Photo: Oliver Mills · CC BY-SA 2.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Coventry than in 93% of UK towns
At 2.1 per 1,000 residents, possession of weapons in Coventry runs well past the 1.1 of a typical town its size (740 recorded in the 12 months to August 2026). A Safety Grade of D follows from crimes police recorded inside the town’s built-up area over the years September 2023 to August 2026: #18 of 35 in West Midlands. For every 1,000 residents, 47.6 violent and sexual offences and 23.7 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage were logged a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Coventry
One ward carries much of the rate
St Michael's ward recorded 10,984 of Coventry’s 49,106 violent and sexual offences in three years: 126.5 per 1,000 of its own residents a year. Across the rest of Coventry the figure is 40.3. Where in Coventry ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 37 UK towns and cities of 241,000 to 465,000 people, Coventry has the 28th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Southampton, higher than Plymouth, Northampton and Tower Hamlets. Towns its size ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
26% of Coventry’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 17% 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 Coventry’s grade
A firm grade. Built on 73,596 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Coventry 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, Coventry runs highest on possession of weapons (2.1 per 1,000 against 1.1), bicycle theft (1.5 per 1,000 against 0.9) and vehicle crime (7.9 per 1,000 against 4.9). Public order and anti-social behaviour sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 14,747 | 42.8 | 38.6 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 3,603 | 10.5 | 10.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 2,834 | 8.2 | 7.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 2,711 | 7.9 | 4.9 |
| Other theft | not graded | 2,377 | 6.9 | 6.6 |
| Public order | not graded | 2,051 | 6 | 7.4 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 1,727 | 5 | 3.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 1,546 | 4.5 | 17.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1,082 | 3.1 | 3.8 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 740 | 2.1 | 1.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 704 | 2 | 1.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 659 | 1.9 | 2.1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 527 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 341 | 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.
Lowest recorded crime in Kenilworth Abbey & Arden, Wainbody and Earlsdon; highest in St Michael's
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenilworth Abbey & Arden | 2,848 | 5 | 9.1 | |
| Wainbody | 15,297 | 18.2 | 13 | |
| Earlsdon | 15,380 | 23.7 | 23.6 | |
| Holbrook | 19,492 | 32.1 | 16.3 | |
| Whoberley | 15,510 | 29 | 20.5 | |
| Bablake | 15,381 | 28.1 | 21.9 | |
| Sherbourne | 17,191 | 32.5 | 18.8 | |
| Woodlands | 17,548 | 35.7 | 16.5 | |
| Cheylesmore | 15,407 | 29.7 | 22.7 | |
| Wyken | 16,331 | 31.9 | 21.6 | |
| Lower Stoke | 23,907 | 35.9 | 19.2 | |
| Westwood | 20,575 | 39.8 | 18.9 | |
| Upper Stoke | 19,597 | 44.6 | 21.1 | |
| Radford | 20,188 | 48 | 25 | |
| Longford | 19,447 | 51.4 | 25.6 | |
| Binley and Willenhall | 17,776 | 53.2 | 28.8 | |
| Foleshill | 22,482 | 63.7 | 29.6 | |
| Henley | 20,980 | 70.3 | 29.8 | |
| St Michael's | 28,952 | 126.5 | 41.9 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 6,010 | 60% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 5,734 | 35% violent |
| Shopping areas | 4,801 | 52% shoplifting & theft |
| Petrol stations | 2,624 | 45% shoplifting & theft |
| Nightclubs | 1,095 | 45% violent |
| College and university buildings | 633 | 40% violent |
| Hospitals | 529 | 51% violent |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 467 | 45% violent |
| Bus and coach stations | 371 | 49% violent |
| Parks and open spaces | 253 | 35% violent |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so St Michael's records 3.1× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Coventry. 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 Coventry. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Coventry’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Crime in Coventry 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 21 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 20 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Set against 37 towns its size, Coventry is 28th
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harrow London | 260,534 | 23.3 | 15.4 | 16 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 25 | Plymouth Devon | 266,970 | 49.4 | 14.9 | 16.2 | D |
| 26 | Northampton Northamptonshire | 243,527 | 46.1 | 19.7 | 20.2 | D |
| 27 | Tower Hamlets London | 311,072 | 43.3 | 23 | 39.6 | D |
| 28 | Coventry West Midlands | 344,289 | 47.6 | 23.7 | 20.2 | D |
| 29 | Newcastle upon Tyne Tyne and Wear | 286,472 | 47.8 | 24.2 | 29.9 | D |
| 30 | Leicester Leicestershire | 406,612 | 49 | 23.2 | 22.1 | D |
| 31 | Derby Derbyshire | 275,561 | 57 | 17.8 | 20.5 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 37 | Bradford West Yorkshire | 333,968 | 72.2 | 28.3 | 19.3 | 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 Coventry, and others in West Midlands.
26% of Coventry residents live in one of England’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
17% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 26% 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.
Coventry’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.
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 -3% (towns its size -5%), shoplifting and theft +0% (towns its size -3%), anti-social behaviour -56% (towns its size -2%).
Police name a suspect about as often as across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 69% of Coventry’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 18% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (67% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 6% of violent and 4% 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. 26,728 crimes.
15 people died in collisions on Coventry’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 1,876 collisions with injuries inside Coventry in five years, in which 15 people died (4 were pedestrians). 423 people were killed or seriously injured: 150 on foot and 65 on a bicycle.
That is 0.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, below the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (1.1, 210 towns).
Counting serious injuries too, Coventry had 24.6 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, below the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (30.3). 35% 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 Coventry’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Coventry
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coventry | 344,289 | 47.6 | 23.7 | D |
| Ash Green | 2,562 | 21.1 | 12.9 | B− |
| Keresley Newlands | 3,631 | 36.4 | 36.8 | D |
| Hawkesbury | 2,288 | 40.2 | 18.4 | D |
| Binley Woods | 2,569 | 11.8 | 9.1 | A− |
| Bedworth | 31,083 | 38.8 | 18.1 | D |
| Ryton-on-Dunsmore | 1,829 | 16.2 | 9.7 | B+ |
| Burton Green | 1,556 | 13.3 | 13.7 | B |
Coventry records more graded crime per resident than 6 of its 7 neighbours; only Keresley Newlands records more. Ash Green, 3.2 miles away, records 21.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Coventry’s 47.6.
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 529 at or near a hospital over three years. They count in Coventry’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 Coventry 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 Coventry
Is Coventry safe?
Police recorded 47.6 violent and sexual offences and 23.7 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Coventry’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 7% of UK towns. Among 37 UK towns of 241,000 to 465,000 people, Coventry is 28th from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Coventry?
By council ward, Kenilworth Abbey & Arden, Wainbody and Earlsdon record the least violent and household crime per resident: 5, 18.2 and 23.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 126.5 in St Michael's.
Is crime going up in Coventry?
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 fell 56%. Across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, violent crime held steady.
Is Coventry city centre safe at night?
police.uk placed 1,095 crimes and reports at or near nightclubs in three years, 45% of them violent, and St Michael's ward records 126.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 of its residents a year. Over the last two years, violent crime peaked in July and was lowest in January.
What is the most common crime in Coventry?
Violence & sexual offences: 14,747 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (3,603) and criminal damage & arson (2,834), with 1,546 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.