Photo: N Scott · CC BY-SA 2.0Per resident, Peterborough records more crime than 95% of UK towns
The typical town its size sees 1.1 cases of possession of weapons per 1,000 residents; Peterborough sees 2.4, or 453 in the 12 months to August 2026. It grades D for safety on crimes police recorded inside the town’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Police counts work out at 54.2 violent and sexual offences and 21.1 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents annually.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Peterborough
One ward carries much of the rate
Central ward recorded 6,045 of Peterborough’s 30,976 violent and sexual offences in three years: 142.7 per 1,000 of its own residents a year. Across the rest of Peterborough the figure is 47. Where in Peterborough ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 37 UK towns and cities of 133,000 to 257,000 people, Peterborough has the 31st lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Blackpool, Middlesbrough and Westminster, higher than Kensington and Chelsea, Wolverhampton and Sunderland. Towns its size ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
36% of Peterborough’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 11% in the lowest-crime 30%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Peterborough’s grade
A firm grade. Built on 43,027 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Peterborough against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Peterborough runs highest on possession of weapons (2.4 per 1,000 against 1.1), other crime (4.2 per 1,000 against 2.1) and bicycle theft (1.6 per 1,000 against 0.9).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 9,863 | 51.7 | 38.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 4,339 | 22.8 | 17.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 2,170 | 11.4 | 10.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 1,981 | 10.4 | 7.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 1,590 | 8.3 | 7.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 1,292 | 6.8 | 6.6 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1,173 | 6.2 | 3.8 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 1,063 | 5.6 | 4.9 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 831 | 4.4 | 3.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 794 | 4.2 | 2.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 453 | 2.4 | 1.1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 303 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
| Robbery | Violent | 237 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 200 | 1 | 0.7 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more.
36% of Peterborough residents live in one of England’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
11% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 36% in the highest-crime 20%. The crime domain scores the risk of violence, burglary, theft and criminal damage where people live, so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
Peterborough’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) in the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (crime domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of England’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
Lowest recorded crime in Gunthorpe, Werrington and Stilton, Folksworth & Washingley; highest in Central
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gunthorpe | 9,402 | 26.4 | 9.7 | |
| Werrington | 9,630 | 29.3 | 11.1 | |
| Stilton, Folksworth & Washingley | 588 | 23.2 | 24.4 | |
| Hargate and Hempsted | 9,796 | 38.2 | 13.1 | |
| Fletton and Woodston | 11,047 | 37.7 | 15.9 | |
| Orton Waterville | 8,992 | 34.1 | 19.6 | |
| Stanground South | 10,661 | 42.1 | 14.6 | |
| Orton Longueville | 10,906 | 44.5 | 16.1 | |
| Fletton and Stanground | 10,987 | 43 | 17.6 | |
| Hampton Vale | 8,379 | 44.6 | 16.8 | |
| West | 5,644 | 42.9 | 19.4 | |
| Bretton | 10,478 | 49.2 | 17.7 | |
| Dogsthorpe | 11,086 | 48.8 | 19 | |
| Park | 11,501 | 47.8 | 22.8 | |
| North | 11,781 | 50.7 | 25.8 | |
| Paston and Walton | 11,089 | 56 | 21.7 | |
| Ravensthorpe | 12,416 | 76 | 23.7 | |
| East | 12,093 | 72.1 | 33.5 | |
| Central | 14,116 | 142.7 | 45.6 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Shopping areas | 4,652 | 42% shoplifting & theft |
| Supermarkets | 3,552 | 55% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 3,117 | 33% violent |
| Petrol stations | 1,952 | 48% shoplifting & theft |
| Prisons | 841 | 55% violent |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 714 | 44% violent |
| Hospitals | 320 | 45% violent |
| Bus and coach stations | 237 | 37% violent |
| College and university buildings | 200 | 55% violent |
| Parks and open spaces | 52 | 33% anti-social behaviour |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so Central records 3× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Peterborough. police.uk places each crime at an anonymous map point; some are named for the kind of place (a supermarket, a car park), and each row adds up every place of that kind in Peterborough. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Peterborough’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Towns its size: Peterborough comes 31st of 37
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond upon Thames London | 192,888 | 18.8 | 17.9 | 15.9 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 11 | Cambridge Cambridgeshire | 152,742 | 35.3 | 16.9 | 36.6 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 28 | Kensington and Chelsea London | 143,348 | 39.4 | 32 | 59.7 | D |
| 29 | Wolverhampton West Midlands | 234,029 | 50.6 | 21.7 | 20.1 | D |
| 30 | Sunderland Tyne and Wear | 168,323 | 47 | 25.9 | 22.6 | D |
| 31 | Peterborough Cambridgeshire | 190,592 | 54.2 | 21.1 | 21.6 | D |
| 32 | Huddersfield West Yorkshire | 141,683 | 57.1 | 18.5 | 18.2 | D |
| 33 | Camden London | 209,342 | 48.8 | 30.5 | 103.5 | D− |
| 34 | Southampton Hampshire | 249,633 | 58.3 | 22.2 | 25.5 | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 37 | Westminster London | 203,571 | 81.4 | 42.3 | 254.6 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Peterborough, and others in Cambridgeshire.
Crime in Peterborough per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 20 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 21 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Police in Peterborough identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 62% of Peterborough’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 15% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (66% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 7% of violent and 6% of household crimes reached court.
The latest outcome police.uk shows for each crime recorded in the first of the three years (September 2023 to August 2024), so most cases have closed. 14,252 crimes.
Violent crime held steady over the year
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling three-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year. In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent +2% (towns its size +2%), homes and vehicles -4% (towns its size -5%), shoplifting and theft -4% (towns its size -3%), anti-social behaviour -4% (towns its size -2%).
10 people died in collisions on Peterborough’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 1,218 collisions with injuries inside Peterborough in five years, in which 10 people died (4 were pedestrians). 276 people were killed or seriously injured: 77 on foot and 52 on a bicycle.
That is 1.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (1.1, 210 towns).
Counting serious injuries too, Peterborough had 29.0 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (30.3). 28% of them were on foot, against 31% across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Peterborough’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Peterborough
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peterborough | 190,592 | 54.2 | 21.1 | D |
| Farcet | 1,596 | 36.8 | 11.5 | C− |
| Eye | 5,419 | 27.7 | 9.8 | C+ |
| Castor and Ailsworth | 1,461 | 17.1 | 10.3 | B |
| Yaxley | 9,403 | 23.8 | 9.8 | B− |
| Newborough | 1,469 | 12.5 | 6.6 | A |
| Glinton | 1,743 | 31.9 | 8.4 | C |
| Helpston | 1,249 | 11.2 | 7.5 | A |
Peterborough records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Farcet, 3 miles away, records 36.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Peterborough’s 54.2.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A prison inside the boundary. police.uk counted 841 at or near a prison (55% violent) and 320 at or near a hospital over three years. They count in Peterborough’s rate, as they would for any town that has them.
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Peterborough sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Peterborough
Is Peterborough safe?
Police recorded 54.2 violent and sexual offences and 21.1 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Peterborough’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 5% of UK towns. Among 37 UK towns of 133,000 to 257,000 people, Peterborough is 31st from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Peterborough?
By council ward, Gunthorpe, Werrington and Stilton, Folksworth & Washingley record the least violent and household crime per resident: 26.4, 29.3 and 23.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 142.7 in Central.
Is crime going up in Peterborough?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage held steady, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour held steady. Across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Peterborough?
Violence & sexual offences: 9,863 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (2,170) and criminal damage & arson (1,981), with 4,339 reports of anti-social behaviour.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.