Crime in Barnsley district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (9,707), anti-social behaviour (4,486) and criminal damage and arson (2,512) made up 62% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 80th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

The year to August 2026 had the least recorded crime in Barnsley district of any year here (27,081 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 12%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Barnsley district recorded notably more other crime (80% above the national rate), burglary (51% above the national rate) and criminal damage and arson (48% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (80% below) and bicycle theft (67% below). On the year before, possession of weapons fell from 309 to 242.

What each category covers: crime categories.

23,936 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Barnsley district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 95.1 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 5% on the year ending March 2025 (25,093), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Barnsley district had the 62nd highest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 302 districts with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).

Of the crimes recorded in the South Yorkshire Police area in the year ending March 2026, 1.2% were not assigned to a district. Those crimes are counted in the force and England and Wales totals but in no district, so the figure for Barnsley district is a slight undercount.

Offences recorded in Barnsley district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was stalking and harassment, with 3,452 offences (14% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for arson (2.0 times the national rate), miscellaneous crimes against society (2.0 times the national rate) and residential burglary (1.8 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.20 times), bicycle theft (0.33 times) and rape (0.74 times).

The largest rises on the year were in trafficking of drugs (+27%) and possession of drugs (+14%). The largest falls were in rape (−21%) and robbery of personal property (−20%). Robbery of business property and shoplifting are not compared with the year ending March 2025: from April 2025 the Home Office Counting Rules were clarified so that a theft from a shop in which violence is used or threatened against staff or anyone else is recorded as robbery of business property rather than shoplifting (ONS).

Recorded crime in Barnsley district since the year ending March 2013

The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2013 to 2026. Barnsley district's rate was above the England and Wales rate in every one of those 14 years. Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).

Districts in the South Yorkshire Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 4 districts in the South Yorkshire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Barnsley district had the 2nd lowest rate.

Source: Home Office police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables (released 23 July 2026), gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. Financial years, excluding fraud; how they differ from the street-level figures: methodology.

7 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Barnsley district; the highest is Doncaster district (131.8 per 1,000) and the lowest Kirklees (97.9).

Of the 48 areas within Barnsley district, Kingstone had the highest crime rate (276.1 per 1,000) and Oxspring the lowest (37.2), 7 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 16% of the crime recorded in Barnsley district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (859).

Of the 22,595 crimes in Barnsley district with a recorded outcome, 29% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 6.0% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 4,486 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Barnsley district has an estimated population of 251,770 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer students (4.8%, against 7.9%), more residents with no qualifications (25%, against 18%) and fewer residents with Level 4 qualifications or above (23%, against 34%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Barnsley district average decile 3.9 (1 = most deprived), more deprived than average.

Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.