Leeds recorded 85,060 crimes in the 12 months to April 2026, a crime rate of 107.18 per 1,000 people: about 58 per cent above the England rate of 67.79 and 11 per cent above West Yorkshire (96.48), but lower than Bradford, Halifax and Wakefield. The total fell 3.6 per cent on the previous year (88,245). Violence and sexual offences make up 42 per cent of it, and burglary and robbery run well above the national average. The figures describe recorded incidents, not the people who live in the city.
Data: police-recorded crime, 12 months to April 2026, counts and rates from CrimeRate’s analysis of data.police.uk (West Yorkshire Police, Leeds); neighbourhood counts from police.uk, latest 12 months shown on each page (to August, July or June 2026); resident population from the ONS Census 2021 (812,000). Shares and ratios are our own arithmetic on those figures. Updated 8 October 2026.
What is the crime rate in Leeds?
107.18 crimes per 1,000 people in the 12 months to April 2026, according to CrimeRate. That is 85,060 offences, not counting 7,984 anti-social behaviour reports (93,044 incidents with them). The rate is about 58 per cent above England (67.79), 11 per cent above West Yorkshire (96.48) and 26 per cent above Yorkshire and the Humber (85.27). A year earlier Leeds recorded 88,245 offences at 111.66 per 1,000.
Is Leeds safe compared with other cities?
Leeds sits in a tight group of big cities with rates between about 104 and 108 per 1,000: Nottingham, Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol. It is well below Westminster and well above Sheffield, Newcastle and Cardiff. Every rate below comes from the same source, so they share one method and population base.
| City | Per 1,000, 12 months to April 2026 | Compared with Leeds |
|---|---|---|
| Westminster (London) | 125.00 | 17% higher |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 1% higher |
| Leeds | 107.18 | – |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 1% lower |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 2% lower |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 2% lower |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 9% lower |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 22% lower |
| Newcastle | 82.69 | 23% lower |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 26% lower |
| England | 67.79 | 37% lower |
The differences between Leeds, Nottingham, Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol are within two per cent, too small to call one safer than another. The more useful comparison is with Sheffield, the other big Yorkshire city: Leeds records about 27 per cent more crime per head. York’s crime rate, 78.92 per 1,000 in the same period, is about a quarter lower than Leeds. For the detail on the cities in the table read is Nottingham safe?, is Liverpool safe?, is Birmingham safe? and is Bristol safe?.
Is Leeds the most dangerous place in West Yorkshire?
No. Leeds has by far the most recorded crime in West Yorkshire, 85,060 of the county’s 265,570 offences (32 per cent), because it is by far the largest place. Per head it ranks 12th of the 52 towns and cities CrimeRate lists for the county. Bradford (121.67), Halifax (119.38), Wakefield (117.54) and Dewsbury (110.47) all record higher rates; Huddersfield (97.95) records a lower one.
| West Yorkshire place | Crimes, 12 months to April 2026 | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Bradford | 46,254 | 121.67 |
| Halifax | 11,971 | 119.38 |
| Wakefield | 11,738 | 117.54 |
| Dewsbury | 7,604 | 110.47 |
| Leeds | 85,060 | 107.18 |
| Huddersfield | 15,749 | 97.95 |
| Horsforth | 1,389 | 54.91 |
| Garforth | 775 | 48.16 |
| Ilkley | 696 | 41.33 |
| Alwoodley | 321 | 34.32 |
The lowest rates in the county are in commuter towns on the edge of Leeds and Bradford: Alwoodley (34.32) is the lowest of all 52 places, and Horsforth and Garforth are both about half the Leeds rate. Several small Wakefield district towns, such as Knottingley and Castleford, record higher rates than any of the big cities, but their counts are small, so a few hundred offences move the rate a lot. West Yorkshire as a whole fell 4.3 per cent, from 277,491 to 265,570 offences.
What is the crime rate in Leeds per resident?
About 105 crimes per 1,000 residents. Against the 812,000 people counted in Leeds in the ONS Census 2021, the same 85,060 offences work out at roughly 105 per 1,000, close to CrimeRate’s 107.18. Adding the 7,984 anti-social behaviour reports gives 93,044 incidents, about 115 per 1,000 residents. CrimeRate’s Leeds area does not follow the council boundary exactly, so treat the per-resident figure as an estimate. Neither number tells you the risk on a particular street.
