Crime in Luton district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (7,869), anti-social behaviour (3,334) and shoplifting (1,798) made up 59% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 124th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

Recorded crime in Luton district peaked in the year to August 2019 (26,605 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2023 (21,585). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 17%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Luton district recorded notably more possession of weapons (43% above the national rate), vehicle crime (36% above the national rate) and drugs (35% above the national rate), and notably less bicycle theft (42% below) and theft from the person (39% below). On the year before, bicycle theft fell from 174 to 115 and burglary fell from 674 to 550.

What each category covers: crime categories.

19,654 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Luton district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 82.2 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Luton district had the 103rd 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 Bedfordshire Police area in the year ending March 2026, 3.7% 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 Luton district is an undercount.

No change on the year or longer series is given for Luton district: comparable figures start in the year ending March 2026, because the share of crimes in the Bedfordshire Police area not assigned to a district moved from 2.5% in the year ending March 2025 to 3.7% in the year ending March 2026, which changes district totals without any change in crime.

Offences recorded in Luton district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 3,591 offences (18% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for trafficking of drugs (1.7 times the national rate), vehicle offences (1.4 times the national rate) and possession of weapons (1.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.55 times), robbery of business property (0.69 times) and arson (0.69 times).

Districts in the Bedfordshire Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 3 districts in the Bedfordshire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Luton 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.

3 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Luton district; the highest is Stevenage district (118.8 per 1,000) and the lowest Central Bedfordshire (61.4).

Of the 21 areas within Luton district, Central had the highest crime rate (448.8 per 1,000) and Barnfield the lowest (45.4), 10 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 23% of the crime recorded in Luton district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (1,124).

Of the 18,694 crimes in Luton district with a recorded outcome, 36% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 4.8% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 3,334 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Luton district has an estimated population of 239,090 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more private renting (29%, against 20%), a younger population (11%, against 19%) and more students (10.8%, against 7.9%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Luton district average decile 3.7 (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.