Crime in Cotswold
Recorded crime in Cotswold is 0.6 times the England and Wales average. Over 4 years it has fallen 14%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
91,661 residents in 56 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 7/10Low crime
- Safety in the world
- 8/10Low crime
- Living
- 3.9/10Weak
- 4-year change
- −14%fewer crimes
Crime over 5 years
Down 14% in 4 years Recorded crimes in Cotswold, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 0.6× the England and Wales average. 43 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 54% of the harm here
- Burglary: 28% of the harm here
- Other theft: 6% of the harm here
Anti-social behaviour: 17 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 | 0.2 |
| Burglary | 5.3 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 15.6 |
| Drugs | 0.8 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.2 |
| Other crime | 1.0 |
| Other theft | 4.9 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.3 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 3.5 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 4.8 |
| Public order | 3.4 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.3 |
| Shoplifting | 2.3 |
What crimes are recorded in Cotswold
44.3 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Cotswold in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
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 | 54 | 0.59 | Down 37% |
| Cars broken into | 134 | 1.5 | Down 22% |
| Vehicle tampering | 32 | 0.35 | Down 14% |
| Vandalism to homes | 149 | 1.6 | Up 12% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 20 | 0.22 | Down 46% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 87 | 0.95 | Down 13% |
| Arson | 29 | 0.32 | Up 4% |
| Burglary of homes | 181 | 2.0 | Down 2% |
| Burglary of businesses | 70 | 0.76 | Down 26% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 0 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 10 | 0.11 | Down 17% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 21 | 0.23 | Up 5% |
| Robbery of people | 29 | 0.32 | Up 142% |
| Robbery of businesses | 3 | - | - |
| Violence with injury | 358 | 3.9 | Down 6% |
| Violence without injury | 581 | 6.3 | Down 3% |
| Stalking and harassment | 615 | 6.7 | Down 7% |
| Sexual offences | 218 | 2.4 | Up 35% |
| Shoplifting | 367 | 4.0 | Up 64% |
| Bicycle theft | 19 | 0.21 | Up 6% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 10 | 0.11 | Down 63% |
| Drug dealing | 25 | 0.27 | Up 47% |
| Drug possession | 42 | 0.46 | Down 40% |
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.
Gloucestershire Police area: 253 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (255 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Cotswold.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
How often crimes lead to a charge
In Cotswold, 4% 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) | 1,876 | 3% | 13% | 64% | 10% | 10% |
| Other theft | 411 | 0% | 1% | 17% | 73% | 8% |
| Public order | 367 | 8% | 10% | 47% | 27% | 9% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 340 | 2% | 6% | 17% | 71% | 4% |
| Burglary | 329 | 1% | 0% | 10% | 85% | 4% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 307 | 1% | 1% | 7% | 87% | 5% |
| Shoplifting | 217 | 12% | 6% | 6% | 73% | 4% |
| Other crime | 156 | 4% | 8% | 52% | 22% | 14% |
| Drugs | 89 | 12% | 54% | 13% | 3% | 17% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 9% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Cotswold, 2023 to 2025: 202 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 69 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 20 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
2.2 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 34% 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 Cotswold
Postcode districts in Cotswold
Questions about crime in Cotswold
- Is Cotswold a safe place to live?
- Cotswold scores 7 out of 10 for safety (low crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in Cotswold?
- Down 14% over 4 years, from 4,843 recorded crimes a year to 4,183.
- What is the most common crime in Cotswold?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 16 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Cotswold?
- In Cotswold, 4% 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 Cotswold?
- Of 329 burglaries reported in Cotswold between September 2024 and August 2025, 1% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 85% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Cotswold?
- In Cotswold, the police recorded 54 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 0.6 per 1,000 residents, down 37% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Cotswold?
- 256 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Cotswold in 2025/26, 2.8 per 1,000 residents, 0.6 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Cotswold last year?
- No homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in Cotswold in 2025/26, against 1 the year before.