Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0More crime per resident is recorded in Berkeley than in 77% of UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people
Its letter overall is C+: close to the middle of UK towns, from crimes police recorded inside its built-up area through September 2023 to August 2026. Out of every 1,000 residents, 25.8 violent and sexual offences and 10.7 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage are reported annually.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Berkeley
More crime than many places its size
Of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Berkeley has the 392nd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Long Itchington, Swavesey and Acle, higher than Clifton, Drybrook and Fowey. Towns its size ↓
Many neighbourhoods rank low for crime nationally
The government’s Indices of Deprivation 2025 rank every neighbourhood in England on recorded crime. 28% of Berkeley’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 0% in one of the highest-crime 20%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Berkeley’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 200 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Berkeley against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
392nd of 550: Berkeley among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 46 | Stratton Gloucestershire | 2,558 | 9.7 | 6 | 2.4 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 234 | Yorkley and Whitecroft Gloucestershire | 2,678 | 21.2 | 4.8 | 2.2 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 244 | Charfield Gloucestershire | 2,833 | 21 | 5.3 | 6.1 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 268 | Longford Gloucestershire | 2,536 | 21.7 | 6.2 | 14.5 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 389 | Clifton Bedfordshire | 2,769 | 20.2 | 16.1 | 4.2 | C+ |
| 390 | Drybrook Gloucestershire | 2,572 | 29 | 7.4 | 3.2 | C+ |
| 391 | Fowey Cornwall | 2,027 | 27.5 | 9 | 5.4 | C+ |
| 392 | Berkeley Gloucestershire | 2,250 | 25.8 | 10.7 | 5.5 | C+ |
| 393 | Weedon Bec Northamptonshire | 2,856 | 27.4 | 9.1 | 6.2 | C+ |
| 394 | Bardney Lincolnshire | 2,069 | 29 | 7.7 | 5.2 | C+ |
| 395 | Upton upon Severn Worcestershire | 2,403 | 25.7 | 11.1 | 26.4 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 550 | Avonmouth Bristol | 2,643 | 82.9 | 54.6 | 60.4 | 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 Berkeley, and others in Gloucestershire.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Berkeley runs highest on anti-social behaviour (6.7 per 1,000 against 5.3). Violence & sexual offences sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 28 | 12.4 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 15 | 6.7 | 5.3 |
| Other theft | not graded | 6 | 2.7 | 2.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 4 | 1.8 | 1.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 3 | 1.3 | 2.4 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 2 | 0.9 | 1.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.4 | 3.2 |
| Other crime | not graded | 1 | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
“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 1,000 to 2,500 people.
Crime in Berkeley 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 3 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 3 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
No one died in a collision on Berkeley’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 6 collisions with injuries inside Berkeley in five years. 1 person was killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Berkeley is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Berkeley’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Berkeley had 1.
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 Berkeley’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Berkeley
Berkeley records more graded crime per resident than 3 of its 7 neighbours. Cam, 3.8 miles away, records 25.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Berkeley’s 25.8.
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
- Some months are short. Gloucestershire Police published February 2026, March 2026, April 2026, May 2026, June 2026, July 2026 and August 2026 only in part or not at all. Those months are left out of the rates, which average the months that were published in full; the raw counts include what was published.
- 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 Berkeley 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 Berkeley
Is Berkeley safe?
Police recorded 25.8 violent and sexual offences and 10.7 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Berkeley’s built-up area). That earns a C+ for safety: less crime per resident than 42% of UK towns. Among 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Berkeley is 392nd from the least crime. 28% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
What is the most common crime in Berkeley?
Violence & sexual offences: 28 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came other theft (6) and vehicle crime (4), with 15 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.