Crime in Sandwell
Recorded crime in Sandwell is 1.3 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 15%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
353,860 residents in 190 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 2/10High crime
- Safety in the world
- 7/10Low crime
- Living
- 8.2/10Good
- 5-year change
- −15%fewer crimes
Crime over 5 years
Down 15% in 5 years Recorded crimes in Sandwell, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 1.3× the England and Wales average. 94 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 59% of the harm here
- Burglary: 15% of the harm here
- Robbery: 11% of the harm here
Anti-social behaviour: 11 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 | 2.3 |
| Burglary | 6.4 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 39.8 |
| Drugs | 2.3 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 1.4 |
| Other crime | 1.9 |
| Other theft | 6.7 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.7 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 10.2 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 8.3 |
| Public order | 7.0 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.5 |
| Shoplifting | 6.4 |
What crimes are recorded in Sandwell
95.9 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Sandwell in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Our total for April 2025 to March 2026: 34,269. Home Office recorded crime: 33,921 (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 | 1,619 | 4.6 | Up 3% |
| Cars broken into | 1,181 | 3.3 | Up 11% |
| Vehicle tampering | 391 | 1.1 | Down 13% |
| Vandalism to homes | 711 | 2.0 | Down 10% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 252 | 0.71 | Up 4% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 1,078 | 3.0 | About the same |
| Arson | 141 | 0.40 | About the same |
| Burglary of homes | 781 | 2.2 | Down 11% |
| Burglary of businesses | 366 | 1.0 | Down 31% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 5 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 439 | 1.2 | Up 10% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 328 | 0.93 | Up 33% |
| Robbery of people | 492 | 1.4 | Down 32% |
| Robbery of businesses | 228 | 0.64 | Up 74% |
| Violence with injury | 3,546 | 10.0 | Down 6% |
| Violence without injury | 6,589 | 18.6 | Up 2% |
| Stalking and harassment | 4,261 | 12.0 | Down 2% |
| Sexual offences | 1,169 | 3.3 | Up 2% |
| Shoplifting | 3,326 | 9.4 | Up 23% |
| Bicycle theft | 119 | 0.34 | Up 8% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 182 | 0.51 | Down 23% |
| Drug dealing | 174 | 0.49 | About the same |
| Drug possession | 1,084 | 3.1 | Up 57% |
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 Sandwell.
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 Sandwell, 9% 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) | 15,461 | 7% | 8% | 73% | 11% | 2% |
| Shoplifting | 3,148 | 27% | 5% | 20% | 48% | 0% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 3,056 | 3% | 0% | 18% | 78% | 1% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 2,815 | 6% | 6% | 43% | 45% | 1% |
| Other theft | 2,151 | 3% | 3% | 37% | 56% | 2% |
| Public order | 2,056 | 13% | 6% | 59% | 20% | 2% |
| Burglary | 1,343 | 6% | 1% | 21% | 71% | 1% |
| Drugs | 1,071 | 20% | 56% | 17% | 4% | 3% |
| Robbery | 838 | 14% | 2% | 26% | 57% | 2% |
| Other crime | 802 | 17% | 9% | 57% | 15% | 2% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 728 | 28% | 8% | 43% | 20% | 2% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 242 | 2% | 1% | 36% | 58% | 3% |
| Bicycle theft | 104 | 2% | 2% | 18% | 76% | 2% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 1% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Sandwell, 2023 to 2025: 595 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 129 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 17 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.7 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 22% 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 Sandwell
Postcode districts in Sandwell
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for Sandwell.
Questions about crime in Sandwell
- Is Sandwell a safe place to live?
- Sandwell 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 Sandwell?
- Down 15% over 5 years, from 41,295 recorded crimes a year to 34,990.
- What is the most common crime in Sandwell?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 40 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Sandwell?
- In Sandwell, 9% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 31% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Sandwell?
- Of 1,343 burglaries reported in Sandwell between September 2024 and August 2025, 6% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 71% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Sandwell?
- In Sandwell, the police recorded 1,619 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 4.6 per 1,000 residents, up 3% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Sandwell?
- 2,041 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Sandwell in 2025/26, 5.8 per 1,000 residents, 1.2 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Sandwell last year?
- 5 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in Sandwell in 2025/26, against 5 the year before.