Crime in Welwyn Garden City
Recorded crime in Welwyn Garden City is 1.1 times the Welwyn Hatfield average and about the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has risen 2%. 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 Welwyn Garden City: about 19,459 residents in 19 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 4/10Above average crime
- Living
- 8.0/10Good
- 5-year change
- +2%more crimes
- vs the council
- 1.1×the Welwyn Hatfield average
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Welwyn Garden City.
Crime over 5 years
Up 2% in 5 years Recorded crimes within 1.5 km of Welwyn Garden City, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 1.1× the Welwyn Hatfield average (about the England and Wales average). 94 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 62% of the harm here
- Burglary: 13% of the harm here
- Robbery: 7% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 62% 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: 34 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crimes recorded in Welwyn Hatfield (the whole council area)
April 2025 to March 2026, for the whole Welwyn Hatfield council area, not only Welwyn Garden City. 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 | 207 | 1.7 | Down 23% |
| Cars broken into | 300 | 2.4 | Up 18% |
| Vandalism (homes, other buildings and vehicles) | 470 | 3.8 | Down 8% |
| Burglary of homes | 225 | 1.8 | Down 2% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 1 | - | - |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare.
How often crimes lead to a charge in AL8
In AL8, the postcode district at the centre of Welwyn Garden City, 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) | 477 | 6% | 3% | 63% | 24% | 4% |
| Shoplifting | 381 | 23% | 3% | 13% | 57% | 4% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 91 | 3% | 4% | 19% | 71% | 2% |
| Public order | 91 | 4% | 4% | 46% | 38% | 7% |
| Other theft | 88 | 0% | 1% | 13% | 78% | 8% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 55 | 2% | 2% | 11% | 84% | 2% |
| Burglary | 51 | 4% | 0% | 20% | 75% | 2% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 4% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Welwyn Hatfield, 2023 to 2025: 154 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 33 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 11 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.3 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.
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 | 1.1 |
| Burglary | 4.4 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 32.6 |
| Drugs | 2.5 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 1.4 |
| Other crime | 1.7 |
| Other theft | 7.1 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 1.4 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 5.8 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 9.2 |
| Public order | 7.1 |
| Bicycle theft | 3.3 |
| Shoplifting | 16.8 |
Postcode districts in Welwyn Garden City
Nearby towns
Council: Welwyn Hatfield
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for Welwyn Garden City.
Questions about crime in Welwyn Garden City
- Is Welwyn Garden City a safe place to live?
- Welwyn Garden City scores 4 out of 10 for safety (above average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 1.1 times the Welwyn Hatfield average.
- Is crime going up or down in Welwyn Garden City?
- Up 2% over 5 years, from 1,834 recorded crimes a year to 1,878.
- What is the most common crime in Welwyn Garden City?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 33 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How does crime in Welwyn Garden City compare with Welwyn Hatfield?
- Crime severity in Welwyn Garden City is 1.1 times the Welwyn Hatfield average.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Welwyn Garden City?
- In AL8, the postcode district at the centre of Welwyn Garden City, 11% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 47% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Welwyn Garden City?
- Of 51 burglaries reported in AL8, the postcode district at the centre of Welwyn Garden City between September 2024 and August 2025, 4% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 75% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Welwyn Garden City?
- In Welwyn Hatfield, the council area Welwyn Garden City is in, the police recorded 207 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.7 per 1,000 residents, down 23% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Welwyn Garden City?
- 470 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in Welwyn Hatfield, the council area Welwyn Garden City is in, 3.8 per 1,000 residents, 0.8 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Welwyn Garden City last year?
- 1 homicide (murder or manslaughter) was recorded in 2025/26, in Welwyn Hatfield, the council area Welwyn Garden City is in, against 2 the year before. Police data does not say where in the area they happened.