Crime and Safety in Burgess Hill
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Burgess Hill is the third safest medium-sized town in West Sussex, and is the 38th most dangerous overall out of West Sussex's 161 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Burgess Hill in 2026 is 47 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares favourably to West Sussex's overall crime rate, coming in 21% lower than the West Sussex rate of 60 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Burgess Hill is the 54th safest medium-sized town, and the 2,363rd most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In March 2026, Burgess Hill was the worst medium-sized town in West Sussex for other crime, with 9 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.23 per 1,000 daytime population. March 2026 was also a bad month for Burgess Hill residents, when it was West Sussex's most dangerous medium-sized town for theft from the person, recording 3 crimes at a rate of 0.08 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Burgess Hill are violence and sexual offences, with 730 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 19. This is 1.6% lower than 2025's figure of 742 offences and a difference of 0.31 from 2025's crime rate of 19. Burgess Hill's least common crime is theft from the person, with 9 offences recorded in 2026, the same as 2025's figure of 9 crimes.
Burgess Hill 2026 Crime Scorecard
Third Safest
Medium-Sized Towns, West Sussex
23% lower, regional crime rate
South East
34% lower, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Burgess Hill is 23% lower than the South East and 34% lower than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Burgess Hill Crime Rate Over Time
| Burgess Hill | |
| South East | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Burgess Hill Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Burgess Hill 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 Burgess Hill Compares
You can compare Burgess Hill'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 Burgess Hill's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Burgess Hill up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Burgess Hill's 851 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 Burgess Hill? 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
Burgess Hill • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Burgess Hill has a crime risk score of 406. This is based on analysis of 851 nearby areas within Burgess Hill, 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 Burgess Hill's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Burgess Hill, crime risk scores are typically around 406, while in West Sussex they are average 431.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 470 (451 for West Sussex), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 530 (West Sussex 461).
Trends in Crime Risk
Burgess Hill
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 Burgess Hill'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 Burgess Hill's crime risk score is up by 28%. 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, Burgess Hill's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 3.5%, 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
Burgess Hill
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
Burgess Hill • 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.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences have a crime rate of 6.75 reports per 1,000 people in Burgess Hill, which is 1.07 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 263 crime reports logged by Sussex Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Sussex Police recorded 24 reports of Possession of Weapons in Burgess Hill, resulting in a crime rate of 0.64 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 0.89.
The crime rate for Public Order is 0.83 times the national average at 4.81 reports per 1,000. This is from 187 crime reports reported to Sussex Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Burgess Hill
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 0.13 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 0.24 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 46% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Burgess Hill
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Shoplifting offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.94 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 1.32 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 29% 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 0.23 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 9% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Burgess Hill • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Burgess Hill | West Sussex | South East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 561 | 14.37 | 1.02 | 14,461 | 14.47 | 1.02 | 115,500 | 10.87 | 0.77 |
| Bicycle Theft | 15 | 0.40 | 0.80 | 639 | 0.65 | 0.89 | 7,315 | 0.68 | 0.93 |
| Burglary | 74 | 1.91 | 0.61 | 2,154 | 2.16 | 0.69 | 23,535 | 2.23 | 0.71 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 263 | 6.75 | 1.07 | 5,634 | 5.64 | 0.90 | 58,501 | 5.50 | 0.88 |
| Drugs | 53 | 1.35 | 0.53 | 2,118 | 2.12 | 0.69 | 25,203 | 2.37 | 0.77 |
| Other Crime | 61 | 1.55 | 0.84 | 1,447 | 1.44 | 0.78 | 17,151 | 1.61 | 0.87 |
| Other Theft | 126 | 3.24 | 0.57 | 4,493 | 4.49 | 0.79 | 51,336 | 4.84 | 0.85 |
