Crime in Oldham
Recorded crime in Oldham is 1.4 times the England and Wales average. The police force here stopped publishing data after June 2019. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences).
251,560 residents in 142 neighbourhoods. 1% live in busy town or city centres.
- Safety in the UK
- 2/10High crime (data up to 2019)
- Safety in the world
- 6/10Average crime
- Living
- 7.7/10Good
Crime in Oldham now
The police force here has published no street-level crime for Oldham 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.
99.5 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Oldham 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 | 684 | 2.7 | Down 10% |
| Cars broken into | 607 | 2.4 | Down 12% |
| Vehicle tampering | 173 | 0.69 | Down 34% |
| Vandalism to homes | 815 | 3.2 | Down 4% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 317 | 1.3 | Up 6% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 597 | 2.4 | Down 19% |
| Arson | 148 | 0.59 | Up 3% |
| Burglary of homes | 544 | 2.2 | Down 21% |
| Burglary of businesses | 194 | 0.77 | Down 19% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 3 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 196 | 0.78 | Down 23% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 183 | 0.73 | Down 20% |
| Robbery of people | 246 | 0.98 | Down 11% |
| Robbery of businesses | 110 | 0.44 | Up 108% |
| Violence with injury | 2,372 | 9.4 | Down 6% |
| Violence without injury | 4,787 | 19.0 | About the same |
| Stalking and harassment | 3,877 | 15.4 | Down 6% |
| Sexual offences | 1,014 | 4.0 | Down 5% |
| Shoplifting | 1,237 | 4.9 | Down 27% |
| Bicycle theft | 90 | 0.36 | Down 23% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 95 | 0.38 | Down 36% |
| Drug dealing | 360 | 1.4 | Down 30% |
| Drug possession | 877 | 3.5 | Up 33% |
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 Oldham.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Towns and cities in Oldham
Postcode districts in Oldham
Questions about crime in Oldham
- Is Oldham a safe place to live?
- Oldham scores 2 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 Oldham?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 38 per 1,000 residents a year. Police data here stops in June 2019.
- How many cars are stolen in Oldham?
- In Oldham, the police recorded 684 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 2.7 per 1,000 residents, down 10% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Oldham?
- 1,729 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Oldham in 2025/26, 6.9 per 1,000 residents, 1.4 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Oldham last year?
- 3 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in Oldham in 2025/26, against 1 the year before.