Crime in East Cambridgeshire: statistics, rates and trends
5,607 crimes were recorded in East Cambridgeshire in the 12 months to August 2026, 60.4 per 1,000 residents. That is lower than the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and up 10% on the year before.
Table of Contents
- Crime map
- Crime in East Cambridgeshire at a glance
- Crime trends in East Cambridgeshire
- Types of crime in East Cambridgeshire
- Home Office recorded crime in East Cambridgeshire
- East Cambridgeshire compared with nearby districts
- Areas within East Cambridgeshire
- Streets with the most crime in East Cambridgeshire
- What happened after crimes were reported in East Cambridgeshire
- Demographics of East Cambridgeshire
- Fly-tipping in East Cambridgeshire
- Questions about crime in East Cambridgeshire
- About this data
Crime map
Violence and sexual offences (1,863), anti-social behaviour (1,158) and shoplifting (558) made up 64% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 264th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lowest quarter.
| Measure | East Cambridgeshire | Cambridgeshire | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crimes, the 12 months to August 2026 | 5,607 | 54,865 | 5,618,064 |
| Crimes per 1,000 residents | 60.4 | 77.2 | 96.7 |
| Change on previous 12 months | +10% | +2% | -1% |
| Population | 92,906 | 710,317 | 58,127,638 |
The year to August 2026 had the most recorded crime in East Cambridgeshire of any year here (5,607 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 23%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.
| Period | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year to August 2026 | 5,607 | 60.4 | 96.7 |
| Year to August 2025 | 5,120 | 55.1 | 97.2 |
| Year to August 2024 | 5,159 | 55.5 | 97.9 |
| Year to August 2023 | 5,174 | 55.7 | n/a |
| Year to August 2022 | 4,889 | 52.6 | 102.0 |
| Year to August 2021 | 5,300 | 57.0 | 101.4 |
| Year to August 2020 | 5,266 | 56.7 | 102.7 |
| Year to August 2019 | 4,698 | 50.6 | 101.7 |
| Year to August 2018 | 4,544 | 48.9 | 100.8 |
Month by month
| Month | Crimes |
|---|---|
| August 2026 | 564 |
| July 2026 | 521 |
| June 2026 | 515 |
| May 2026 | 465 |
| April 2026 | 439 |
| March 2026 | 464 |
| February 2026 | 367 |
| January 2026 | 473 |
| December 2025 | 456 |
| November 2025 | 431 |
| October 2025 | 481 |
| September 2025 | 431 |
No category with at least 20 crimes was notably above the England and Wales rate, and theft from the person (80% below) and drugs (67% below) were well below it. On the year before, bicycle theft rose from 24 to 43 and shoplifting rose from 355 to 558.
| Crime type | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 | Change on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 1,863 | 20.1 | 34.2 | -4% |
| Anti-social behaviour | 1,158 | 12.5 | 15.4 | +12% |
| Shoplifting | 558 | 6.0 | 8.5 | +57% |
| Criminal damage and arson | 442 | 4.8 | 6.7 | +6% |
| Other theft | 380 | 4.1 | 6.4 | +13% |
| Burglary | 303 | 3.3 | 3.6 | +22% |
| Vehicle crime | 257 | 2.8 | 5.0 | +22% |
| Public order | 232 | 2.5 | 6.7 | -3% |
| Other crime | 163 | 1.8 | 2.1 | +12% |
| Drugs | 99 | 1.1 | 3.3 | +15% |
| Possession of weapons | 62 | 0.7 | 1.0 | +7% |
| Bicycle theft | 43 | 0.5 | 0.8 | +79% |
| Theft from the person | 31 | 0.3 | 1.7 | n/a |
| Robbery | 16 | 0.2 | 1.4 | n/a |
What each category covers: crime categories.
4,287 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in East Cambridgeshire in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 46.1 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was up 2% on the year ending March 2025 (4,186), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, East Cambridgeshire had the 21st lowest 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 Cambridgeshire Police area in the year ending March 2026, 1.5% 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 East Cambridgeshire is a slight undercount.
Offences recorded in East Cambridgeshire, the year ending March 2026
The largest category was violence without injury, with 759 offences (18% of the total). No category with at least 20 offences had a rate a quarter or more above the England and Wales rate. Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.14 times), possession of drugs (0.18 times) and public order offences (0.35 times).
The largest rises on the year were in trafficking of drugs (from 24 to 53) and bicycle theft (+74%). The largest falls were in possession of drugs (−26%) and public order offences (−19%). 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).
