Crime in Basildon district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (7,607), anti-social behaviour (2,381) and criminal damage and arson (1,518) made up 60% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 104th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

Recorded crime in Basildon district peaked in the year to August 2021 (24,540 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2025 (18,673). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 16%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Basildon district recorded notably more drugs (38% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (67% below) and bicycle theft (35% below). On the year before, drugs rose from 643 to 872 and bicycle theft rose from 78 to 104, while vehicle crime fell from 1,651 to 1,093.

What each category covers: crime categories.

16,426 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Basildon district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 84.8 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 2% on the year ending March 2025 (16,794), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Basildon district had the 96th 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 Essex Police area in the year ending March 2026, 1.9% 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 Basildon district is a slight undercount.

Offences recorded in Basildon district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 2,999 offences (18% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for arson (2.9 times the national rate), vehicle offences (1.3 times the national rate) and trafficking of drugs (1.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.30 times), robbery of business property (0.46 times) and bicycle theft (0.61 times).

The largest rises on the year were in possession of drugs (+43%) and arson (+32%). The largest falls were in non-residential burglary (−33%) and vehicle offences (−27%). 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 Basildon 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. Basildon 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 Essex Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 14 districts in the Essex Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Basildon district had the 4th highest 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.

2 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Basildon district; the highest is Southend-on-Sea district (114.7 per 1,000) and the lowest Rochford district (51.3).

Of the 20 areas within Basildon district, St Martin's had the highest crime rate (173.9 per 1,000) and Noak Hill the lowest (30.1), 6 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 23% of the crime recorded in Basildon district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (1,033).

Of the 16,645 crimes in Basildon district with a recorded outcome, 34% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 5.9% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 2,381 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Basildon district has an estimated population of 193,632 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer students (5.3%, against 7.9%), less private renting (14%, against 20%) and fewer residents with Level 4 qualifications or above (25%, against 34%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Basildon district average decile 5.2 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.

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