Crime in Cambridge
Recorded crime in Cambridge is about the England and Wales average. It is about the same as 5 years ago. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
149,352 residents in 78 neighbourhoods. 2% live in busy town or city centres.
- Safety in the UK
- 4/10Above average crime
- Safety in the world
- 7/10Low crime
- Living
- 7.0/10Good
- 5-year change
- 0%about the same
Crime over 5 years
About the same as 5 years ago Recorded crimes in Cambridge, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: about the England and Wales average. 95 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: 8% of the harm here
Anti-social behaviour: 21 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 | 1.2 |
| Burglary | 4.9 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 28.3 |
| Drugs | 2.6 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 1.0 |
| Other crime | 1.6 |
| Other theft | 8.3 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 2.3 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 5.8 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 8.1 |
| Public order | 8.4 |
| Bicycle theft | 11.6 |
| Shoplifting | 10.8 |
What crimes are recorded in Cambridge
91.7 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Cambridge in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Our total for April 2025 to March 2026: 13,762. Home Office recorded crime: 13,689 (1% 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 | 251 | 1.7 | Up 11% |
| Cars broken into | 308 | 2.1 | Down 7% |
| Vehicle tampering | 75 | 0.50 | Down 12% |
| Vandalism to homes | 228 | 1.5 | Down 16% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 172 | 1.2 | Down 3% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 327 | 2.2 | Down 10% |
| Arson | 29 | 0.19 | Down 48% |
| Burglary of homes | 228 | 1.5 | Down 19% |
| Burglary of businesses | 173 | 1.2 | Down 24% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 3 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 111 | 0.74 | Up 32% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 102 | 0.68 | Up 10% |
| Robbery of people | 170 | 1.1 | Up 4% |
| Robbery of businesses | 12 | 0.08 | - |
| Violence with injury | 993 | 6.6 | Up 4% |
| Violence without injury | 2,124 | 14.2 | Down 2% |
| Stalking and harassment | 962 | 6.4 | Up 2% |
| Sexual offences | 447 | 3.0 | Up 7% |
| Shoplifting | 2,299 | 15.4 | Down 19% |
| Bicycle theft | 789 | 5.3 | Down 31% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 349 | 2.3 | Down 19% |
| Drug dealing | 428 | 2.9 | Up 449% |
| Drug possession | 274 | 1.8 | Up 17% |
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.
Cambridgeshire Police area: 609 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (606 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Cambridge.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Police and Crime Commissioner: Darryl Preston (Cambridgeshire) →
How often crimes lead to a charge
In Cambridge, 11% 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) | 4,486 | 7% | 6% | 62% | 21% | 5% |
| Shoplifting | 2,783 | 24% | 4% | 10% | 61% | 1% |
| Other theft | 1,135 | 3% | 1% | 19% | 76% | 2% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 1,114 | 5% | 3% | 27% | 62% | 3% |
| Public order | 1,056 | 19% | 3% | 42% | 32% | 5% |
| Bicycle theft | 975 | 4% | 0% | 5% | 90% | 1% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 635 | 9% | 0% | 8% | 81% | 2% |
| Burglary | 542 | 11% | 1% | 12% | 75% | 2% |
| Drugs | 369 | 27% | 28% | 18% | 17% | 10% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 369 | 1% | 1% | 11% | 85% | 2% |
| Other crime | 264 | 17% | 8% | 53% | 14% | 8% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 185 | 19% | 9% | 48% | 18% | 5% |
| Robbery | 168 | 7% | 1% | 48% | 40% | 4% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 3% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Cambridge, 2023 to 2025: 222 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 55 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. No one was killed in those 3 years.
1.5 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 25% 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 Cambridge
Postcode districts in Cambridge
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for Cambridge.
Questions about crime in Cambridge
- Is Cambridge a safe place to live?
- Cambridge scores 4 out of 10 for safety (above average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in Cambridge?
- About the same as 5 years ago: 14,100 recorded crimes a year then, 14,083 now.
- What is the most common crime in Cambridge?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 28 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Cambridge?
- In Cambridge, 11% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 48% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Cambridge?
- Of 542 burglaries reported in Cambridge between September 2024 and August 2025, 11% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 75% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Cambridge?
- In Cambridge, the police recorded 251 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.7 per 1,000 residents, up 11% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Cambridge?
- 727 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Cambridge in 2025/26, 4.9 per 1,000 residents, about the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Cambridge last year?
- 3 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in Cambridge in 2025/26, against 2 the year before.