Photo: Bennett-ne · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer crimes per resident are recorded in Bedford than in 75% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported by Bedford’s police in 2023–2025, it grades A− for safety: #74 of 296 graded towns in Ohio. It has less violent crime than 70% of U.S. towns, and less property crime than 73%. Year on year, 0.9 violent crime and 6.1 incidents of property crime occur per 1,000 residents, compared with 3.7 and 19.6 in the rest of Ohio.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of OH” is every other Ohio city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Bedford
Bedford reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 4 Ohio towns on Bedford’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Bedford Heights (C+). Walton Hills reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Oakwood has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Maple Heights reported to the FBI for 2023 but not 2024 or 2025. Neighbors ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Bedford’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are lower than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the stronger of the two.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Bedford | Rest of Ohio | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.0 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.6 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Bedford’s police reported 36 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.9 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the rest of Ohio and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Bedford per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Bedford property | Rest of Ohio property | Bedford violent | Rest of Ohio violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 6.7 | 21.1 | 1.0 | 3.7 |
| 2024 | 5.4 | 19.8 | 0.6 | 3.9 |
| 2025 | 6.3 | 17.9 | 1.2 | 3.5 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2023–2025, against the rest of Ohio.
96 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
15 violent and 81 property, as reported to the FBI by Bedford’s police.
Four people died in crashes on Bedford’s roads in 2019–2023
Bedford had 4 fatal crashes in five years, in which four people died; 1 was a pedestrian. 1 died in crash on an Interstate.
That is about what is typical for Ohio towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (6.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Bedford’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Bedford’s own rate (6.2) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Bedford and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | A− | 0.9 | 6.1 |
| Walton Hills | — | — | — |
| Oakwood | — | — | — |
| Bedford Heights | C+ | 1.2 | 19.0 |
| Maple Heights | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Walton Hills reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Oakwood has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Maple Heights reported to the FBI for 2023 but not 2024 or 2025.
Ohio towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | A− | 0.9 | 6.1 |
| Hubbard Township | A− | 0.9 | 6.1 |
| Shawnee Township | B+ | 1.0 | 6.8 |
| Wickliffe | B+ | 0.9 | 8.5 |
| Dover | B+ | 1.6 | 5.7 |
| Fostoria | B | 1.7 | 8.2 |
The five graded Ohio towns closest to Bedford’s population (12,723), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Bedford. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Bedford’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (12,757 in 2025); our figure for Bedford is 12,723 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Bedford
Is Bedford, OH safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Bedford reports less crime per resident than 75% of U.S. towns, an A− Safety Grade and #74 of 296 in Ohio. Its police reported 0.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the rest of Ohio and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Bedford?
0.9 violent and 6.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Ohio reports 3.7 and 19.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Bedford safer than Bedford Heights?
Bedford Heights reports more crime per resident than Bedford: Bedford Heights grades C+ for safety and Bedford A−. Bedford Heights’s police reported 1.2 violent and 19.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Bedford?
Bedford’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Bedford”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Bedford.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.