Crime in Reading district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (7,256), shoplifting (3,228) and anti-social behaviour (1,927) made up 61% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 64th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest quarter.

Recorded crime in Reading district peaked in the year to August 2022 (21,261 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2019 (16,843). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 12%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Reading district recorded notably more bicycle theft (2.8 times the national rate), shoplifting (2.1 times the national rate) and robbery (43% above the national rate), and notably less anti-social behaviour (31% below) and theft from the person (26% below). On the year before, other crime rose from 283 to 367 and robbery rose from 294 to 356, while theft from the person fell from 401 to 229.

What each category covers: crime categories.

17,915 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Reading district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 97.9 per 1,000 residents, higher than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was up 3% on the year ending March 2025 (17,430), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Reading district had the 52nd 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 Reading district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 2,845 offences (16% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for bicycle theft (2.9 times the national rate), shoplifting (1.9 times the national rate) and robbery of business property (1.9 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for miscellaneous crimes against society (0.70 times), arson (0.72 times) and possession of drugs (0.75 times).

The largest rises on the year were in trafficking of drugs (+40%) and residential burglary (+25%). The largest falls were in theft from the person (−37%) and possession of weapons (−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).

Recorded crime in Reading 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. Reading district's rate was above 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 Thames Valley Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 13 districts in the Thames Valley Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Reading 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.

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

Of the 18 areas within Reading district, Abbey had the highest crime rate (429.2 per 1,000) and Caversham Heights the lowest (29.3), 15 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 30% of the crime recorded in Reading district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (1,781).

Of the 18,565 crimes in Reading district with a recorded outcome, 37% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 6.1% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 1,927 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Reading district has an estimated population of 182,907 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more private renting (32%, against 20%), more students (11.6%, against 7.9%) and fewer retired residents (14%, against 22%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Reading district average decile 5.7 (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.