| Offence | Offences | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 | Index (E&W = 1.00) | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence without injury | 759 | 8.2 | 13.2 | 0.62 | +0% |
| Stalking and harassment | 500 | 5.4 | 10.1 | 0.53 | −4% |
| Shoplifting | 417 | 4.5 | 8.1 | 0.55 | – |
| Violence with injury | 395 | 4.3 | 8.1 | 0.52 | +1% |
| Other theft offences | 393 | 4.2 | 6.5 | 0.65 | +10% |
| Criminal damage | 382 | 4.1 | 6.8 | 0.60 | −15% |
| Vehicle offences | 271 | 2.9 | 5.0 | 0.58 | +40% |
| Public order offences | 228 | 2.5 | 7.0 | 0.35 | −19% |
| Residential burglary | 190 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 0.82 | +41% |
| Other sexual offences | 151 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 0.71 | +14% |
| Miscellaneous crimes against society | 149 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.76 | +12% |
| Non-residential burglary | 121 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.16 | +29% |
| Rape | 65 | 0.70 | 1.2 | 0.58 | +12% |
| Trafficking of drugs | 53 | 0.57 | 1.2 | 0.48 | +121% |
| Possession of weapons | 50 | 0.54 | 1.00 | 0.54 | −12% |
| Possession of drugs | 42 | 0.45 | 2.5 | 0.18 | −26% |
| Bicycle theft | 40 | 0.43 | 0.85 | 0.50 | +74% |
| Arson | 29 | 0.31 | 0.38 | 0.82 | +38% |
| Theft from the person | 23 | 0.25 | 1.8 | 0.14 | +15% |
| Robbery of personal property | 17 | 0.18 | 0.91 | 0.20 | +6% |
| Death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving | 11 | 0.12 | 0.03 | 3.40 | −58% |
| Robbery of business property | 1 | 0.01 | 0.47 | 0.02 | – |
| Homicide | 0 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.00 | – |
Recorded crime in East Cambridgeshire since the year ending March 2019
The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2019 to 2026. East Cambridgeshire's rate was below the England and Wales rate in every one of those 8 years. The series starts in the year ending March 2019 because the share of crimes in the Cambridgeshire Police area not assigned to a district moved from 0.2% in the year ending March 2018 to 2.0% in the year ending March 2019, which changes district totals without any change in crime.
Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).
| Year ending March | Offences | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4,287 | 46.1 | 83.2 |
| 2025 | 4,186 | 45.1 | 84.5 |
| 2024 | 3,924 | 42.2 | 86.2 |
| 2023 | 4,406 | 47.4 | 89.2 |
| 2022 | 4,091 | 44.0 | 85.4 |
| 2021 | 4,323 | 46.5 | 74.1 |
| 2020 | 4,083 | 43.9 | 84.7 |
| 2019 | 3,540 | 38.1 | 84.1 |
Districts in the Cambridgeshire Police area, the year ending March 2026
Of the 6 districts in the Cambridgeshire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, East Cambridgeshire had the lowest rate.
| District | Offences | Per 1,000 | Index (E&W = 1.00) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peterborough | 23,770 | 106.3 | 1.28 |
| Cambridge | 13,699 | 91.7 | 1.10 |
| Fenland | 7,846 | 74.8 | 0.90 |
| Huntingdonshire | 10,659 | 55.9 | 0.67 |
| South Cambridgeshire | 8,092 | 46.9 | 0.56 |
| East Cambridgeshire | 4,287 | 46.1 | 0.55 |
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.
5 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than East Cambridgeshire; the highest is Peterborough district (125.9 per 1,000) and the lowest Breckland (58.1).
| District | Crimes | Per 1,000 | Rate vs East Cambridgeshire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | 16,597 | 111.1 | +84% |
| West Suffolk | 11,225 | 59.6 | -1% |
| South Cambridgeshire | 10,190 | 59.1 | -2% |
| Fenland | 9,525 | 90.8 | +50% |
| Huntingdonshire | 12,946 | 67.9 | +13% |
| King's Lynn and West Norfolk | 10,306 | 66.0 | +9% |
| Peterborough | 28,159 | 125.9 | +109% |
| Breckland | 8,523 | 58.1 | -4% |
Of the 30 areas within East Cambridgeshire, Ely East had the highest crime rate (149.7 per 1,000) and Stretham the lowest (29.5), 5 times apart.
| Area | Type | Population | Crimes | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ely East | Neighbourhood | 5,658 | 847 | 149.7 |
| Littleport | Neighbourhood | 10,536 | 955 | 90.6 |
| Ely | Town | 20,327 | 1,601 | 78.8 |
| Littleport | Town | 8,718 | 680 | 78.0 |
| Witchford | Town | 3,587 | 248 | 69.1 |
| Wilburton | Town | 1,956 | 118 | 60.3 |
| Ely West | Neighbourhood | 8,692 | 510 | 58.7 |
| Soham South | Neighbourhood | 8,370 | 474 | 56.6 |
| Soham | Town | 12,128 | 686 | 56.6 |
| Stretham | Neighbourhood | 8,021 | 439 | 54.7 |
| Sutton (East Cambridgeshire) | Town | 4,118 | 218 | 52.9 |
| Bottisham | Town | 1,613 | 85 | 52.7 |
| Fordham & Isleham | Neighbourhood | 7,385 | 383 | 51.9 |
| Soham North | Neighbourhood | 5,883 | 295 | 50.1 |
| Burwell | Town | 6,496 | 325 | 50.0 |
| Ely North | Neighbourhood | 7,207 | 350 | 48.6 |
| Haddenham (East Cambridgeshire) | Town | 3,204 | 155 | 48.4 |
| Haddenham | Neighbourhood | 3,204 | 155 | 48.4 |
| Fordham (East Cambridgeshire) | Town | 2,173 | 105 | 48.3 |
| Sutton | Neighbourhood | 5,629 | 271 | 48.1 |
| Stetchworth | Town | 2,206 | 106 | 48.1 |
| Bottisham | Neighbourhood | 6,268 | 284 | 45.3 |
| Swaffham Prior | Town | 2,071 | 93 | 44.9 |
| Little Downham | Town | 1,458 | 63 | 43.2 |
| Isleham | Town | 2,808 | 107 | 38.1 |
| Downham Villages | Neighbourhood | 3,165 | 120 | 37.9 |
| Mepal | Town | 1,511 | 53 | 35.1 |
| Cheveley | Town | 1,459 | 46 | 31.5 |
| Woodditton | Neighbourhood | 6,392 | 199 | 31.1 |
| Stretham | Town | 2,478 | 73 | 29.5 |
The 10 locations below account for 25% of the crime recorded in East Cambridgeshire over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (524).
