Crime and Safety in Keele
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Keele is the 41st safest village in Staffordshire, and is the 41st safest overall out of Staffordshire's 197 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Keele in 2026 is 25 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares favourably to Staffordshire's overall crime rate, coming in 64% lower than the Staffordshire rate of 69 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Keele is the 2,958th safest village, and the 3,015th safest location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In February 2025, Keele had the worst crime rate in Staffordshire for anti-social behaviour, with 11 crimes reported and a crime rate of 2.4 per 1,000 daytime population. And in February 2025, Keele was the worst village in Staffordshire for anti-social behaviour, with 11 crimes reported and a crime rate of 2.4 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Keele are violence and sexual offences, with 60 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 13. This is 5% higher than 2025's figure of 57 offences and a difference of 0.69 from 2025's crime rate of 12. Keele's least common crime is robbery, with 0 offences recorded in 2026.
Keele 2026 Crime Scorecard
41St Safest Village
Villages, Staffordshire
67% lower, regional crime rate
West Midlands
65% lower, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Keele is 67% lower than the West Midlands and 65% lower than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Keele Crime Rate Over Time
| Keele | |
| West Midlands | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Keele Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Keele 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 Keele Compares
You can compare Keele'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 Keele's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Keele up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Keele's 53 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 Keele? 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
Keele • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Keele has a crime risk score of 400. This is based on analysis of 53 nearby areas within Keele, 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 Keele's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Keele, crime risk scores are typically around 400, while in Staffordshire they are average 572.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 410 (579 for Staffordshire), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 508 (Staffordshire 590).
Trends in Crime Risk
Keele
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 Keele'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 Keele's crime risk score is down by 21%. 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, Keele's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 55%, 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
Keele
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
Keele • 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.
Possession of Weapons offences have a crime rate of 0.21 reports per 1,000 people in Keele, which is 3.00 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 1 crime report logged by Staffordshire Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Staffordshire Police recorded 8 reports of Burglary in Keele, resulting in a crime rate of 1.71 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.34.
The crime rate for Public Order is 0.84 times the national average at 3.22 reports per 1,000. This is from 15 crime reports reported to Staffordshire Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Keele
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 1.35 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.34 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 297% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, though the CrimeRate Index three years ago is too low to measure, and the trend should be reviewed with caution.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Keele
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Burglary offences are trending downwards, though the CrimeRate Index three years ago is too low to measure, and the trend should be reviewed with caution.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Keele • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Keele | Staffordshire | West Midlands | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 14 | 2.99 | 0.28 | 16,480 | 12.94 | 0.92 | 59,827 | 8.79 | 0.62 |
| Bicycle Theft | 2 | 0.43 | 3.91 | 725 | 0.55 | 0.75 | 3,572 | 0.53 | 0.73 |
| Burglary | 8 | 1.71 | 1.34 | 3,630 | 2.86 | 0.91 | 24,188 | 3.54 | 1.13 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 8 | 1.72 | 0.48 | 7,263 | 5.69 | 0.91 | 43,744 | 6.42 | 1.02 |
| Drugs | 1 | 0.21 | 0.78 | 3,113 | 2.45 | 0.79 | 16,314 | 2.38 | 0.77 |
| Other Crime | 1 | 0.21 | 1.40 | 2,374 | 1.87 | 1.01 | 12,162 | 1.79 | 0.97 |
| Other Theft | 9 | 1.93 | 0.59 | 5,911 | 4.63 | 0.81 | 34,029 | 5.00 | 0.88 |
| Possession of Weapons | 1 | 0.21 | 3.00 | 1,180 | 0.92 | 1.08 | 9,710 | 1.44 | 1.69 |
| Public Order | 15 | 3.22 | 0.84 | 8,461 | 6.65 | 1.15 | 36,155 | 5.32 | 0.92 |
