Crime in Birmingham
Recorded crime in Birmingham is 1.6 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 14%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
1,183,618 residents in 659 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 2/10High crime
- Safety in the world
- 6/10Average crime
- Living
- 8.1/10Good
- 5-year change
- −14%fewer crimes
Crime over 5 years
Down 14% in 5 years Recorded crimes in Birmingham, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 1.6× the England and Wales average. 111 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 56% of the harm here
- Burglary: 15% of the harm here
- Robbery: 14% of the harm here
Anti-social behaviour: 13 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crime by type
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, most serious first, not counting anti-social behaviour.
| Type | Per 1,000 a year |
|---|---|
| Robbery | 3.5 |
| Burglary | 7.9 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 46.2 |
| Drugs | 2.8 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 2.0 |
| Other crime | 1.9 |
| Other theft | 8.5 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 1.6 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 11.5 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 9.3 |
| Public order | 8.3 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.9 |
| Shoplifting | 7.0 |
What crimes are recorded in Birmingham
114.1 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Birmingham in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Our total for April 2025 to March 2026: 137,151. Home Office recorded crime: 135,086 (2% apart).
Crimes recorded by the police, April 2025 to March 2026. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 5,667 | 4.8 | Up 6% |
| Cars broken into | 5,014 | 4.2 | Down 10% |
| Vehicle tampering | 1,356 | 1.1 | Down 4% |
| Vandalism to homes | 2,882 | 2.4 | Down 3% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 1,107 | 0.94 | Up 14% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 3,968 | 3.4 | Up 5% |
| Arson | 558 | 0.47 | Up 17% |
| Burglary of homes | 4,409 | 3.7 | Down 7% |
| Burglary of businesses | 1,636 | 1.4 | Down 20% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 20 | 0.02 | Up 82% |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 1,991 | 1.7 | Up 7% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 1,367 | 1.2 | Up 20% |
| Robbery of people | 2,620 | 2.2 | Down 15% |
| Robbery of businesses | 1,102 | 0.93 | Up 129% |
| Violence with injury | 13,642 | 11.5 | Down 7% |
| Violence without injury | 25,783 | 21.8 | Up 2% |
| Stalking and harassment | 15,136 | 12.8 | Up 4% |
| Sexual offences | 5,729 | 4.8 | Up 5% |
| Shoplifting | 12,227 | 10.3 | Down 3% |
| Bicycle theft | 684 | 0.58 | Down 9% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 1,476 | 1.2 | Up 8% |
| Drug dealing | 810 | 0.68 | Up 11% |
| Drug possession | 3,824 | 3.2 | Up 12% |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare. These are council-area figures: police.uk street-level data, used for the map and the Safety score, only has the broad categories, and no source publishes murders or stabbings by street.
West Midlands Police area: 3,790 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (4,444 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Birmingham.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Police and Crime Commissioner: Simon Foster (West Midlands) →
How often crimes lead to a charge
In Birmingham, 8% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%).
- Charged or summonsed
- Caution or other action
- Suspect found, not prosecuted
- No suspect identified
- Still open
Show as a table
| Type | Crimes | Charged or summonsed | Caution or other action | Suspect found, not prosecuted | No suspect identified | Still open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 61,091 | 7% | 5% | 73% | 12% | 2% |
| Shoplifting | 13,331 | 15% | 4% | 34% | 46% | 0% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 12,004 | 3% | 0% | 14% | 82% | 1% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 10,609 | 5% | 3% | 43% | 47% | 1% |
| Other theft | 9,037 | 1% | 2% | 39% | 57% | 2% |
| Public order | 8,141 | 11% | 3% | 60% | 24% | 2% |
| Burglary | 7,123 | 9% | 1% | 20% | 70% | 1% |
| Drugs | 4,721 | 16% | 52% | 22% | 5% | 4% |
| Robbery | 3,587 | 11% | 1% | 36% | 50% | 1% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 3,295 | 26% | 5% | 46% | 20% | 3% |
| Other crime | 2,785 | 17% | 4% | 62% | 14% | 3% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 1,477 | 3% | 1% | 34% | 59% | 3% |
| Bicycle theft | 783 | 2% | 1% | 30% | 67% | 1% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 2% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Birmingham, 2023 to 2025: 2,268 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 453 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 65 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.9 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 20% of them killed or seriously injured someone (Great Britain 26%).
Collisions on public roads that the police recorded where someone was hurt, counted where they happened, so busy through roads and town centres with few residents come out high. Serious and slight use the Department for Transport's adjusted severity, comparable between police forces. Source: Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Towns and cities in Birmingham
Postcode districts in Birmingham
Monthly report: Birmingham crime figures for August 2026
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for Birmingham.
Questions about crime in Birmingham
- Is Birmingham a safe place to live?
- Birmingham scores 2 out of 10 for safety (high crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in Birmingham?
- Down 14% over 5 years, from 164,872 recorded crimes a year to 141,062.
- What is the most common crime in Birmingham?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 46 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Birmingham?
- In Birmingham, 8% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 33% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Birmingham?
- Of 7,123 burglaries reported in Birmingham between September 2024 and August 2025, 9% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 70% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Birmingham?
- In Birmingham, the police recorded 5,667 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 4.8 per 1,000 residents, up 6% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Birmingham?
- 7,957 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Birmingham in 2025/26, 6.7 per 1,000 residents, 1.4 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Birmingham last year?
- 20 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in Birmingham in 2025/26, against 11 the year before.