96 | 917 | 0.66 | 0.90 | 5,325 | 0.72 | 0.99 |
| Burglary | 99 | 2.96 | 0.95 | 3,683 | 2.65 | 0.85 | 17,593 | 2.42 | 0.77 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 125 | 3.74 | 0.60 | 6,931 | 4.97 | 0.79 | 40,107 | 5.51 | 0.88 |
| Drugs | 21 | 0.63 | 0.27 | 3,411 | 2.45 | 0.79 | 18,935 | 2.59 | 0.84 |
| Other Crime | 26 | 0.78 | 0.56 | 1,983 | 1.41 | 0.76 | 12,241 | 1.70 | 0.92 |
| Other Theft | 145 | 4.32 | 0.76 | 8,371 | 6.01 | 1.06 | 34,703 | 4.78 | 0.84 |
| Possession of Weapons | 6 | 0.18 | 0.50 | 861 | 0.62 | 0.73 | 5,931 | 0.83 | 0.98 |
| Public Order | 43 | 1.29 | 0.22 | 5,446 | 3.91 | 0.67 | 32,088 | 4.42 | 0.76 |
| Robbery | 9 | 0.27 | 0.54 | 991 | 0.70 | 0.59 | 4,492 | 0.61 | 0.52 |
| Shoplifting | 171 | 5.10 | 0.72 | 8,328 | 5.99 | 0.84 | 43,068 | 5.94 | 0.83 |
| Theft From the Person | 13 | 0.39 | 0.36 | 954 | 0.68 | 0.44 | 3,654 | 0.52 | 0.34 |
| Vehicle Crime | 163 | 4.86 | 1.13 | 6,049 | 4.35 | 1.01 | 27,821 | 3.84 | 0.89 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 340 | 10.08 | 0.33 | 36,109 | 25.93 | 0.85 | 200,684 | 27.65 | 0.91 |
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Total Crime by Year
Harpenden | Hertfordshire | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 1,179 | 35.14 | 0.51 | 84,034 | 60.33 | 0.84 | 446,642 | 61.53 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 1,144 | 34.08 | 0.49 | 82,503 | 59.54 | 0.80 | 441,082 | 61.31 | 0.83 |
| 2024 | 1,118 | 33.36 | 0.46 | 73,907 | 53.85 | 0.71 | 443,460 | 62.34 | 0.83 |
| 2023 | 1,233 | 36.87 | 0.49 | 76,470 | 56.33 | 0.71 | 474,715 | 67.51 | 0.85 |
| 2022 | 1,037 | 31.11 | 0.42 | 74,426 | 55.22 | 0.72 | 471,617 | 67.78 | 0.88 |
| 2021 | 1,184 | 35.45 | 0.54 | 72,746 | 54.15 | 0.79 | 437,869 | 63.51 | 0.93 |
| 2020 | 1,281 | 38.42 | 0.54 | 82,388 | 61.55 | 0.83 | 465,376 | 67.88 | 0.92 |
| 2019 | 1,507 | 45.25 | 0.60 | 86,563 | 64.71 | 0.85 | 482,539 | 70.87 | 0.93 |
| 2018 | 1,474 | 44.23 | 0.63 | 84,008 | 63.06 | 0.89 | 439,882 | 64.91 | 0.91 |
| 2017 | 1,266 | 38.00 | 0.61 | 77,119 | 58.04 | 0.91 | 396,747 | 58.76 | 0.92 |
| 2016 | 370 | 11.11 | 0.61 | 21,894 | 16.50 | 0.87 | 116,493 | 17.30 | 0.91 |
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Harpenden Compared to Nearby Medium-Sized Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Medium-Sized Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elstree and Borehamwood | 3,653 | 73.14 | 108% more dangerous |
| Cheshunt | 3,156 | 72.51 | 106% more dangerous |
| Hoddesdon | 2,750 | 65.82 | 87% more dangerous |
| Welwyn Garden City | 3,809 | 59.81 | 70% more dangerous |
| Hertford | 2,036 | 56.52 | 61% more dangerous |
| Letchworth Garden City | 2,082 | 55.56 | 58% more dangerous |
| Bishop's Stortford | 2,494 | 52.47 | 49% more dangerous |
| Bushey | 1,440 | 49.10 | 40% more dangerous |
| Rickmansworth | 1,339 | 47.31 | 35% more dangerous |
| Hitchin | 1,828 | 46.31 | 32% more dangerous |
| Harpenden | 1,179 | 35.14 | - |
Comparing Harpenden to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Harpenden | 35.14 | - |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 126% more dangerous |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 135% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 139% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 179% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 198% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 199% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 203% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 205% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 207% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 256% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
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You can find out more, or get a CrimeRate Insights report that includes further analysis.
Offences In and Around Harpenden's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Harpenden 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Church Green | 30 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 135 |
| Crabtree Fields Open Space | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | 7 | 5 |
| Harpenden Common | 19 | - | 3 | 2 | 23 | 43 |
| Harpenden Leisure Centre | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 2 |
| East Common | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Parva Close Play Area | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 |
| Leyton Hall | 9 | 1 | 2 | - | 4 | 5 |
| Leyton Green | 9 | 1 | 2 | - | 4 | 5 |
| Batford Springs Local Nature Reserve | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 29 |
| Westfield Road Cemetery | 6 | 1 | 1 | - | 10 | 7 |
| Harpenden Rise Allotments | 1 | - | - | - | 6 | 4 |
| Westfield Recreation Ground | 4 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 9 |
| Westfield Road Play Area | 3 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 4 |
| Porters Hill Park | 6 | - | 2 | - | 16 | 7 |
| Pickford Hill Allotments | 2 | - | - | - | 7 | 0 |
| Porters Hill Play Area | 2 | - | - | - | 7 | 0 |
| Lydekker Park | 23 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 78 |
| Harpenden Bowling Club | - | - | - | - | 1 | 8 |
| Riverside Allotments | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | 4 | 17 |
| Batford Allotments | 1 | - | - | - | 8 | 7 |
| Marquis Lane Allotments | - | - | 1 | - | 2 | 2 |
| Crabtree Lane Allotment | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Rothamsted Park Play Area | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Topstreet Way Allotments | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 |
| Churchfield Allotment | 6 | - | - | - | 9 | 21 |
| Aldwickbury Allotments | 9 | - | - | - | 7 | 10 |
| Cross Lane Allotment | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Oakley Road Play Area | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Oakley Road Allotments | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Rothamsted Park | 5 | 1 | 1 | - | 6 | 26 |
| Bowers Parade Sensory Garden | 23 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 66 |
Recent Crimes in Harpenden
The 20 most recent crime reports in Harpenden.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Shepherds Way | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Greenway | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Arden Grove | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Shakespeare Road | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Police Station | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Cross Way | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Longfield Road | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near St Michaels Close | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Salisbury Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Stakers Court | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Meadow Walk | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Kipling Way | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Amberley Close | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Lea Business Park | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Masefield Court |
Methodology & Data Sources
Harpenden 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 Harpenden 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.
Harpenden Data Points
For Harpenden, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2022 release of their Built Up Areas dataset, using the BUA22CD column value E63004326.
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 Harpenden's daytime - or "workday" - population of 23,011 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 Harpenden