York recorded 10,946 crimes in the 12 months to April 2026, a crime rate of 78.92 per 1,000 people: 14 per cent above North Yorkshire (68.99), 7 per cent below Yorkshire and The Humber (85.27) and about 16 per cent above England (around 68). The total fell 4.5 per cent on the previous year (11,461), the second fall in a row after a peak of 11,785 in 2024. York’s rate is lower than every large English city we compare and level with Cardiff (79.55). What makes it different is the mix: bicycle theft is three and a half times the county rate and shoplifting is well above it, the pattern of a compact historic city full of students, cyclists, shops and visitors. The figures describe recorded incidents, not the people who live in York.
Data: police-recorded crime, 12 months to April 2026, counts and rates from CrimeRate’s analysis of data.police.uk (North Yorkshire Police, York; updated 7 June 2026); neighbourhood counts from police.uk, 12 months to August 2026. Shares and ratios are our own arithmetic on those figures. Re-checked 25 October 2026: the 12 months to April 2026 is still CrimeRate’s latest release and August 2026 is still the latest month on data.police.uk. Updated 25 October 2026.
What is the crime rate in York?
78.92 crimes per 1,000 people in the 12 months to April 2026, according to CrimeRate. That is 10,946 offences, not counting 3,746 anti-social behaviour reports (14,692 incidents with them). The rate is 14 per cent above North Yorkshire (68.99), 7 per cent below Yorkshire and The Humber (85.27) and about 16 per cent above England (around 68). A year earlier York recorded 11,461 offences at 83.96 per 1,000. CrimeRate also puts York about 10 per cent above the combined rate for England, Wales and Northern Ireland; the 16 per cent figure uses the England-only rate.
Is York safe compared with other cities?
Yes, on the per-head figure York is at the low end of the cities we track. It is level with Cardiff, the lowest of the big cities on our list, about 5 per cent below Newcastle and 6 per cent below Sheffield, and between a fifth and a quarter below Leicester, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds and Nottingham. Harrogate, the other large town in North Yorkshire, is lower still at 50.90. All rates below come from the same source and method.
| Place | Per 1,000, 12 months to April 2026 | Compared with York |
|---|---|---|
| Westminster (London) | 125.00 | 58% higher |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 37% higher |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 36% higher |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 35% higher |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 33% higher |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 33% higher |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 24% higher |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 85.27 | 8% higher |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 7% higher |
| Newcastle | 82.69 | 5% higher |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 1% higher |
| York | 78.92 | – |
| North Yorkshire | 68.99 | 13% lower |
| Harrogate | 50.90 | 36% lower |
For the nearest big city, read is Leeds safe? (107.18 on its own page); for the rest of Yorkshire, see is Sheffield safe? and is Bradford safe?. Cardiff is the closest match to York on rate.
Is York the most dangerous place in North Yorkshire?
No. York records the most crime of any single place in CrimeRate’s North Yorkshire list, 10,946 of 91,203 offences (12.0 per cent), because it is by far the largest city. But on the per-head rate it is ninth of the 24 places listed. CrimeRate’s “North Yorkshire” is the ceremonial county, so it also takes in Middlesbrough, Thornaby and Redcar, which are policed by Cleveland Police, not North Yorkshire Police. Middlesbrough (144.97), Thornaby (127.62) and Scarborough (114.10) are well above York; Harrogate (50.90) and the suburbs just outside the York boundary, Huntington (43.30) and Haxby (27.37), are well below it.
| Place (CrimeRate North Yorkshire) | Crimes, 12 months to April 2026 | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Middlesbrough | 23,297 | 144.97 |
| Thornaby | 4,123 | 127.62 |
| Scarborough | 6,926 | 114.10 |
| Redcar | 3,869 | 95.44 |
| Selby | 1,623 | 84.40 |
| Northallerton | 1,109 | 79.35 |
| York | 10,946 | 78.92 |
| Whitby | 1,085 | 78.60 |
| Harrogate | 4,281 | 50.90 |
| Skipton | 897 | 46.74 |
| Knaresborough | 813 | 46.50 |
| Huntington | 534 | 43.30 |
| Ripon | 760 | 40.71 |
| Haxby | 228 | 27.37 |
Source: CrimeRate North Yorkshire, a selection of the 24 places it lists (York is ninth by rate). The county as a whole recorded 91,203 offences (68.99 per 1,000), up 2.7 per cent from 88,823 a year earlier, so York’s fall went against the county trend. CrimeRate’s own page calls York “the most dangerous major town in North Yorkshire”; that only holds if Middlesbrough and Scarborough are not counted as major towns, so we do not repeat it.
