Crime in Brighton and Hove district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (10,366), anti-social behaviour (7,402) and shoplifting (4,732) made up 63% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 38th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest quarter.

Recorded crime in Brighton and Hove district peaked in the year to August 2020 (36,688 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2023 (32,444). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 4%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Brighton and Hove district recorded notably more shoplifting (2.0 times the national rate), bicycle theft (75% above the national rate) and anti-social behaviour (70% above the national rate), and notably less vehicle crime (35% below) and burglary (23% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 374 to 476 and anti-social behaviour rose from 5,845 to 7,402, while burglary fell from 995 to 773 and vehicle crime fell from 1,088 to 919.

What each category covers: crime categories.

28,335 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Brighton and Hove district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 99.8 per 1,000 residents, higher than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 6% on the year ending March 2025 (30,233), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Brighton and Hove district had the 49th 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 Sussex Police area in the year ending March 2026, 1.8% 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 Brighton and Hove district is a slight undercount.

Offences recorded in Brighton and Hove district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was shoplifting, with 4,722 offences (17% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for shoplifting (2.0 times the national rate), robbery of business property (1.9 times the national rate) and bicycle theft (1.6 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for vehicle offences (0.59 times), stalking and harassment (0.71 times) and residential burglary (0.73 times).

The largest rises on the year were in possession of drugs (+15%) and arson (+13%). The largest falls were in bicycle theft (−38%) and vehicle offences (−35%). 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 Brighton and Hove 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. Brighton and Hove 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 Sussex Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 13 districts in the Sussex Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Brighton and Hove 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 Brighton and Hove district; the highest is Eastbourne district (140.4 per 1,000) and the lowest Wealden (54.6).

Of the 24 areas within Brighton and Hove district, Regency had the highest crime rate (631.1 per 1,000) and Rottingdean & West Saltdean the lowest (44.7), 14 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 24% of the crime recorded in Brighton and Hove district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (2,950).

Of the 28,117 crimes in Brighton and Hove district with a recorded outcome, 45% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 6.5% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 7,402 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Brighton and Hove district has an estimated population of 283,870 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more students (14.3%, against 7.9%), more private renting (33%, against 20%) and more households without a car (37%, against 23%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Brighton and Hove district average decile 5.6 (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.