Choosing where to study
Crime rates in university cities and towns
Student safety is important. Here are the rates for crimes most likely to affect students in the areas they live during university term time.
Sophie Rogers
10 Oct 2023
CONTENTS
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Crime statistics: England, Wales and Northern Ireland 2022
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How we compile the crime table
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Notes
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Police.uk glossary of terms
Crime statistics: England, Wales and Northern Ireland 2022
Incidents per 1,000 residents
| Institution | Robbery | Burglary | Violent or sexual crime | Bike theft | Theft from the person | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth | 0.1 | 1.8 | 33.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 35.5 |
| Anglia Ruskin | 1.9 | 5.2 | 50.3 | 16.9 | 2.2 | 76.6 |
| Arts University Bournemouth | 1.9 | 8.2 | 55.5 | 6.7 | 1.6 | 73.9 |
| Aston | 17.3 | 11.2 | 135.2 | 5.0 | 11.5 | 180.3 |
| Bangor | 0.2 | 3.8 | 48.5 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 54.5 |
| Bath | 1.1 | 3.6 | 22.4 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 29.5 |
| Bath Spa | 1.2 | 4.0 | 27.2 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 34.8 |
| Bedfordshire | 2.2 | 8.4 | 53.0 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 69.3 |
| Birmingham | 2.9 | 11.7 | 43.5 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 62.7 |
| Birmingham City | 13.5 | 10.9 | 111.8 | 4.3 | 8.9 | 149.4 |
| Bishop Grosseteste | 1.4 | 5.9 | 50.4 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 61.2 |
| Bournemouth | 1.4 | 6.2 | 47.5 | 4.0 | 1.1 | 60.2 |
| Bradford | 4.0 | 11.6 | 111.6 | 1.2 | 4.7 | 133.0 |
| Brighton | 1.7 | 4.0 | 41.4 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 51.6 |
| Bristol | 4.2 | 7.8 | 42.2 | 14.0 | 2.2 | 70.4 |
| Brunel University London | 2.2 | 6.7 | 37.2 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 49.0 |
| Buckingham | 0.7 | 2.8 | 33.7 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 40.0 |
| Buckinghamshire New | 1.5 | 4.0 | 43.4 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 52.5 |
| Cambridge | 1.2 | 3.8 | 30.0 | 32.2 | 2.0 | 69.3 |
| Canterbury Christ Church | 2.9 | 8.3 | 82.7 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 98.4 |
| Cardiff | 0.9 | 5.6 | 29.5 | 4.7 | 1.1 | 41.9 |
| Cardiff Metropolitan | 0.9 | 5.7 | 28.5 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 40.5 |
| Central Lancashire | 1.7 | 11.7 | 67.2 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 84.9 |
| Chester | 1.0 | 4.0 | 50.6 | 3.5 | 0.7 | 59.8 |
| Chichester | 1.0 | 4.5 | 41.2 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 51.4 |
| City | 5.3 | 11.7 | 32.6 | 10.9 | 14.2 | 74.7 |
| Coventry | 5.4 | 9.6 | 70.2 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 94.7 |
| Cumbria | 0.8 | 6.1 | 49.4 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 58.4 |
| De Montfort | 4.1 | 11.3 | 88.5 | 9.5 | 3.2 | 116.6 |
| Derby | 3.5 | 16.5 | 92.2 | 7.8 | 3.5 | 123.5 |
| Durham | 0.5 | 3.5 | 37.0 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 45.6 |
| East Anglia (UEA) | 0.7 | 3.4 | 47.4 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 54.5 |
| East London | 3.2 | 8.2 | 36.0 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 54.5 |
| Edge Hill | 0.5 | 3.1 | 23.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 28.1 |
| Essex | 1.5 | 5.5 | 66.1 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 76.0 |
| Exeter | 0.7 | 2.3 | 34.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 39.6 |
| Falmouth | 0.1 | 1.0 | 21.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 22.9 |
| Gloucestershire | 1.6 | 5.4 | 43.9 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 54.8 |
