Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0Ilkeston sees more crime per resident than 94% of UK towns
Violent crime was up 6% in a year. Add to that, its Safety Grade is D, on crimes police recorded inside Ilkeston’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026: #55 of 59 in Derbyshire. Public order: police recorded 421 in the town in the 12 months to August 2026, 10.9 per 1,000 residents against 5.4 in a typical town its size. The local count comes to 55.0 violent and sexual offences and 17.2 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 people each year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Ilkeston
One ward carries much of the rate
Awsworth Road ward recorded 1,849 of Ilkeston’s 6,387 violent and sexual offences in three years: 119.8 per 1,000 of its own residents a year. Across the rest of Ilkeston the figure is 45. Where in Ilkeston ↓
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 6% more violent crime per resident in Ilkeston than in the year before; across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage fell 6% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 180 UK towns of 27,000 to 52,000 people, Ilkeston has the 155th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Redcar, Colwyn Bay and Bridlington, higher than Brierley Hill, Cwmbrân and Tipton. Towns its size ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
38% of Ilkeston’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 10% 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.
Ilkeston: D for safety, and why
A firm grade. Built on 8,386 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Ilkeston against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
38% of Ilkeston residents live in one of England’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
10% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 38% 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.
Ilkeston’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.
Ilkeston is 155th of 180 UK towns of 27,000 to 52,000
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heswall Merseyside | 29,082 | 14.3 | 5.5 | 3.8 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 88 | Long Eaton Derbyshire | 37,815 | 37.6 | 12.1 | 20.3 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 112 | Swadlincote Derbyshire | 34,569 | 40.6 | 12.7 | 14.7 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 152 | Brierley Hill West Midlands | 32,311 | 47.5 | 22.6 | 29.3 | D |
| 153 | Cwmbrân Gwent | 47,075 | 50.5 | 19.9 | 21.4 | D |
| 154 | Tipton West Midlands | 47,202 | 49.1 | 21.6 | 12 | D |
| 155 | Ilkeston Derbyshire | 38,723 | 55 | 17.2 | 17.6 | D |
| 156 | Oldbury West Midlands | 45,188 | 49.6 | 22.7 | 17.9 | D |
| 157 | Blyth Northumberland | 39,731 | 49.3 | 23.2 | 28.1 | D |
| 158 | Willenhall West Midlands | 49,582 | 44.1 | 28.8 | 21.6 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 180 | Great Yarmouth Norfolk | 28,979 | 105 | 32.9 | 33.7 | 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 Ilkeston, and others in Derbyshire.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Ilkeston runs highest on public order (10.9 per 1,000 against 5.4), robbery (1 per 1,000 against 0.5) and possession of weapons (1.3 per 1,000 against 0.7).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 2,055 | 53.1 | 30.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 612 | 15.8 | 12.4 |
| Public order | not graded | 421 | 10.9 | 5.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 344 | 8.9 | 6.1 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 308 | 8 | 6.2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 216 | 5.6 | 4.4 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 147 | 3.8 | 2.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 138 | 3.6 | 2.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 131 | 3.4 | 1.9 |
| Other crime | not graded | 80 | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 49 | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| Robbery | Violent | 39 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 24 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 9 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
“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 of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Crime in Ilkeston 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 15 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 15 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Lowest recorded crime in Shipley View, Hallam Fields and Kirk Hallam & Stanton-by-Dale; highest in Awsworth Road
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shipley View | 4,797 | 10.4 | 4.7 | |
| Hallam Fields | 5,054 | 26.5 | 9.8 | |
| Kirk Hallam & Stanton-by-Dale | 5,963 | 37.8 | 11.9 | |
| Cotmanhay | 5,080 | 53.1 | 18 | |
| Little Hallam | 4,046 | 63.8 | 22.2 | |
| Larklands | 8,637 | 66.4 | 20.7 | |
| Awsworth Road | 5,146 | 119.8 | 31.1 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 956 | 69% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 455 | 38% violent |
| Shopping areas | 366 | 54% shoplifting & theft |
| Petrol stations | 266 | 47% shoplifting & theft |
| Police stations | 70 | 60% violent |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 55 | 42% anti-social behaviour |
| Hospitals | 54 | 33% anti-social behaviour |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so Awsworth Road records 2.7× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Ilkeston. 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 Ilkeston. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Ilkeston’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Police in Ilkeston identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 62% of Ilkeston’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 14% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (64% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 8% of violent and 5% 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. 3,006 crimes.
How crime in Ilkeston has moved
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling six-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent +6% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -6% (towns its size -2%), shoplifting and theft -6% (towns its size +1%), anti-social behaviour -14% (towns its size -4%).
Two people died in collisions on Ilkeston’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 237 collisions with injuries inside Ilkeston in five years, in which two people died. 42 people were killed or seriously injured: 9 on foot and 6 on a bicycle.
That is about what is typical for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: at their median rate (0.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Ilkeston’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Ilkeston’s own rate (1.0) is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, Ilkeston had 22.0 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people (23.8). 21% of them were on foot, against 30% across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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 Ilkeston’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Ilkeston
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilkeston | 38,723 | 55 | 17.2 | D |
| Awsworth | 2,444 | 22.1 | 14.9 | C+ |
| West Hallam | 5,912 | 14.9 | 5.8 | A− |
| Trowell | 2,165 | 13.6 | 7.2 | A− |
| Eastwood | 18,890 | 29.8 | 14.9 | C |
| Kimberley | 4,467 | 25.8 | 13.7 | C+ |
| Heanor | 24,264 | 45.3 | 16 | D |
| Stapleford | 15,041 | 37.2 | 13.9 | C− |
Ilkeston records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Awsworth, 1.6 miles away, records 22.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Ilkeston’s 55.
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
- Big public sites inside the boundary. police.uk counted 54 at or near a hospital over three years. They count in Ilkeston’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 Ilkeston 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 Ilkeston
Is Ilkeston safe?
Police recorded 55 violent and sexual offences and 17.2 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Ilkeston’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 6% of UK towns. Among 180 UK towns of 27,000 to 52,000 people, Ilkeston is 155th from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Ilkeston?
By council ward, Shipley View, Hallam Fields and Kirk Hallam & Stanton-by-Dale record the least violent and household crime per resident: 10.4, 26.5 and 37.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 119.8 in Awsworth Road.
Is crime going up in Ilkeston?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 6%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 6%, shoplifting and theft fell 6% and anti-social behaviour fell 14%. Across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Ilkeston?
Violence & sexual offences: 2,055 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (421) and shoplifting (344), with 612 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Ilkeston compare with Nottingham?
Nottingham records 53.3 violent and sexual offences and 23.3 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Ilkeston’s 55 and 17.2, over the same three years.
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.