| Location | Crimes |
|---|---|
| On or near Parking Area | 524 |
| On or near Supermarket | 190 |
| On or near Sports/Recreation Area | 173 |
| On or near Petrol Station | 95 |
| On or near Market Street | 89 |
| On or near High Street | 78 |
| On or near Heron Croft | 68 |
| On or near Woodland Farm Units | 66 |
| On or near Newnham Street | 65 |
| On or near Church Lane | 49 |
Of the 4,449 crimes in East Cambridgeshire with a recorded outcome, 33% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 7.4% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 1,158 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.
| Outcome | Crimes | Share | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unable to prosecute suspect | 1,701 | 38.2% | 34.5% |
| Investigation complete; no suspect identified | 1,472 | 33.1% | 35.3% |
| Under investigation | 510 | 11.5% | 11.5% |
| Awaiting court outcome | 330 | 7.4% | 5.2% |
| Status update unavailable | 191 | 4.3% | 4.7% |
| Local resolution | 89 | 2.0% | 3.1% |
| Offender given a caution | 53 | 1.2% | 0.6% |
| Court result unavailable | 52 | 1.2% | 2.5% |
| Action to be taken by another organisation | 32 | 0.7% | 1.3% |
| Further investigation is not in the public interest | 7 | 0.2% | 0.5% |
| Further action is not in the public interest | 6 | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Formal action is not in the public interest | 3 | 0.1% | 0.3% |
East Cambridgeshire has an estimated population of 92,906 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer households without a car (12%, against 23%) and fewer students (4.7%, against 7.9%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up East Cambridgeshire average decile 7.3 (1 = most deprived), less deprived than average.
| Measure | East Cambridgeshire | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 0 to 15 | 18.4% | 18.3% |
| Aged 65 and over | 21.1% | 18.9% |
| Residents 16+ in work | 62.6% | 57.2% |
| Residents 16+ unemployed | 2.1% | 3.4% |
| Residents 16+ retired | 23.5% | 21.6% |
| Residents 16+ who are students | 4.7% | 7.9% |
| Residents 16+ with Level 4 qualifications or above (degree, HND and similar) | 35.0% | 33.8% |
| Residents 16+ with no qualifications | 16.6% | 18.2% |
| Households with no car or van | 12.0% | 23.3% |
| Homes owned outright or with a mortgage | 69.6% | 62.5% |
| Social rented homes | 14.0% | 17.1% |
| Private rented homes | 16.4% | 20.3% |
| Average deprivation decile (1 = most deprived, 10 = least) | 7.3 | 5.5 (England) |
441 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in East Cambridgeshire in 2024/25 (4.7 per 1,000 residents, against 21.1 across the councils in England that count all incidents), according to the council's return to Defra. Fly-tipping is not in the police figures on this page: fly-tipping in East Cambridgeshire has the council's figures by place, type of waste and size, and its enforcement actions and fines.
Is East Cambridgeshire a safe place to live?
East Cambridgeshire recorded 60.4 crimes per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to August 2026, lower than the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and ranks 264th of the 302 districts on this site by crime rate (1 = highest).
What is the most common crime in East Cambridgeshire?
Violence and sexual offences was the most common category, with 1,863 reports in the 12 months to August 2026, followed by anti-social behaviour (1,158).
Is crime in East Cambridgeshire going up or down?
Recorded crime in East Cambridgeshire was up 10% on the year before: 5,607 crimes in the 12 months to August 2026 against 5,120 in the previous 12 months.
What is the population of East Cambridgeshire?
About 92,906 people (ONS mid-2024 estimate), 21% of them aged 65 or over (England and Wales: 19%).
Which police force covers East Cambridgeshire?
East Cambridgeshire is policed by Cambridgeshire.
How many crimes did the police record in East Cambridgeshire in the year ending March 2026?
4,287 crimes, excluding fraud, in the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics: 46.1 per 1,000 residents, against 83.2 across England and Wales. In the year ending March 2025 the figure was 4,186.
Which offences are more common in East Cambridgeshire than across England and Wales?
None: no category with at least 20 offences had a rate a quarter or more above the England and Wales rate in the year ending March 2026. The largest category was violence without injury (759).
Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.