Crime in Wakefield district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (17,946), anti-social behaviour (4,722) and public order (3,307) made up 61% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 54th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest quarter.

The year to August 2026 had the least recorded crime in Wakefield district of any year here (42,896 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 7%, in line with England and Wales.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Wakefield district recorded notably more other crime (2.0 times the national rate), violence and sexual offences (43% above the national rate) and public order (35% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (64% below) and bicycle theft (49% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 373 to 452, while bicycle theft fell from 209 to 156 and public order fell from 3,924 to 3,307.

What each category covers: crime categories.

38,883 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Wakefield district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 105.8 per 1,000 residents, higher than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 6% on the year ending March 2025 (41,394), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Wakefield district had the 42nd 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 Wakefield district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was stalking and harassment, with 7,321 offences (19% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for stalking and harassment (2.0 times the national rate), death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving (1.7 times the national rate) and miscellaneous crimes against society (1.5 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.32 times), bicycle theft (0.53 times) and trafficking of drugs (0.71 times).

The largest rises on the year were in trafficking of drugs (+19%) and possession of weapons (+12%). The largest falls were in death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving (−35%) and theft from the person (−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 Wakefield 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. Wakefield district's rate was above the England and Wales rate in 13 of those 14 years and below it in 1. Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).

Districts in the West Yorkshire Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 5 districts in the West Yorkshire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Wakefield district had the 3rd 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 Wakefield district; the highest is Doncaster district (131.8 per 1,000) and the lowest Kirklees (97.9).

Of the 50 areas within Wakefield district, Wakefield East had the highest crime rate (229.4 per 1,000) and Walton (Wakefield) the lowest (35.2), 7 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 13% of the crime recorded in Wakefield district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (1,113).

Of the 38,174 crimes in Wakefield district with a recorded outcome, 31% 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 4,722 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Wakefield district has an estimated population of 367,666 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer students (4.8%, against 7.9%), more residents with no qualifications (24%, against 18%) and fewer residents with Level 4 qualifications or above (24%, against 34%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Wakefield district average decile 4.4 (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.