| Goldsmiths, University of London | 4.1 | 10.0 | 33.6 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 56.1 |
| Greenwich | 3.4 | 8.0 | 45.6 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 63.4 |
| Harper Adams | 0.1 | 2.1 | 14.9 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 17.6 |
| Hartpury | 1.9 | 5.5 | 49.7 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 60.7 |
| Hertfordshire | 1.4 | 4.9 | 39.5 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 50.6 |
| Huddersfield | 2.5 | 6.4 | 71.7 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 83.8 |
| Hull | 1.2 | 9.1 | 48.4 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 61.9 |
| Imperial College London | 3.1 | 8.6 | 27.4 | 5.3 | 3.7 | 48.1 |
| Keele | 1.2 | 3.9 | 37.9 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 45.5 |
| Kent | 1.9 | 5.9 | 58.8 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 69.9 |
| King's College London | 7.4 | 11.3 | 39.2 | 11.2 | 17.9 | 87.0 |
| Kingston | 1.9 | 5.4 | 26.1 | 5.1 | 3.2 | 41.6 |
| Lancaster | 0.5 | 8.2 | 29.3 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 40.2 |
| Leeds | 3.4 | 9.5 | 53.2 | 5.5 | 3.2 | 74.8 |
| Leeds Arts University | 3.6 | 10.8 | 57.3 | 6.3 | 4.2 | 82.2 |
| Leeds Beckett | 2.8 | 9.7 | 51.1 | 5.1 | 2.9 | 71.7 |
| Leeds Trinity | 0.9 | 7.6 | 33.9 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 44.5 |
| Leicester | 2.4 | 8.1 | 58.6 | 4.6 | 1.8 | 75.5 |
| Lincoln | 2.1 | 7.9 | 62.4 | 7.4 | 0.7 | 80.5 |
| Liverpool | 2.7 | 11.1 | 60.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 83.3 |
| Liverpool Hope | 1.7 | 7.9 | 44.1 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 58.7 |
| Liverpool John Moores | 4.6 | 14.2 | 89.9 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 123.7 |
| London Metropolitan | 3.7 | 7.5 | 36.2 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 56.6 |
| London School of Economics | 10.6 | 13.7 | 44.4 | 16.3 | 30.9 | 115.9 |
| London South Bank | 5.9 | 10.5 | 36.8 | 11.1 | 12.9 | 77.3 |
| Loughborough | 0.9 | 6.3 | 33.4 | 5.5 | 0.6 | 46.7 |
| Middlesex | 2.8 | 7.9 | 32.0 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 47.9 |
| Newcastle | 1.6 | 7.8 | 44.7 | 9.1 | 2.8 | 66.0 |
| Newman | 2.6 | 8.8 | 52.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 64.9 |
| Northampton | 4.1 | 9.4 | 93.5 | 5.2 | 2.1 | 114.3 |
| Northumbria | 1.5 | 7.8 | 50.2 | 9.0 | 2.9 | 71.3 |
| Norwich University of the Arts | 1.9 | 6.9 | 74.3 | 7.3 | 3.2 | 93.6 |
| Nottingham | 1.1 | 7.5 | 32.5 | 4.0 | 1.6 | 46.8 |
| Nottingham Trent | 2.6 | 8.8 | 54.0 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 73.2 |
| Oxford | 0.9 | 4.3 | 31.3 | 19.5 | 4.1 | 60.1 |
| Oxford Brookes | 0.6 | 5.0 | 29.2 | 6.0 | 1.1 | 41.8 |
| Plymouth | 1.6 | 6.3 | 62.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 71.9 |
| Plymouth Marjon | 0.6 | 2.8 | 40.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 44.6 |
| Portsmouth | 2.5 | 7.1 | 66.5 | 5.5 | 1.3 | 82.9 |
| Queen Mary, University of London | 4.4 | 9.6 | 37.2 | 8.7 | 6.9 | 66.8 |
| Queen's, Belfast | 2.2 | 11.7 | 65.8 | 4.3 | 2.1 | 86.2 |
| Ravensbourne | 4.1 | 10.8 | 37.4 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 62.1 |
| Reading | 1.0 | 5.5 | 32.3 | 4.4 | 1.3 | 44.6 |
| Roehampton | 1.8 | 8.3 | 32.5 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 47.4 |
| Royal Agricultural University | 0.3 | 5.0 | 17.5 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 24.0 |
| Royal Holloway, University of London | 0.6 | 3.8 | 23.9 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 30.5 |
| Sheffield | 1.5 | 10.1 | 25.3 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 40.4 |
| Sheffield Hallam | 2.8 | 11.4 | 40.8 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 60.2 |
| SOAS, University of London | 6.5 | 10.2 | 36.4 | 10.1 | 18.6 | 81.9 |
| Solent | 3.0 | 15.6 | 75.4 | 10.9 | 2.3 | 107.3 |
