Crime in Chelmsford
Recorded crime in Chelmsford is about the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 12%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
188,803 residents in 113 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 4/10Above average crime
- Safety in the world
- 7/10Low crime
- Living
- 7.0/10Good
- 5-year change
- −12%fewer crimes
Crime over 5 years
Down 12% in 5 years Recorded crimes in Chelmsford, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: about the England and Wales average. 77 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 65% of the harm here
- Burglary: 14% of the harm here
- Robbery: 4% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 65% of the harm here. It is a broad police category: most of these crimes are assaults without injury, harassment and threats, often indoors between people who know each other, and only a small part are sexual or serious violent offences. Police data does not say which, so each one is weighted at the England and Wales average for the category, which can overstate a quiet residential area.
Anti-social behaviour: 16 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 | 0.7 |
| Burglary | 4.4 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 32.7 |
| Drugs | 2.9 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.7 |
| Other crime | 2.0 |
| Other theft | 6.3 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.8 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 5.5 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 6.7 |
| Public order | 6.8 |
| Bicycle theft | 1.7 |
| Shoplifting | 6.1 |
What crimes are recorded in Chelmsford
70.7 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Chelmsford in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Our total for April 2025 to March 2026: 13,720. Home Office recorded crime: 13,341 (3% 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 | 259 | 1.4 | Down 48% |
| Cars broken into | 253 | 1.3 | Down 28% |
| Vehicle tampering | 92 | 0.49 | Down 10% |
| Vandalism to homes | 167 | 0.88 | Down 15% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 150 | 0.79 | Up 7% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 276 | 1.5 | Down 8% |
| Arson | 60 | 0.32 | Up 28% |
| Burglary of homes | 316 | 1.7 | Up 30% |
| Burglary of businesses | 116 | 0.61 | Down 20% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 0 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 49 | 0.26 | Down 23% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 77 | 0.41 | Down 15% |
| Robbery of people | 85 | 0.45 | Down 17% |
| Robbery of businesses | 35 | 0.19 | Up 218% |
| Violence with injury | 1,366 | 7.2 | Down 3% |
| Violence without injury | 2,492 | 13.2 | Down 3% |
| Stalking and harassment | 1,670 | 8.8 | Up 9% |
| Sexual offences | 620 | 3.3 | Down 6% |
| Shoplifting | 1,595 | 8.4 | Up 11% |
| Bicycle theft | 117 | 0.62 | Down 43% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 119 | 0.63 | Down 20% |
| Drug dealing | 269 | 1.4 | Up 39% |
| Drug possession | 520 | 2.8 | Up 21% |
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 Chelmsford.
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 Chelmsford, 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) | 6,311 | 9% | 8% | 65% | 14% | 4% |
| Shoplifting | 1,421 | 19% | 6% | 13% | 62% | 1% |
| Public order | 1,053 | 15% | 4% | 49% | 29% | 3% |
| Other theft | 1,003 | 1% | 2% | 28% | 65% | 4% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 953 | 8% | 5% | 32% | 53% | 2% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 767 | 10% | 0% | 10% | 78% | 3% |
| Drugs | 702 | 22% | 48% | 8% | 19% | 3% |
| Burglary | 456 | 5% | 1% | 15% | 77% | 2% |
| Other crime | 400 | 24% | 6% | 49% | 16% | 5% |
| Bicycle theft | 147 | 1% | 0% | 11% | 79% | 9% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 144 | 1% | 1% | 29% | 63% | 6% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 129 | 31% | 18% | 40% | 8% | 4% |
| Robbery | 104 | 8% | 1% | 39% | 47% | 5% |
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
Chelmsford, 2023 to 2025: 310 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 85 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 14 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.6 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 27% 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 Chelmsford
Postcode districts in Chelmsford
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for Chelmsford.
Questions about crime in Chelmsford
- Is Chelmsford a safe place to live?
- Chelmsford 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 Chelmsford?
- Down 12% over 5 years, from 16,135 recorded crimes a year to 14,185.
- What is the most common crime in Chelmsford?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 33 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Chelmsford?
- In Chelmsford, 11% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 34% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Chelmsford?
- Of 456 burglaries reported in Chelmsford between September 2024 and August 2025, 5% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 77% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Chelmsford?
- In Chelmsford, the police recorded 259 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.4 per 1,000 residents, down 48% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Chelmsford?
- 593 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Chelmsford in 2025/26, 3.1 per 1,000 residents, 0.6 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Chelmsford last year?
- No homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in Chelmsford in 2025/26, against 1 the year before.