Crime in Stafford district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (4,928), anti-social behaviour (1,879) and public order (976) made up 67% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 169th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lower half.

The year to August 2026 had the most recorded crime in Stafford district of any year here (11,641 crimes). 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, Stafford district recorded notably more bicycle theft (64% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (92% below) and robbery (54% below). On the year before, bicycle theft rose from 85 to 191 and robbery rose from 63 to 88, while theft from the person fell from 31 to 20.

What each category covers: crime categories.

9,018 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Stafford district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 63.7 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 (8,857), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Stafford district had the 95th 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 Staffordshire Police area in the year ending March 2026, 1.7% 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 Stafford district is a slight undercount.

Offences recorded in Stafford district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was stalking and harassment, with 1,802 offences (20% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for stalking and harassment (1.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.08 times), vehicle offences (0.42 times) and robbery of personal property (0.43 times).

The largest rises on the year were in miscellaneous crimes against society (+63%) and trafficking of drugs (+58%). The largest falls were in theft from the person (−34%) and arson (−28%). 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 Stafford district since the year ending March 2021

The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2021 to 2026. Stafford district's rate was below the England and Wales rate in every one of those 6 years. The series starts in the year ending March 2021 because the share of crimes in the Staffordshire Police area not assigned to a district moved from 3.1% in the year ending March 2020 to 1.9% in the year ending March 2021, 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).

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

Of the 9 districts in the Staffordshire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Stafford district had the 4th lowest 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.

5 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Stafford district; the highest is Stoke-on-Trent district (139.7 per 1,000) and the lowest South Staffordshire (59.5).

Of the 35 areas within Stafford district, Forebridge had the highest crime rate (518.4 per 1,000) and Baswich the lowest (26.8), 19 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 20% of the crime recorded in Stafford district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (743).

Of the 9,762 crimes in Stafford district with a recorded outcome, 24% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 4.6% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 1,879 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Stafford district has an estimated population of 141,556 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer students (5.0%, against 7.9%), fewer households without a car (15%, against 23%) and more retired residents (27%, against 22%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Stafford district average decile 7.0 (1 = most deprived), less 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.