Nottingham records about 1.4 times the Nottinghamshire rate of recorded crime, and it sits at the top of the 28 towns and areas CrimeRate lists for the county, but a large share of that comes from a busy city centre and shopping district rather than from the streets where most people live. In the 12 months to April 2026 CrimeRate counts 42,663 recorded offences in Nottingham, a rate of 107.77 per 1,000 people. Nottinghamshire as a whole is 78.49 and the East Midlands is 70.04.
Data: police-recorded crime, 12 months to April 2026, counts and rates from CrimeRate’s analysis of data.police.uk; resident population from ONS Census 2021. Shares and ratios are our own arithmetic on those figures. Updated 1 October 2026.
Is Nottingham safe compared with the rest of Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands?
Nottingham’s recorded crime rate is 107.77 per 1,000 people in the 12 months to April 2026, according to CrimeRate. That is about 1.4 times the Nottinghamshire rate of 78.49 and about 1.5 times the East Midlands rate of 70.04. The headline count excludes anti-social behaviour: the 14 categories CrimeRate lists add up to 50,879 incidents, and 42,663 is what remains once the 8,216 anti-social behaviour reports are removed. A rate shows how much is recorded relative to the people counted, which is not the same as the chance that something happens to you on a given day. For the same exercise in another large city see is Birmingham safe?
How does Nottingham compare with nearby towns?
Nottingham is first of the 28 areas on CrimeRate’s county list, but only just: Newark records 107.65 per 1,000, a difference of 0.12. Worksop (106.37) and Sutton in Ashfield (101.14) follow. Towns with a busy centre, a night-time economy and a lot of retail tend to top a list like this because crimes are recorded where people gather, not where they sleep. At the other end, commuter villages and suburbs record about a third of the city rate.
| Area (Nottinghamshire) | Recorded crime per 1,000, 12 months to April 2026 |
|---|---|
| Nottingham | 107.77 |
| Newark | 107.65 |
| Worksop | 106.37 |
| Sutton in Ashfield | 101.14 |
| Clifton | 99.62 |
| Mansfield | 91.16 |
| Beeston | 64.24 |
| West Bridgford | 49.66 |
| Calverton | 44.48 |
| Greasley | 43.78 |
| Selston | 42.44 |
| East Leake | 34.92 |
| Ruddington | 33.76 |
The five highest are at the top of the table and the five lowest at the bottom, with three well-known places in between for context. Nottingham’s rate is 3.2 times that of Ruddington (33.76) and 2.2 times that of West Bridgford (49.66), although both are only a short tram or bus ride from the city. Even the larger towns of Mansfield (91.16) and Beeston (64.24) sit well below the city. The spread from Ruddington to Nottingham is more than threefold, so the county average says little about any single street.
What kind of crime is recorded in Nottingham?
Violence and sexual offences is the largest category, as in most places, and shoplifting is second. The table shows each category’s count and its share of Nottingham’s 42,663 (anti-social behaviour excluded).
| Category | Nottingham, 12 months to April 2026 | Share of Nottingham total |
|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 15,823 | 37.1% |
| Shoplifting | 5,713 | 13.4% |
| Criminal damage and arson | 3,964 | 9.3% |
| Other theft | 3,424 | 8.0% |
| Public order | 3,291 | 7.7% |
| Vehicle crime | 2,413 | 5.7% |
| Drugs | 1,983 | 4.6% |
| Burglary | 1,583 | 3.7% |
| Other crime | 1,349 | 3.2% |
| Robbery | 1,044 | 2.4% |
| Possession of weapons | 780 | 1.8% |
| Theft from the person | 695 | 1.6% |
| Bicycle theft | 601 | 1.4% |
Three things stand out. First, violence and sexual offences is 15,823 offences, about 37 per cent of the total. It is a broad police category that includes harassment, stalking and offences with no physical injury, so it does not mean that almost four in ten incidents are assaults on strangers. Second, shoplifting is 13.4 per cent, more than other theft and far more than theft from the person (1.6 per cent), which points to a large retail footprint and to shops that report incidents rather than to street theft. Third, anti-social behaviour is a large extra layer: 8,216 reports, about 16 per cent of the 50,879 incidents when it is included. Weapons possession is small in absolute terms (780, or 1.8 per cent), and like drugs it is an offence police record when they look for it, so a stronger patrol presence raises the count without any victim. Taken together, shoplifting, other theft, theft from the person and vehicle crime make 12,245 offences, about 29 per cent of the total.
Is Nottingham getting better or worse?
Higher. CrimeRate records 39,724 offences in the previous year against 42,663 in the 12 months to April 2026, an increase of 2,939, about 7.4 per cent, and the rate rose from 101.08 to 107.77 per 1,000. Part of any rise in recorded crime reflects recording practice and more reporting, particularly for shoplifting, so a rise in the figure is not automatic evidence that streets became more dangerous. It does mean this year’s number is not comparable with an older page that quotes last year’s.
Is Nottingham safe at night?
Police street-level data has no time of day, so it cannot show whether Nottingham is riskier after dark. What it does show is the mix: violence, public order, criminal damage and anti-social behaviour are among the biggest lines, which is typical of a city with a busy centre, late-opening venues and a large student and visitor population. If you are walking home late, use busy, lit streets, keep your phone out of sight around the station and tram stops, and check the exact streets you will use in the postcode checker rather than relying on the city figure.
Is Nottingham safe to live in?
The rate that matters for a home is the one for your own streets, not the city-centre average. The Census 2021 counted about 323,700 residents in Nottingham (ONS), and a city centre with shops, venues and stations records many offences with relatively few people sleeping there. CrimeRate’s population basis differs from the Census, and the area it labels Nottingham may not follow the same boundary, so compare rates rather than counts across sources. Nearby places such as West Bridgford (49.66) and Beeston (64.24) have much lower rates. Compare two postcodes in the checker before deciding, and read how to check crime in your area for the limits of any single number. Do not read this page as a verdict on the people who live here; it describes what was recorded, nothing more.
How do I check a specific street or postcode in Nottingham?
- 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 West Bridgford, to compare two areas side by side.
- Zoom into the UK crime map to see what was recorded near a street.
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 area numbers on this page all come from one source.
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Nottingham crime FAQ
What is the crime rate in Nottingham?
107.77 recorded crimes per 1,000 people in the 12 months to April 2026, against 78.49 for Nottinghamshire and 70.04 for the East Midlands (CrimeRate). Anti-social behaviour is not included in that figure.
Is Nottingham the most dangerous place in Nottinghamshire?
It has the highest recorded rate of the 28 areas CrimeRate lists, but Newark (107.65) and Worksop (106.37) are almost level. A high rate in a city centre mostly reflects how many people visit and how much is reported there.
Is Nottingham safe for visitors?
Shoplifting is 13.4 per cent of Nottingham’s recorded crime and theft from the person only 1.6 per cent, so the everyday issue is retail and property, not theft from visitors. Keep phones and bags secure around the station and busy shopping streets.
Is Nottingham getting safer?
Recorded crime rose about 7.4 per cent, from 39,724 to 42,663 offences year on year. Some of that is better recording, so it is not a clean measure of danger.
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. See where our crime data comes from.
More on other cities: is Belfast safe?, is Birmingham safe?, is London safe?, crime in Sheffield and crime in Manchester: what a force-wide number does and doesn’t tell you. In an emergency call 999.