Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0Leeds sees more crime per resident than almost any other UK town
Violent crime was down 6% in a year. Graded on crimes police recorded inside Leeds’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026, it scores D− for safety: #87 of 91 in West Yorkshire. Police recorded 909 cases of theft from the person locally in the 12 months to August 2026, a rate of 1.7 per 1,000 against a typical 0.7. Each year brought 65.4 violent and sexual offences and 29.8 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage for every 1,000 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Leeds
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 6% less violent crime per resident in Leeds than in the year before; across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage held steady (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
56% of Leeds’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 8% 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.
The grade: D− for Leeds
A firm grade. Built on 153,041 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Leeds against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
56% of Leeds residents live in one of England’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
8% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 56% 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.
Leeds’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.
How Leeds compares with UK towns of 300,000 to 905,000
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barnet London | 388,572 | 25.3 | 21 | 18.8 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 18 | Leicester Leicestershire | 406,612 | 49 | 23.2 | 22.1 | D |
| 19 | Liverpool Merseyside | 506,564 | 54 | 20.2 | 20.9 | D |
| 20 | Bristol Bristol | 425,196 | 55.3 | 25.9 | 26.9 | D− |
| 21 | Leeds West Yorkshire | 536,262 | 65.4 | 29.8 | 30.6 | D− |
| 22 | 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 Leeds, and others in West Yorkshire.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Leeds runs highest on theft from the person (1.7 per 1,000 against 0.7), burglary (8.4 per 1,000 against 3.4) and robbery (3.3 per 1,000 against 1.4). Anti-social behaviour sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 31,081 | 58 | 38.6 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 8,236 | 15.4 | 10.3 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 6,819 | 12.7 | 17.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 6,121 | 11.4 | 7.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 5,720 | 10.7 | 6.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 5,675 | 10.6 | 7.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 4,567 | 8.5 | 4.9 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 4,486 | 8.4 | 3.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 3,156 | 5.9 | 3.8 |
| Other crime | not graded | 2,405 | 4.5 | 2.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1,746 | 3.3 | 1.4 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 909 | 1.7 | 0.7 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 896 | 1.7 | 1.1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 842 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
“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.
Crime in Leeds 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 27 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 29 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 Adel & Wharfedale, Moortown and Alwoodley; highest in Little London & Woodhouse
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adel & Wharfedale | 14,601 | 21.9 | 13.5 | |
| Moortown | 23,782 | 28.7 | 13.6 | |
| Alwoodley | 23,514 | 30.4 | 13.2 | |
| Ardsley & Robin Hood | 1,906 | 34.6 | 12.2 | |
| Horsforth | 19,262 | 28.5 | 19.6 | |
| Roundhay | 23,813 | 30.2 | 21.5 | |
| Headingley & Hyde Park | 31,176 | 30.6 | 24.9 | |
| Weetwood | 21,881 | 40 | 24.8 | |
| Calverley & Farsley | 2,383 | 47.4 | 22.9 | |
| Temple Newsam | 22,486 | 46.8 | 24.8 | |
| Chapel Allerton | 24,956 | 51.9 | 20.8 | |
| Kirkstall | 22,246 | 48.5 | 27.3 | |
| Cross Gates & Whinmoor | 24,850 | 53.3 | 23.8 | |
| Bramley & Stanningley | 24,021 | 64.3 | 26.5 | |
| Farnley & Wortley | 24,374 | 68 | 26.6 | |
| Pudsey | 4,892 | 72.8 | 24.3 | |
| Middleton Park | 29,608 | 74.7 | 26.3 | |
| Beeston & Holbeck | 26,152 | 71.8 | 36.4 | |
| Burmantofts & Richmond Hill | 28,524 | 84.1 | 30.8 | |
| Killingbeck & Seacroft | 26,306 | 84.6 | 35.1 | |
| Gipton & Harehills | 30,881 | 87.1 | 37.3 | |
| Armley | 26,719 | 93.8 | 39.9 | |
| Hunslet & Riverside | 26,466 | 129.7 | 58.8 | |
| Little London & Woodhouse | 31,073 | 137.7 | 57.7 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 8,103 | 59% shoplifting & theft |
| Shopping areas | 7,448 | 54% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 6,590 | 35% shoplifting & theft |
| Petrol stations | 3,880 | 49% shoplifting & theft |
| Nightclubs | 3,210 | 41% violent |
| Police stations | 2,188 | 57% drugs, public order & other |
| Hospitals | 2,127 | 48% violent |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 1,345 | 42% violent |
| College and university buildings | 864 | 40% violent |
| Bus and coach stations | 610 | 36% anti-social behaviour |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so Little London & Woodhouse records 2.3× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Leeds. 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 Leeds. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Leeds’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Police in Leeds identify a suspect less often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 74% of Leeds’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 22% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (58% 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. 53,277 crimes.
How crime in Leeds has moved
“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 -6% (towns its size +2%), homes and vehicles -5% (towns its size -5%), shoplifting and theft -3% (towns its size -3%), anti-social behaviour +8% (towns its size -2%).
42 people died in collisions on Leeds’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 4,921 collisions with injuries inside Leeds in five years, in which 42 people died (28 were pedestrians and 3 were cyclists). 1,521 people were killed or seriously injured: 439 on foot and 270 on a bicycle.
That is 1.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (1.1, 210 towns).
Counting serious injuries too, Leeds had 56.7 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (30.3). 29% 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 Leeds’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Leeds
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds | 536,262 | 65.4 | 29.8 | D− |
| Shadwell | 1,452 | 14 | 9 | A− |
| Morley | 32,562 | 46.9 | 20.3 | D |
| Gildersome | 6,278 | 29.4 | 16.7 | C |
| Pudsey | 34,853 | 34.8 | 20.3 | C− |
| Rothwell | 20,964 | 35.4 | 17.9 | C− |
| Scholes (Leeds) | 2,270 | 13.5 | 9 | A− |
| Bramhope | 3,593 | 18.2 | 9.4 | B |
Leeds records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Shadwell, 4.2 miles away, records 14 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Leeds’s 65.4.
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 477 at or near a prison (71% violent) and 2,127 at or near a hospital over three years. They count in Leeds’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 Leeds 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 Leeds
Is Leeds safe?
Police recorded 65.4 violent and sexual offences and 29.8 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Leeds’s built-up area). That earns a D− for safety: behind almost every UK town. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, Leeds has less crime per resident than 4%.
What are the safest areas of Leeds?
By council ward, Adel & Wharfedale, Moortown and Alwoodley record the least violent and household crime per resident: 21.9, 28.7 and 30.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 137.7 in Little London & Woodhouse.
Is crime going up in Leeds?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 6%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage held steady, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour rose 8%. Across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, violent crime held steady.
Is Leeds city centre safe at night?
police.uk placed 3,210 crimes and reports at or near nightclubs in three years, 41% of them violent, and Little London & Woodhouse ward records 137.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 of its residents a year. Over the last two years, violent crime peaked in June and was lowest in February.
What is the most common crime in Leeds?
Violence & sexual offences: 31,081 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (8,236) and public order (6,121), with 6,819 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.