What kind of crime is recorded in York?
Violence and sexual offences are the largest category, 4,720 offences or 43.1 per cent of the total, 13 per cent above the county rate. The 13 categories below add up to exactly 10,946; anti-social behaviour (3,746 reports) comes on top. The last two columns compare York’s rate with the North Yorkshire rate for the same category, from the same source.
| Category | York, 12 months to April 2026 | Per 1,000 | Share of total | North Yorkshire per 1,000 | York vs county |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 4,720 | 34.03 | 43.1% | 30.16 | +13% |
| Shoplifting | 1,583 | 11.41 | 14.5% | 8.26 | +38% |
| Criminal damage and arson | 1,029 | 7.41 | 9.4% | 7.97 | −7% |
| Public order | 806 | 5.82 | 7.4% | 5.23 | +11% |
| Other theft | 637 | 4.59 | 5.8% | 4.24 | +8% |
| Drugs | 443 | 3.20 | 4.0% | 2.57 | +25% |
| Burglary | 435 | 3.14 | 4.0% | 3.17 | −1% |
| Bicycle theft | 373 | 2.67 | 3.4% | 0.75 | +256% |
| Vehicle crime | 360 | 2.59 | 3.3% | 2.65 | −2% |
| Robbery | 186 | 1.36 | 1.7% | 0.97 | +40% |
| Other crime | 159 | 1.15 | 1.5% | 2.02 | −43% |
| Possession of weapons | 129 | 0.92 | 1.2% | 0.74 | +24% |
| Theft from the person | 86 | 0.63 | 0.8% | 0.26 | +142% |
| Anti-social behaviour (not in total) | 3,746 | 27.00 | – | 19.31 | +40% |
Four things stand out. First, bicycle theft: 373 thefts at 2.67 per 1,000, three and a half times the county rate. York records 38 per cent of all bicycle thefts in CrimeRate’s North Yorkshire (373 of 991) against 12 per cent of all crime. York is a flat, compact city with a large university population and a lot of cycling, so there are simply more bikes left locked in public. Second, shoplifting is the second-largest category (1,583 offences, 14.5 per cent) and 38 per cent above the county rate, which fits a city centre packed with shops and visitors. Third, theft from the person is more than double the county rate, but the numbers are small: 86 offences in a year. Robbery (186) is 40 per cent above the county rate, also from a small base. Fourth, the household crimes are at or below the county level: burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage are all within a few per cent of North Yorkshire or under it. Anti-social behaviour, at 27.00 per 1,000, is 40 per cent above the county, and much of it is recorded in the city centre (see below).
Is crime in York going up or down?
Down, for the second year running. CrimeRate records 11,785 offences in the 12 months to April 2024, 11,461 in 2025 and 10,946 in 2026: 839 fewer than the 2024 peak (−7.1 per cent) and 515 fewer than last year (−4.5 per cent). Over the same year North Yorkshire as CrimeRate defines it went up 2.7 per cent. The latest rate is still above the years before 2019.
| Year (12 months to April) | Crimes | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 8,832 | 64.69 |
| 2018 | 9,213 | 67.63 |
| 2019 | 10,787 | 80.19 |
| 2020 | 10,006 | 75.41 |
| 2021 | 8,556 | 65.00 |
| 2022 | 11,111 | 84.58 |
| 2023 | 11,554 | 86.48 |
| 2024 | 11,785 | 87.10 |
| 2025 | 11,461 | 83.96 |
| 2026 | 10,946 | 78.92 |
The 2021 dip covers the lockdown year, when shops, pubs, the universities and tourism were largely shut; the jump to 2022 is the city reopening rather than a sudden rise in offending.
Which parts of York record the most crime?
