Crime in Bradford district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (30,401), anti-social behaviour (6,975) and criminal damage and arson (5,639) made up 59% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 34th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest quarter.

The year to August 2026 had the least recorded crime in Bradford district of any year here (72,631 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 15%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Bradford district recorded notably more other crime (2.0 times the national rate), drugs (87% above the national rate) and burglary (79% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (47% below) and bicycle theft (37% below). On the year before, drugs rose from 2,643 to 3,448 and vehicle crime rose from 3,788 to 4,509, while theft from the person fell from 591 to 502.

What each category covers: crime categories.

65,941 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Bradford district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 117.0 per 1,000 residents, higher than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 4% on the year ending March 2025 (68,704), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Bradford district had the 16th 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).

Offences recorded in Bradford district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 11,709 offences (18% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving (2.1 times the national rate), stalking and harassment (2.1 times the national rate) and residential burglary (2.0 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.53 times), bicycle theft (0.58 times) and robbery of business property (0.72 times).

The largest rises on the year were in death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving (+46%) and possession of drugs (+26%). The largest falls were in non-residential burglary (−27%) and robbery of personal property (−16%). 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 Bradford 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. Bradford 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 West Yorkshire Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 5 districts in the West Yorkshire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Bradford district had the 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.

1 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Bradford district; the highest is Burnley district (141.4 per 1,000) and the lowest Rossendale (87.2).

Of the 51 areas within Bradford district, City had the highest crime rate (386.4 per 1,000) and Addingham the lowest (24.0), 16 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 11% of the crime recorded in Bradford district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (2,174).

Of the 65,656 crimes in Bradford district with a recorded outcome, 35% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 5.6% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 6,975 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Bradford district has an estimated population of 563,605 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more residents with no qualifications (24%, against 18%) and more children (22%, against 18%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Bradford district average decile 3.5 (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.