Crime in South Kirkby
Recorded crime in South Kirkby is 1.2 times the Wakefield average and 1.6 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 19%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
Within 1.5 km of the centre of South Kirkby: about 11,456 residents in 10 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 2/10High crime
- Living
- 6.1/10Fair
- 5-year change
- −19%fewer crimes
- vs the council
- 1.2×the Wakefield average
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 1.5 km of the centre of South Kirkby.
Crime over 5 years
Down 19% in 5 years Recorded crimes within 1.5 km of South Kirkby, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 1.2× the Wakefield average (1.6× the England and Wales average). 132 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 67% of the harm here
- Burglary: 15% of the harm here
- Robbery: 4% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 67% of the harm here. It is a broad police category: most of these crimes are assaults without injury, harassment and threats, often indoors between people who know each other, and only a small part are sexual or serious violent offences. Police data does not say which, so each one is weighted at the England and Wales average for the category, which can overstate a quiet residential area.
Anti-social behaviour: 20 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crimes recorded in Wakefield (the whole council area)
April 2025 to March 2026, for the whole Wakefield council area, not only South Kirkby. 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 | 843 | 2.3 | About the same |
| Cars broken into | 1,034 | 2.8 | Down 5% |
| Vandalism (homes, other buildings and vehicles) | 2,125 | 5.8 | Down 9% |
| Burglary of homes | 851 | 2.3 | Down 2% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 8 | - | - |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare.
How often crimes lead to a charge in WF9
In WF9, the postcode district at the centre of South Kirkby, 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) | 2,367 | 5% | 5% | 70% | 15% | 4% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 485 | 7% | 3% | 34% | 54% | 3% |
| Shoplifting | 462 | 35% | 2% | 16% | 46% | 1% |
| Public order | 418 | 16% | 3% | 48% | 29% | 4% |
| Other theft | 299 | 5% | 3% | 31% | 57% | 4% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 240 | 3% | 1% | 10% | 81% | 5% |
| Burglary | 223 | 5% | 0% | 20% | 73% | 2% |
| Other crime | 167 | 7% | 3% | 50% | 22% | 19% |
| Drugs | 100 | 17% | 48% | 11% | 6% | 18% |
| Robbery | 52 | 15% | 0% | 48% | 37% | 0% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 5% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Wakefield, 2023 to 2025: 600 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 182 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 26 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.6 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 30% 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.
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 | 1.0 |
| Burglary | 7.8 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 54.7 |
| Drugs | 2.6 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.9 |
| Other crime | 3.9 |
| Other theft | 8.5 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.4 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 6.3 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 14.7 |
| Public order | 13.1 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.5 |
| Shoplifting | 17.6 |
Postcode districts in South Kirkby
Nearby towns
Council: Wakefield
Monthly report: Wakefield crime falls 8% over the year to August 2026
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for South Kirkby.
Questions about crime in South Kirkby
- Is South Kirkby a safe place to live?
- South Kirkby scores 2 out of 10 for safety (high crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 1.2 times the Wakefield average.
- Is crime going up or down in South Kirkby?
- Down 19% over 5 years, from 1,716 recorded crimes a year to 1,386.
- What is the most common crime in South Kirkby?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 55 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How does crime in South Kirkby compare with Wakefield?
- Crime severity in South Kirkby is 1.2 times the Wakefield average.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in South Kirkby?
- In WF9, the postcode district at the centre of South Kirkby, 9% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 32% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in South Kirkby?
- Of 223 burglaries reported in WF9, the postcode district at the centre of South Kirkby between September 2024 and August 2025, 5% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 73% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in South Kirkby?
- In Wakefield, the council area South Kirkby is in, the police recorded 843 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 2.3 per 1,000 residents, about the same as the year before.
- Is vandalism common in South Kirkby?
- 2,125 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in Wakefield, the council area South Kirkby is in, 5.8 per 1,000 residents, 1.2 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in South Kirkby last year?
- 8 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in 2025/26, in Wakefield, the council area South Kirkby is in, against 1 the year before. Police data does not say where in the area they happened.