Crime in Southend-on-Sea
Recorded crime in Southend-on-Sea is 1.3 times the Southend-on-Sea council average and 1.7 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 9%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
Within 3 km of the centre of Southend-on-Sea: about 96,554 residents in 67 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 1/10High crime
- Living
- 8.7/10Excellent
- 5-year change
- −9%fewer crimes
- vs the council
- 1.3×the Southend-on-Sea council average
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 3 km of the centre of Southend-on-Sea.
Crime over 5 years
Down 9% in 5 years Recorded crimes within 3 km of Southend-on-Sea, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 1.3× the Southend-on-Sea council average (1.7× 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: 10% of the harm here
- Robbery: 8% 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: 32 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crimes recorded in Southend-on-Sea (the whole council area)
April 2025 to March 2026, for the whole Southend-on-Sea council area, not only the city of Southend-on-Sea. 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 | 401 | 2.2 | Down 20% |
| Cars broken into | 431 | 2.3 | Up 3% |
| Vandalism (homes, other buildings and vehicles) | 844 | 4.6 | Down 8% |
| Burglary of homes | 355 | 1.9 | Up 12% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 0 | - | - |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare.
How often crimes lead to a charge in SS1
In SS1, the postcode district at the centre of Southend-on-Sea, 13% 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) | 2,331 | 11% | 8% | 62% | 16% | 3% |
| Shoplifting | 565 | 20% | 11% | 21% | 46% | 2% |
| Public order | 421 | 13% | 5% | 49% | 29% | 3% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 382 | 10% | 8% | 37% | 43% | 2% |
| Other theft | 375 | 2% | 3% | 28% | 63% | 4% |
| Drugs | 321 | 30% | 52% | 5% | 10% | 2% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 207 | 6% | 2% | 15% | 72% | 4% |
| Burglary | 126 | 10% | 0% | 23% | 64% | 2% |
| Robbery | 91 | 8% | 1% | 49% | 41% | 1% |
| Other crime | 85 | 25% | 14% | 45% | 9% | 7% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 79 | 52% | 13% | 25% | 6% | 4% |
| Bicycle theft | 77 | 0% | 1% | 14% | 83% | 1% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 69 | 4% | 1% | 26% | 64% | 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
Southend-on-Sea, 2023 to 2025: 275 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 74 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 7 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.5 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 27% 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 | 2.0 |
| Burglary | 5.8 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 59.9 |
| Drugs | 5.4 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 1.5 |
| Other crime | 2.6 |
| Other theft | 9.8 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 1.5 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 7.4 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 11.7 |
| Public order | 12.3 |
| Bicycle theft | 2.3 |
| Shoplifting | 9.8 |
Postcode districts in Southend-on-Sea
Nearby towns
Council: Southend-on-Sea
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for Southend-on-Sea.
Questions about crime in Southend-on-Sea
- Is Southend-on-Sea a safe place to live?
- Southend-on-Sea scores 1 out of 10 for safety (high crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 1.3 times the Southend-on-Sea council average.
- Is crime going up or down in Southend-on-Sea?
- Down 9% over 5 years, from 14,428 recorded crimes a year to 13,064.
- What is the most common crime in Southend-on-Sea?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 60 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How does crime in Southend-on-Sea compare with Southend-on-Sea council?
- Crime severity in Southend-on-Sea is 1.3 times the Southend-on-Sea council average.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Southend-on-Sea?
- In SS1, the postcode district at the centre of Southend-on-Sea, 13% 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 Southend-on-Sea?
- Of 126 burglaries reported in SS1, the postcode district at the centre of Southend-on-Sea between September 2024 and August 2025, 10% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 64% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Southend-on-Sea?
- In the Southend-on-Sea council area, the police recorded 401 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 2.2 per 1,000 residents, down 20% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Southend-on-Sea?
- 844 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in the Southend-on-Sea council area, 4.6 per 1,000 residents, about the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Southend-on-Sea last year?
- No homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in 2025/26, in the Southend-on-Sea council area, against 1 the year before.