| South Wales | 1.3 | 7.2 | 44.3 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 59.0 |
| Southampton | 1.6 | 10.2 | 48.8 | 4.3 | 1.0 | 65.9 |
| St George's, University of London | 2.6 | 5.8 | 28.2 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 44.1 |
| St Mary's, Twickenham | 1.4 | 5.7 | 21.8 | 4.5 | 1.1 | 34.7 |
| Staffordshire | 1.7 | 6.3 | 58.9 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 70.9 |
| Suffolk | 1.4 | 3.8 | 50.5 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 59.0 |
| Sunderland | 2.1 | 9.9 | 60.7 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 78.6 |
| Surrey | 0.6 | 3.4 | 36.2 | 3.7 | 0.9 | 44.8 |
| Sussex | 1.5 | 3.6 | 39.4 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 48.7 |
| Swansea | 0.8 | 5.5 | 36.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 46.5 |
| Teesside | 4.0 | 19.5 | 92.2 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 121.8 |
| Trinity Saint David | 0.7 | 4.3 | 48.4 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 56.0 |
| Ulster | 1.4 | 6.7 | 51.2 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 62.6 |
| University College London | 6.5 | 10.9 | 35.9 | 10.4 | 19.9 | 83.7 |
| University for the Creative Arts | 1.3 | 5.1 | 47.4 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 56.9 |
| University of the Arts, London | 4.6 | 9.2 | 33.8 | 6.6 | 7.7 | 61.8 |
| Warwick | 1.1 | 4.2 | 33.9 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 41.5 |
| West London | 2.2 | 6.9 | 29.1 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 42.5 |
| West of England, Bristol | 2.7 | 6.6 | 41.9 | 6.5 | 1.4 | 59.1 |
| Westminster | 4.5 | 8.2 | 35.7 | 4.9 | 7.7 | 61.0 |
| Winchester | 0.4 | 4.5 | 32.5 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 39.4 |
| Wolverhampton | 5.2 | 8.7 | 83.7 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 105.4 |
| Worcester | 0.7 | 4.0 | 39.7 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 48.5 |
| Wrexham Glyndwr | 0.9 | 5.9 | 58.2 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 67.4 |
| York | 0.6 | 3.5 | 29.3 | 4.8 | 0.4 | 38.6 |
| York St John | 1.3 | 4.0 | 40.5 | 6.8 | 0.6 | 53.2 |
How we compile the crime table
Following professional advice, the data presented is of the crimes most relevant to students: robbery, burglary, and violent and sexual crimes. The universities are rated on the combined rate of all three crimes occurring in the past 12 months in areas where students live during term time.
The official data for crime specifically against students isn’t available – these figures are based on all the victims in the vicinity, not just students.
This data aims to help students with their university decision process when their prospective universities can’t provide the relevant information.
The Complete University Guide has carried out work around crime reporting.
Notes
- These data are supplied by UKCrimeStats.com based on official police crime statistics
- The figures in the table are the weighted average crime rates per thousand population for the postcode sectors where students at the HE Provider are living (only postcode sectors where students in rented or provider-maintained accommodation are included)
- The crimes included are those most relevant to students
- Comparable data are not available for Scotland
- Bolton, Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan, Royal Northern School of Music and Salford have been omitted from the table as accurate data has not been supplied by Greater Manchester Police.
Police.uk glossary of terms
- Burglary includes offences where a person enters a house or other building with the intention of stealing
- Robbery includes offences where a person uses force or threat of force to steal
- Violent and sexual crime includes offences against a person such as common assault, grievous bodily harm (GBH) and sexual offences
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