Crime in Newark and Sherwood: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (3,693), anti-social behaviour (1,747) and shoplifting (1,124) made up 61% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 165th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lower half.

Recorded crime in Newark and Sherwood peaked in the year to August 2020 (12,318 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2023 (10,670). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 6%, in line with England and Wales.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Newark and Sherwood recorded notably more other crime (2.1 times the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (76% below) and drugs (58% below). On the year before, other crime rose from 364 to 570 and possession of weapons rose from 106 to 124, while bicycle theft fell from 155 to 101 and shoplifting fell from 1,492 to 1,124.

What each category covers: crime categories.

8,753 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Newark and Sherwood in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 68.4 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was almost unchanged on the year ending March 2025 (8,787), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Newark and Sherwood had the 115th 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 Nottinghamshire Police area in the year ending March 2026, 1.3% 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 Newark and Sherwood is a slight undercount.

Offences recorded in Newark and Sherwood, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 1,184 offences (14% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for arson (1.4 times the national rate), miscellaneous crimes against society (1.4 times the national rate) and bicycle theft (1.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.19 times), robbery of personal property (0.30 times) and trafficking of drugs (0.34 times).

The largest rises on the year were in bicycle theft (+48%) and arson (+28%). The largest falls were in vehicle offences (−19%) and non-residential burglary (−18%). 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 Newark and Sherwood 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. Newark and Sherwood's rate was below 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 Nottinghamshire Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 5 districts in the Nottinghamshire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Newark and Sherwood had the lowest rate. Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe are not in the table because the Home Office publishes each of them jointly with a neighbouring district, as one community safety partnership.

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.

6 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Newark and Sherwood; the highest is Lincoln district (158.9 per 1,000) and the lowest Rushcliffe (55.0).

Of the 36 areas within Newark and Sherwood, Castle had the highest crime rate (229.8 per 1,000) and Fiskerton (Newark and Sherwood) the lowest (21.1), 11 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 22% of the crime recorded in Newark and Sherwood over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (549).

Of the 8,929 crimes in Newark and Sherwood with a recorded outcome, 30% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 6.0% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 1,747 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Newark and Sherwood has an estimated population of 127,886 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer students (5.2%, against 7.9%), fewer households without a car (16%, against 23%) and more retired residents (27%, against 22%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Newark and Sherwood average decile 5.8 (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.