North Yorkshire Police covers York with four neighbourhood areas, and police.uk publishes 12-month counts for each, including anti-social behaviour. York Inner, which takes in the city centre, records the most: 7,292 incidents between September 2025 and August 2026, 37 per cent of the four areas’ 19,487.
| Neighbourhood (police.uk) | Incidents, Sep 2025 to Aug 2026 | Aug 2026 | Top categories in Aug 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| York Inner | 7,292 | 830 | Anti-social behaviour 278, violence 200, shoplifting 137, public order 55 |
| York Outer (North) | 5,095 | 508 | Violence 127, anti-social behaviour 126, shoplifting 71, burglary 40 |
| York Outer (West) | 4,171 | 432 | Anti-social behaviour 137, violence 121, public order 32, criminal damage 26 |
| York Outer (East) | 2,929 | 251 | Violence 77, anti-social behaviour 48, shoplifting 37, criminal damage 15 |
Source: police.uk neighbourhood pages, September 2025 to August 2026. These are counts for areas of different sizes, not rates, and they include anti-social behaviour, so they use different boundaries and a different period from the CrimeRate city figure and should not be compared with it directly. The published priorities for York Inner are retail theft and commercial burglary (issued 4 August 2026), anti-social behaviour (7 October 2026) and cycle theft across York (7 October 2026), with Guildhall, Heslington and the University of York, and Clifton named as the focus areas for bike theft.
Two gaps on the police crime map matter for York. British Transport Police supplied no crime data to data.police.uk for any month from March 2025 to August 2026, so offences inside York railway station are missing from recent street-level counts. North Yorkshire Police data for July 2026 arrived late, as a refresh published with the August 2026 release (data.police.uk changelog, checked 25 October 2026).
Is York busier for crime in summer?
Yes. Across the four neighbourhood areas, recorded incidents were lowest in January 2026 (1,282) and highest in August 2026 (2,021), 58 per cent higher. June, July and August together held 5,718 incidents, 29.3 per cent of the year. York Inner went from 487 in January to 830 in August (+70 per cent), the sharpest swing of the four, with a smaller spike in October 2025 (733). The city fills with visitors in summer and around big events, so more incidents are recorded; that does not mean the risk to any one person rises in the same proportion.
Is York safe at night?
Police street-level data carries no time of day, so it cannot say how much crime happens after dark. What it does show is that anti-social behaviour, violence and public order offences lead in York Inner, where the bars and clubs are. On a night out, stay with your group on lit, busy streets, agree how you will get home before you go out, use licensed taxis, and keep phones and bags out of reach in crowds. If you cycle, use a good D-lock through the frame at a busy stand: bicycle theft is the crime York stands out for most. Check the streets around where you are staying in the postcode checker.
Is York a safe place to live?
For most residents, yes: burglary (435 offences, 4.0 per cent of recorded crime) and vehicle crime are at or below the North Yorkshire rate, and the outer neighbourhoods record far less than the centre. York Outer (East) recorded 2,929 incidents in a year against 7,292 in York Inner, and the suburbs CrimeRate lists separately, Haxby (27.37) and Huntington (43.30), are well under the city rate. Census 2021 counted 202,800 residents in the City of York, but CrimeRate’s York covers a smaller built-up area with a different population base, so we do not quote a rate per resident. Compare two 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 York?
- 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 Acomb or Heworth, 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 are not directly comparable; the city and town rates on this page all come from one source.
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York crime FAQ
What is the crime rate in York?
York recorded 78.92 crimes per 1,000 people in the 12 months to April 2026 (10,946 offences), against 68.99 for North Yorkshire, 85.27 for Yorkshire and The Humber and around 68 for England (CrimeRate). Anti-social behaviour, 3,746 reports, is not included.
Is York safe for tourists?
Most visits pass without incident, and York’s rate is lower than any large English city we compare. The crimes it records more of than the county are bicycle theft, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour in the centre, so lock bikes well, watch your belongings in crowds and plan your route back at night.
Is York safer than Leeds?
On the per-head figures, yes. York’s 78.92 per 1,000 is about a quarter below Leeds (107.10 in the same comparison), and Leeds records almost eight times as many crimes in total.
Is crime in York going down?
Yes. Recorded crime fell from 11,461 to 10,946 offences between the 12 months to April 2025 and the 12 months to April 2026, down 4.5 per cent, and is 7.1 per cent below the 2024 peak of 11,785.
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, and police.uk neighbourhood pages for local counts. See where our crime data comes from.
Other cities in the north: Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Newcastle and Blackpool. Another cycling city with high bike theft: is Cambridge safe? In an emergency call 999.