Crime in Bedford
Recorded crime in Bedford is 0.9 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has risen 9%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
194,976 residents in 117 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 4/10Above average crime
- Safety in the world
- 7/10Low crime
- Living
- 6.2/10Fair
- 5-year change
- +9%more crimes
Crime over 5 years
Up 9% in 5 years Recorded crimes in Bedford, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 0.9× the England and Wales average. 73 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 59% of the harm here
- Burglary: 17% of the harm here
- Robbery: 7% of the harm here
Anti-social behaviour: 20 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crime by type
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, most serious first, not counting anti-social behaviour.
| Type | Per 1,000 a year |
|---|---|
| Robbery | 0.9 |
| Burglary | 4.9 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 27.0 |
| Drugs | 2.5 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.7 |
| Other crime | 1.6 |
| Other theft | 6.1 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.7 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 7.0 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 7.0 |
| Public order | 6.4 |
| Bicycle theft | 2.1 |
| Shoplifting | 6.5 |
What crimes are recorded in Bedford
76.7 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Bedford in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Our total for April 2025 to March 2026: 15,046. Home Office recorded crime: 14,948 (1% apart).
Crimes recorded by the police, April 2025 to March 2026. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 317 | 1.6 | Down 12% |
| Cars broken into | 510 | 2.6 | Down 16% |
| Vehicle tampering | 278 | 1.4 | Up 9% |
| Vandalism to homes | 273 | 1.4 | Down 11% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 158 | 0.81 | Down 15% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 423 | 2.2 | Up 11% |
| Arson | 54 | 0.28 | Down 21% |
| Burglary of homes | 225 | 1.2 | Down 20% |
| Burglary of businesses | 263 | 1.3 | Down 37% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 0 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 83 | 0.43 | Up 46% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 95 | 0.49 | Up 23% |
| Robbery of people | 140 | 0.72 | Up 16% |
| Robbery of businesses | 65 | 0.33 | Up 400% |
| Violence with injury | 1,460 | 7.5 | Up 6% |
| Violence without injury | 2,744 | 14.1 | Up 11% |
| Stalking and harassment | 1,458 | 7.5 | Up 4% |
| Sexual offences | 640 | 3.3 | Up 11% |
| Shoplifting | 1,585 | 8.1 | Down 25% |
| Bicycle theft | 257 | 1.3 | Down 3% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 104 | 0.53 | About the same |
| Drug dealing | 309 | 1.6 | Up 169% |
| Drug possession | 376 | 1.9 | Up 5% |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare. These are council-area figures: police.uk street-level data, used for the map and the Safety score, only has the broad categories, and no source publishes murders or stabbings by street.
Bedfordshire Police area: 588 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (590 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Bedford.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Police and Crime Commissioner: John Tizard (Bedfordshire) →
How often crimes lead to a charge
In Bedford, 10% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%).
- Charged or summonsed
- Caution or other action
- Suspect found, not prosecuted
- No suspect identified
- Still open
Show as a table
| Type | Crimes | Charged or summonsed | Caution or other action | Suspect found, not prosecuted | No suspect identified | Still open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 6,071 | 8% | 6% | 71% | 11% | 4% |
| Shoplifting | 1,849 | 21% | 1% | 10% | 67% | 0% |
| Public order | 1,270 | 9% | 3% | 56% | 30% | 3% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 1,243 | 5% | 3% | 36% | 55% | 2% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 1,176 | 3% | 0% | 10% | 84% | 2% |
| Other theft | 1,051 | 1% | 0% | 25% | 70% | 3% |
| Burglary | 662 | 9% | 1% | 16% | 74% | 1% |
| Drugs | 605 | 30% | 27% | 24% | 11% | 8% |
| Other crime | 482 | 14% | 11% | 56% | 13% | 6% |
| Bicycle theft | 272 | 2% | 0% | 10% | 85% | 2% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 176 | 33% | 5% | 47% | 7% | 9% |
| Robbery | 158 | 9% | 0% | 51% | 39% | 1% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 101 | 3% | 1% | 36% | 56% | 4% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 3% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Bedford, 2023 to 2025: 306 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 65 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 11 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.6 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 21% of them killed or seriously injured someone (Great Britain 26%).
Collisions on public roads that the police recorded where someone was hurt, counted where they happened, so busy through roads and town centres with few residents come out high. Serious and slight use the Department for Transport's adjusted severity, comparable between police forces. Source: Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Towns and cities in Bedford
Postcode districts in Bedford
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for Bedford.
Questions about crime in Bedford
- Is Bedford a safe place to live?
- Bedford scores 4 out of 10 for safety (above average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in Bedford?
- Up 9% over 5 years, from 14,367 recorded crimes a year to 15,720.
- What is the most common crime in Bedford?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 27 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Bedford?
- In Bedford, 10% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 38% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Bedford?
- Of 662 burglaries reported in Bedford between September 2024 and August 2025, 9% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 74% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Bedford?
- In Bedford, the police recorded 317 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.6 per 1,000 residents, down 12% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Bedford?
- 854 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Bedford in 2025/26, 4.4 per 1,000 residents, 0.9 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Bedford last year?
- No homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in Bedford in 2025/26, against 3 the year before.