Crime in Middleton
Recorded crime in Middleton is 0.9 times the Rochdale average and 1.2 times the England and Wales average. The police force here stopped publishing data after June 2019. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences).
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Middleton: about 29,310 residents in 29 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 3/10Above average crime (data up to 2019)
- Living
- 8.0/10Good
- vs the council
- 0.9×the Rochdale average
Crime in Rochdale now
The police force here has published no street-level crime for Middleton since June 2019, so the map and scores below are from before then. These are the latest Home Office figures for the whole council area, April 2025 to March 2026.
98.5 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Rochdale in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Greater Manchester Police did not assign 5.9% of the crimes it recorded in 2025/26 to a council area, so these figures are lower than the true count.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 499 | 2.1 | Down 17% |
| Cars broken into | 604 | 2.6 | Down 23% |
| Vehicle tampering | 187 | 0.79 | Down 7% |
| Vandalism to homes | 657 | 2.8 | Down 12% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 303 | 1.3 | Down 6% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 620 | 2.6 | Down 9% |
| Arson | 126 | 0.53 | Up 3% |
| Burglary of homes | 567 | 2.4 | Down 24% |
| Burglary of businesses | 269 | 1.1 | Down 13% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 2 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 175 | 0.74 | Down 3% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 168 | 0.71 | Up 11% |
| Robbery of people | 153 | 0.65 | Down 25% |
| Robbery of businesses | 106 | 0.45 | Up 96% |
| Violence with injury | 2,069 | 8.8 | Down 6% |
| Violence without injury | 3,959 | 16.8 | Down 4% |
| Stalking and harassment | 3,726 | 15.8 | Down 8% |
| Sexual offences | 886 | 3.8 | Down 9% |
| Shoplifting | 1,258 | 5.3 | Down 31% |
| Bicycle theft | 89 | 0.38 | Up 9% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 93 | 0.39 | Down 24% |
| Drug dealing | 628 | 2.7 | Up 21% |
| Drug possession | 765 | 3.2 | Up 59% |
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. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
Greater Manchester Police area: 2,831 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (3,425 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Rochdale.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Middleton.
Postcode districts in Middleton
Nearby towns
Council: Rochdale
Questions about crime in Middleton
- Is Middleton a safe place to live?
- Middleton scores 3 out of 10 for safety (above average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 0.9 times the Rochdale average. Police data here stops in June 2019.
- What is the most common crime in Middleton?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 34 per 1,000 residents a year. Police data here stops in June 2019.
- How does crime in Middleton compare with Rochdale?
- Crime severity in Middleton is 0.9 times the Rochdale average. Police data here stops in June 2019.
- How many cars are stolen in Middleton?
- In Rochdale, the council area Middleton is in, the police recorded 499 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 2.1 per 1,000 residents, down 17% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Middleton?
- 1,580 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in Rochdale, the council area Middleton is in, 6.7 per 1,000 residents, 1.4 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Middleton last year?
- 2 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in 2025/26, in Rochdale, the council area Middleton is in, against 2 the year before. Police data does not say where in the area they happened.