Crime in Brentwood
Recorded crime in Brentwood is 0.8 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 10%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
79,326 residents in 48 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 5/10Average crime
- Safety in the world
- 7/10Low crime
- Living
- 6.4/10Fair
- 5-year change
- −10%fewer crimes
Crime over 5 years
Down 10% in 5 years Recorded crimes in Brentwood, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 0.8× the England and Wales average. 70 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 55% of the harm here
- Burglary: 20% of the harm here
- Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into): 6% of the harm here
Anti-social behaviour: 15 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 | 0.6 |
| Burglary | 5.5 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 23.9 |
| Drugs | 2.3 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.5 |
| Other crime | 1.4 |
| Other theft | 6.8 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.7 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 10.6 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 6.0 |
| Public order | 5.6 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.7 |
| Shoplifting | 5.5 |
What crimes are recorded in Brentwood
63.9 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Brentwood in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Our total for April 2025 to March 2026: 5,299. Home Office recorded crime: 5,070 (5% 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 | 292 | 3.7 | Down 5% |
| Cars broken into | 218 | 2.7 | Down 38% |
| Vehicle tampering | 77 | 0.97 | Up 45% |
| Vandalism to homes | 67 | 0.84 | Down 14% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 26 | 0.33 | Down 24% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 131 | 1.7 | Down 6% |
| Arson | 29 | 0.37 | Down 6% |
| Burglary of homes | 111 | 1.4 | Down 5% |
| Burglary of businesses | 74 | 0.93 | Down 50% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 1 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 22 | 0.28 | Down 12% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 34 | 0.43 | Up 79% |
| Robbery of people | 28 | 0.35 | Down 24% |
| Robbery of businesses | 12 | 0.15 | - |
| Violence with injury | 380 | 4.8 | Up 6% |
| Violence without injury | 785 | 9.9 | Up 17% |
| Stalking and harassment | 509 | 6.4 | Up 13% |
| Sexual offences | 140 | 1.8 | Down 9% |
| Shoplifting | 746 | 9.4 | Down 7% |
| Bicycle theft | 15 | 0.19 | Down 44% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 31 | 0.39 | Down 31% |
| Drug dealing | 138 | 1.7 | Up 73% |
| Drug possession | 212 | 2.7 | Up 39% |
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.
Essex Police area: 1,373 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (1,500 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Brentwood.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner: Roger Hirst (Essex) →
How often crimes lead to a charge
In Brentwood, 11% 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) | 1,729 | 8% | 10% | 59% | 18% | 5% |
| Shoplifting | 771 | 29% | 6% | 9% | 55% | 1% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 675 | 2% | 1% | 7% | 83% | 7% |
| Other theft | 407 | 6% | 2% | 20% | 65% | 7% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 390 | 3% | 7% | 24% | 62% | 4% |
| Public order | 361 | 9% | 6% | 49% | 31% | 6% |
| Drugs | 315 | 13% | 52% | 6% | 26% | 3% |
| Burglary | 270 | 10% | 0% | 8% | 76% | 6% |
| Other crime | 118 | 23% | 11% | 39% | 18% | 9% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 60 | 43% | 18% | 23% | 10% | 5% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 5% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Brentwood, 2023 to 2025: 127 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 32 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 5 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.6 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 25% 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 Brentwood
Postcode districts in Brentwood
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for Brentwood.
Questions about crime in Brentwood
- Is Brentwood a safe place to live?
- Brentwood scores 5 out of 10 for safety (average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in Brentwood?
- Down 10% over 5 years, from 5,818 recorded crimes a year to 5,258.
- What is the most common crime in Brentwood?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 24 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Brentwood?
- In Brentwood, 11% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 44% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Brentwood?
- Of 270 burglaries reported in Brentwood between September 2024 and August 2025, 10% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 76% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Brentwood?
- In Brentwood, the police recorded 292 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 3.7 per 1,000 residents, down 5% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Brentwood?
- 224 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Brentwood in 2025/26, 2.8 per 1,000 residents, 0.6 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Brentwood last year?
- 1 homicide (murder or manslaughter) was recorded in Brentwood in 2025/26, against 2 the year before.