| Possession of Weapons | 24 | 0.64 | 0.89 | 1,393 | 1.40 | 1.65 | 8,736 | 0.81 | 0.95 |
| Public Order | 187 | 4.81 | 0.83 | 5,790 | 5.80 | 1.00 | 54,745 | 5.15 | 0.89 |
| Robbery | 20 | 0.53 | 0.60 | 798 | 0.80 | 0.68 | 7,588 | 0.72 | 0.61 |
| Shoplifting | 209 | 5.35 | 0.75 | 8,432 | 8.45 | 1.19 | 72,983 | 6.88 | 0.96 |
| Theft From the Person | 9 | 0.25 | 0.38 | 330 | 0.32 | 0.21 | 4,668 | 0.45 | 0.29 |
| Vehicle Crime | 68 | 1.76 | 0.41 | 2,579 | 2.57 | 0.60 | 34,099 | 3.22 | 0.75 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 730 | 18.69 | 0.61 | 24,119 | 24.14 | 0.79 | 286,815 | 26.98 | 0.89 |
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Total Crime by Year
Burgess Hill | West Sussex | South East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 1,839 | 47.23 | 0.68 | 59,926 | 59.98 | 0.83 | 652,675 | 61.44 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 1,943 | 50.01 | 0.68 | 61,382 | 61.79 | 0.83 | 670,274 | 63.35 | 0.86 |
| 2024 | 2,157 | 56.35 | 0.76 | 65,391 | 66.53 | 0.88 | 690,903 | 65.86 | 0.87 |
| 2023 | 1,792 | 47.72 | 0.62 | 61,050 | 62.51 | 0.79 | 713,547 | 68.83 | 0.87 |
| 2022 | 1,463 | 39.61 | 0.53 | 55,862 | 57.68 | 0.75 | 704,444 | 68.58 | 0.89 |
| 2021 | 1,285 | 35.05 | 0.53 | 50,485 | 52.57 | 0.77 | 625,484 | 61.36 | 0.89 |
| 2020 | 1,546 | 42.90 | 0.59 | 57,437 | 60.32 | 0.81 | 669,219 | 65.97 | 0.89 |
| 2019 | 1,554 | 43.59 | 0.59 | 53,654 | 56.81 | 0.75 | 666,505 | 65.82 | 0.86 |
| 2018 | 1,347 | 38.22 | 0.55 | 51,092 | 54.30 | 0.76 | 644,142 | 63.85 | 0.90 |
| 2017 | 1,401 | 39.88 | 0.64 | 47,080 | 50.51 | 0.79 | 552,696 | 55.04 | 0.86 |
| 2016 | 383 | 10.92 | 0.59 | 14,156 | 15.21 | 0.80 | 160,273 | 15.99 | 0.84 |
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Burgess Hill Compared to Nearby Medium-Sized Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Medium-Sized Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bognor Regis | 3,620 | 133.10 | 182% more dangerous |
| Chichester | 3,866 | 103.44 | 119% more dangerous |
| Littlehampton | 2,909 | 83.85 | 78% more dangerous |
| Horsham | 2,356 | 64.39 | 36% more dangerous |
| Burgess Hill | 1,839 | 47.23 | - |
| East Grinstead | 1,282 | 40.87 | 13% safer |
| Haywards Heath | 1,436 | 39.60 | 16% safer |
Comparing Burgess Hill to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Burgess Hill | 47.23 | - |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 68% more dangerous |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 75% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 78% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 107% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 122% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 122% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 125% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 127% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 128% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 165% 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 Burgess Hill's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Burgess Hill 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kings Weald Play Area | 13 | - | 6 | 2 | 3 | 21 |
| The Triangle | 21 | 3 | 5 | - | 23 | 21 |
| Sydney West | 1 | - | 3 | - | 1 | 2 |
| Marle Place Park | 3 | - | 2 | - | 2 | 2 |
| St John's Park | 32 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 26 |
| Folders Meadow | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 2 |
| Ditchling Common | 10 | - | 1 | - | 5 | 2 |
Recent Crimes in Burgess Hill
The 20 most recent crime reports in Burgess Hill.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near The Hawthorns | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Woodland Close | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Icarus Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Phoenix Rise | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Phoenix Rise | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near West Park Crescent | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Brookway | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near South Drive | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near The Close | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Upper St Johns Road | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near West Park Crescent | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Keymer Parade | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Park Close | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Gander Close | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Knowles Walk | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Leylands Park | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Siskin Close | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Ashway | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Valebridge Drive | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area |
Methodology & Data Sources
Burgess Hill 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 Burgess Hill 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.
Burgess Hill Data Points
For Burgess Hill, 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 E04013309.
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 Burgess Hill's daytime - or "workday" - population of 27,822 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 Burgess Hill