Crime in Manchester
Recorded crime in Manchester is 2.0 times the England and Wales average. The police force here stopped publishing data after June 2019. The biggest share of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences).
589,670 residents in 295 neighbourhoods. 3% live in busy town or city centres.
- Safety in the UK
- 1/10High crime (data up to 2019)
- Safety in the world
- 6/10Average crime
- Living
- 8.6/10Excellent
Crime in Manchester now
The police force here has published no street-level crime for Manchester since June 2019, so the scores on this page are from before then. These are the latest Home Office figures for the whole council area, April 2025 to March 2026.
133.8 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Manchester in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Greater Manchester Police did not assign 5.9% of the crimes it recorded in 2025/26 to a council area, so these figures are lower than the true count.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 1,118 | 1.9 | Down 4% |
| Cars broken into | 3,034 | 5.1 | Down 13% |
| Vehicle tampering | 368 | 0.62 | Down 16% |
| Vandalism to homes | 1,618 | 2.7 | Down 8% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 1,078 | 1.8 | Down 11% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 1,861 | 3.2 | Down 9% |
| Arson | 298 | 0.51 | Down 6% |
| Burglary of homes | 1,560 | 2.6 | Down 32% |
| Burglary of businesses | 865 | 1.5 | Down 16% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 7 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 734 | 1.2 | Down 6% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 556 | 0.94 | About the same |
| Robbery of people | 1,096 | 1.9 | Down 31% |
| Robbery of businesses | 381 | 0.65 | Up 72% |
| Violence with injury | 6,442 | 10.9 | Down 10% |
| Violence without injury | 13,770 | 23.4 | Down 5% |
| Stalking and harassment | 8,090 | 13.7 | Down 10% |
| Sexual offences | 2,740 | 4.6 | Down 4% |
| Shoplifting | 4,661 | 7.9 | Down 12% |
| Bicycle theft | 1,107 | 1.9 | About the same |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 2,277 | 3.9 | Down 36% |
| Drug dealing | 1,545 | 2.6 | Down 26% |
| Drug possession | 4,754 | 8.1 | Up 55% |
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. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
Greater Manchester Police area: 2,831 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (3,425 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Manchester.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Towns and cities in Manchester
Postcode districts in Manchester
Questions about crime in Manchester
- Is Manchester a safe place to live?
- Manchester scores 1 out of 10 for safety (high crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Police data here stops in June 2019.
- What is the most common crime in Manchester?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 45 per 1,000 residents a year. Police data here stops in June 2019.
- How many cars are stolen in Manchester?
- In Manchester, the police recorded 1,118 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.9 per 1,000 residents, down 4% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Manchester?
- 4,557 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Manchester in 2025/26, 7.7 per 1,000 residents, 1.6 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Manchester last year?
- 7 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in Manchester in 2025/26, against 10 the year before.