Crime in Colchester district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (8,126), anti-social behaviour (2,100) and shoplifting (1,726) made up 63% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 114th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

Recorded crime in Colchester district peaked in the year to August 2019 (23,451 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2024 (17,441). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 11%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Colchester district recorded notably more bicycle theft (35% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (66% below) and anti-social behaviour (32% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 137 to 203 and anti-social behaviour rose from 1,536 to 2,100, while bicycle theft fell from 320 to 223.

What each category covers: crime categories.

16,534 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Colchester district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 82.6 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was up 4% on the year ending March 2025 (15,830), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Colchester district had the 102nd 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 Colchester district is a slight undercount.

Offences recorded in Colchester district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 3,287 offences (20% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for bicycle theft (1.4 times the national rate), rape (1.4 times the national rate) and arson (1.4 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.27 times), robbery of business property (0.30 times) and non-residential burglary (0.58 times).

The largest rises on the year were in vehicle offences (+37%) and arson (+36%). The largest falls were in theft from the person (−28%) and bicycle theft (−23%). 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 Colchester 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. Colchester district's rate was above the England and Wales rate in 5 of those 14 years and below it in 9. 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, Colchester district had the 5th 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 Colchester district; the highest is Ipswich district (100.3 per 1,000) and the lowest Mid Suffolk (41.1).

Of the 32 areas within Colchester district, Castle had the highest crime rate (290.4 per 1,000) and Chappel the lowest (24.8), 12 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 22% of the crime recorded in Colchester district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (1,318).

Of the 16,886 crimes in Colchester district with a recorded outcome, 32% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 6.4% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 2,100 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Colchester district has an estimated population of 200,222 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has less social housing (13%, against 17%) and fewer households without a car (18%, against 23%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Colchester district average decile 6.1 (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.