| Robbery | - | - | - | 1,145 | 0.91 | 0.77 | 9,171 | 1.35 | 1.14 |
| Shoplifting | 5 | 1.06 | 0.45 | 6,813 | 5.33 | 0.75 | 51,348 | 7.55 | 1.06 |
| Theft From the Person | - | - | - | 243 | 0.18 | 0.12 | 3,487 | 0.49 | 0.32 |
| Vehicle Crime | 7 | 1.49 | 0.58 | 4,823 | 3.79 | 0.88 | 38,628 | 5.68 | 1.32 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 60 | 12.83 | 0.42 | 42,473 | 33.32 | 1.10 | 231,901 | 34.05 | 1.12 |
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Total Crime by Year
Keele | Staffordshire | West Midlands | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 117 | 25.02 | 0.52 | 88,154 | 69.15 | 0.96 | 514,409 | 75.54 | 1.05 |
| 2025 | 103 | 22.44 | 0.56 | 85,700 | 67.65 | 0.91 | 516,162 | 76.32 | 1.03 |
| 2024 | 76 | 16.85 | 0.44 | 86,207 | 68.73 | 0.91 | 539,253 | 80.45 | 1.07 |
| 2023 | 125 | 27.65 | 0.54 | 95,667 | 77.26 | 0.98 | 598,904 | 90.62 | 1.15 |
| 2022 | 94 | 21.77 | 0.49 | 72,417 | 59.31 | 0.77 | 564,120 | 86.38 | 1.12 |
| 2021 | 60 | 13.21 | 0.36 | 62,296 | 51.31 | 0.75 | 463,870 | 71.46 | 1.04 |
| 2020 | 110 | 22.84 | 0.56 | 69,621 | 57.62 | 0.78 | 450,576 | 69.72 | 0.94 |
| 2019 | 125 | 26.25 | 0.55 | 71,310 | 59.25 | 0.78 | 460,715 | 71.52 | 0.94 |
| 2018 | 189 | 38.49 | 0.85 | 72,420 | 60.44 | 0.85 | 430,050 | 67.10 | 0.94 |
| 2017 | 198 | 39.69 | 0.95 | 70,193 | 58.79 | 0.92 | 395,755 | 62.08 | 0.97 |
| 2016 | 81 | 16.25 | 1.19 | 21,257 | 17.84 | 0.94 | 117,881 | 18.57 | 0.97 |
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Keele Compared to Nearby Villages
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Village | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ranton | 3 | 8.04 | 68% safer |
| Tittesworth | 3 | 9.21 | 63% safer |
| Salt and Enson | 7 | 18.44 | 26% safer |
| Colton | 27 | 28.69 | 15% more dangerous |
| Colwich | 181 | 37.14 | 48% more dangerous |
| Outwoods | 133 | 31.91 | 28% more dangerous |
| Gnosall | 168 | 32.22 | 29% more dangerous |
| Barton-under-Needwood | 178 | 33.31 | 33% more dangerous |
| Whittington | 75 | 26.25 | 4.9% more dangerous |
| Branston | 555 | 42.47 | 70% more dangerous |
| Eccleshall | 183 | 31.11 | 24% more dangerous |
| Cheddleton | 186 | 29.57 | 18% more dangerous |
| Cheslyn Hay | 238 | 33.55 | 34% more dangerous |
| Tutbury | 97 | 25.00 | 0.08% safer |
| Rolleston on Dove | 73 | 20.69 | 17% safer |
| Loggerheads | 126 | 26.71 | 7% more dangerous |
| Hopton and Coton | 197 | 27.16 | 9% more dangerous |
| Keele | 117 | 25.02 | - |
Comparing Keele to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Keele | 25.02 | - |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 218% more dangerous |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 230% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 236% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 291% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 318% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 320% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 326% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 328% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 331% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 400% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
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You can find out more, or get a CrimeRate Insights report that includes further analysis.
Recent Crimes in Keele
The 20 most recent crime reports in Keele.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Observatory Walk | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Observatory Walk | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Keele Road | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Pepper Street | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near University Drive | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Lindsay Hall Road | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near University Drive | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Lindsay Hall Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Pepper Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Station Road | |
| March 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Keele Road | |
| March 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near The Covert | |
| March 2026 | Other theft | On or near Lindsay Hall Road | |
| March 2026 | Public order | On or near Knights Croft | |
| March 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near The Covert | |
| March 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Station Drive | |
| March 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Knights Croft | |
| March 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Keele Drive | |
| March 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Church Bank | |
| March 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Observatory Walk |
Methodology & Data Sources
Keele 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 Keele 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.
Keele Data Points
For Keele, 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 E04008947.
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 Keele's daytime - or "workday" - population of 6,283 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 Keele