Crime in Plymouth district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (13,313), anti-social behaviour (4,001) and criminal damage and arson (2,509) made up 67% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 73rd of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest quarter.

Recorded crime in Plymouth district peaked in the year to August 2018 (30,460 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2022 (26,421). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 2%, in line with England and Wales.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Plymouth district recorded notably more possession of weapons (83% above the national rate), violence and sexual offences (43% above the national rate) and criminal damage and arson (37% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (57% below) and bicycle theft (52% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 172 to 225 and possession of weapons rose from 402 to 483, while drugs fell from 1,267 to 853 and anti-social behaviour fell from 5,340 to 4,001.

What each category covers: crime categories.

25,339 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Plymouth district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 93.1 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 3% on the year ending March 2025 (26,181), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Plymouth district had the 69th 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).

Offences recorded in Plymouth district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 4,727 offences (19% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for possession of weapons (1.6 times the national rate), rape (1.5 times the national rate) and violence with injury (1.4 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.37 times), robbery of business property (0.46 times) and bicycle theft (0.54 times).

The largest rises on the year were in stalking and harassment (+32%) and non-residential burglary (+23%). The largest falls were in trafficking of drugs (−44%) and possession of drugs (−30%). 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 Plymouth 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. Plymouth district's rate was above the England and Wales rate in 11 of those 14 years and below it in 3. Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).

Districts in the Devon & Cornwall Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 4 districts in the Devon & Cornwall Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Plymouth district had the 2nd lowest rate. Isles of Scilly is not in the table because it has too few recorded offences for a reliable rate. East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge and West Devon 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.

Plymouth district has a higher crime rate than all 8 of its nearest districts.

Of the 21 areas within Plymouth district, St Peter and the Waterfront had the highest crime rate (394.6 per 1,000) and Plymstock Dunstone the lowest (31.0), 13 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 20% of the crime recorded in Plymouth district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (1,886).

Of the 25,801 crimes in Plymouth district with a recorded outcome, 23% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 5.0% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 4,001 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Plymouth district has an estimated population of 272,067 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more students (10.3%, against 7.9%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Plymouth district average decile 4.9 (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.