What kind of crime is recorded in Leeds?
Violence and sexual offences dominate, with 36,043 offences, 42.4 per cent of the total. The 13 categories below add up to exactly 85,060; the 7,984 anti-social behaviour reports come on top. The index is CrimeRate’s comparison with the national rate (1.00 = average).
| Category | Leeds, 12 months to April 2026 | Per 1,000 | Share of total | Index vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 36,043 | 45.39 | 42.4% | 1.49 |
| Shoplifting | 8,481 | 10.68 | 10.0% | 1.50 |
| Public order | 7,191 | 9.06 | 8.5% | 1.56 |
| Criminal damage and arson | 6,293 | 7.94 | 7.4% | 1.26 |
| Other theft | 6,279 | 7.91 | 7.4% | 1.39 |
| Vehicle crime | 5,147 | 6.47 | 6.1% | 1.50 |
| Burglary | 5,063 | 6.40 | 6.0% | 2.04 |
| Drugs | 3,304 | 4.16 | 3.9% | 1.35 |
| Other crime | 2,636 | 3.33 | 3.1% | 1.80 |
| Robbery | 1,732 | 2.18 | 2.0% | 1.85 |
| Theft from the person | 1,023 | 1.30 | 1.2% | 0.84 |
| Possession of weapons | 949 | 1.19 | 1.1% | 1.40 |
| Bicycle theft | 919 | 1.17 | 1.1% | 1.60 |
Four things stand out. First, burglary is the clearest Leeds-specific issue. At 6.40 per 1,000 it is just over twice the national rate (index 2.04), and above both West Yorkshire (5.18) and the wider region (4.41). Leeds has a very large student population living in shared terraced houses around Headingley, Hyde Park and Woodhouse, and shared houses full of laptops and phones, often empty over holidays, are a common burglary target. Second, robbery (1.85) and bicycle theft (1.60) are well above average, and Leeds’ robbery rate of 2.18 per 1,000 is almost twice the regional 1.13. Third, the headline rate is broad-based: 12 of the 13 categories are above the national average, unlike cities where one category drives everything. Fourth, theft from the person, pickpocketing and snatch theft, is below average (0.84), and anti-social behaviour is recorded at 10.07 per 1,000 (index 0.71), below both West Yorkshire and the region.
Is crime in Leeds going up or down?
Down over the year to April 2026. CrimeRate records 88,245 offences (111.66 per 1,000) in the 12 months to April 2025 and 85,060 (107.18) in the 12 months to April 2026: 3,185 fewer, a fall of 3.6 per cent. That is slightly less than the 4.3 per cent fall across West Yorkshire. The more recent neighbourhood figures below, which run into summer 2026, show monthly totals rising again from February, a seasonal pattern rather than a new trend so far.
Which parts of Leeds record the most crime?
West Yorkshire Police splits Leeds into six neighbourhood policing areas, and police.uk publishes 12-month counts for each, including anti-social behaviour. Leeds East and Leeds South record the most. The pages do not all show the same months, so the table gives the period for each.
| Neighbourhood area (police.uk) | Incidents in 12 months | Period | Top categories in latest month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds East | 24,810 | Jul 2025–Jun 2026 | Violence 914, ASB 194, criminal damage 161 |
| Leeds South | 22,464 | Aug 2025–Jul 2026 | Violence 723, ASB 232, criminal damage 174 |
| Leeds West | 19,775 | Jul 2025–Jun 2026 | Violence 697, ASB 191, shoplifting 140 |
| Leeds City | 15,266 | Sep 2025–Aug 2026 | Violence 350, shoplifting 320, ASB 129 |
| Leeds North West | 13,736 | Aug 2025–Jul 2026 | Violence 399, ASB 150, shoplifting 110 |
| Leeds North East | 10,665 | Sep 2025–Aug 2026 | Violence 368, ASB 124, public order 93 |
Source: police.uk neighbourhood pages, accessed 8 October 2026. These are counts for areas of very different sizes and populations, not rates, so a large area will record more simply because more people live in it, and because the periods differ the rows should not be added up. The Leeds City area, which takes in the city centre and inner neighbourhoods such as Beeston, Holbeck, Hunslet and Woodhouse, is the only one where shoplifting is almost level with violence (320 against 350 in August 2026), which fits its role as the region’s main shopping centre. Its published priorities include vehicle and bike crime in Beeston and Holbeck, drug supply and street drinking in Hunslet and Riverside, and shop theft and night-time economy safety in Little London and Woodhouse. For a ward-by-ward ranking see crime in Leeds by ward, and for the quieter end, safest areas in Leeds.
Is Leeds busier for crime in summer?
Yes. Every one of the six areas shows February 2026 as its quietest or near-quietest month: together they recorded 7,651 incidents in February and 9,230 in June 2026, 21 per cent more. Leeds North East rose from 721 in February to 1,075 in August. The city centre area is the steadiest, between 1,131 and 1,420 a month, because shopping and nightlife keep it busy all year. More people out on longer evenings mean more recorded incidents, not necessarily a higher risk for any one person.
Is Leeds city centre safe at night?
Police street-level data carries no time of day, so it cannot say how much crime happens after dark. What it shows is that violence and shoplifting are the two largest categories in the Leeds City area, and that night-time economy safety is a named police priority around Little London and Woodhouse, close to the student and bar areas north of the centre. Theft from the person is below the national average across Leeds, so pickpocketing is less of a risk than in many big cities. Keep to lit, busy routes between the bars, the railway station and taxi ranks, plan your way home before you go out, and use licensed taxis. Check the streets you will use in the postcode checker.
Is Leeds a safe place to live?
For most residents, yes, with the usual caveats about averages. The risk to plan around is burglary: at twice the national rate, a good door lock, window locks and not leaving laptops in view are worth more in Leeds than in most cities, especially in shared student houses. Vehicle crime (index 1.50) and bicycle theft (1.60) are also above average, so off-street parking and a solid D-lock help. The citywide rate also hides large differences: places on the edge of Leeds such as Horsforth (54.91), Garforth (48.16) and Alwoodley (34.32) record about a third to a half of the city rate. Compare postcodes before you choose, and read how to check crime in your area for the limits of any single number. This page describes what was recorded, not the people who live here.
How do I check a specific street or postcode in Leeds?
- Enter your postcode in the postcode checker to see 12 months of police-recorded crime and the trend by month.
- Add a second postcode, for example one in Headingley and one in Roundhay, to compare two areas side by side.
- Zoom into the UK crime map to see what was recorded near a street.
- Read our Leeds crime map guide for the Leeds places with the highest and lowest rates per 1,000 and what the six policing areas show month by month.
These figures describe areas, not addresses. Police data covers reported crime only, and each crime is shown at a nearby anonymised point. Read where our crime data comes from for the limits. Rates from different websites use different population estimates and are not directly comparable, so the city rates on this page all come from one source. Our older snapshot of the city, crime in Leeds: what the police data shows, compares the centre, Headingley and Roundhay.
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Leeds crime FAQ
What is the crime rate in Leeds?
Leeds recorded 107.18 crimes per 1,000 people in the 12 months to April 2026 (85,060 offences), against 67.79 for England and 96.48 for West Yorkshire (CrimeRate). Anti-social behaviour is not included. Per resident, using the Census 2021 population of 812,000, it is about 105 per 1,000.
Is Leeds safer than Bradford?
On the recorded figures, yes. Leeds’ 107.18 per 1,000 is about 12 per cent below Bradford’s 121.67. Leeds records more crime in total (85,060 against 46,254) only because it is much larger.
Is crime in Leeds going up?
Not over the latest year. Recorded crime fell from 88,245 to 85,060 offences between the 12 months to April 2025 and the 12 months to April 2026, a drop of 3.6 per cent. Neighbourhood figures rose over spring and summer 2026, as they do most years.
What is the most common crime in Leeds?
Violence and sexual offences, 42.4 per cent of recorded crime, followed by shoplifting (10.0 per cent) and public order offences (8.5 per cent). Burglary is only 6 per cent of the total but runs at about twice the national rate.
Where does this data come from?
Police-recorded crime published on data.police.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0, analysed by CrimeRate for counts and rates, police.uk neighbourhood pages for local counts, and the ONS Census 2021 for residents. See where our crime data comes from.
More on Leeds: crime in Leeds by ward, safest areas in Leeds and crime in Leeds. Other cities: Nottingham, Wolverhampton, Luton, Liverpool and London. In an emergency call 999.