Crime in York district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (6,184), anti-social behaviour (5,065) and shoplifting (2,268) made up 69% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 118th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

Recorded crime in York district peaked in the year to August 2021 (21,043 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2023 (19,076). 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, York district recorded notably more bicycle theft (2.6 times the national rate), anti-social behaviour (58% above the national rate) and shoplifting (28% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (79% below) and vehicle crime (57% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 135 to 218 and public order rose from 951 to 1,120, while bicycle theft fell from 713 to 444 and drugs fell from 558 to 396.

What each category covers: crime categories.

13,752 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in York district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 65.7 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 5% on the year ending March 2025 (14,517), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, York district had the 100th 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).

Offences recorded in York district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 2,316 offences (17% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for bicycle theft (3.0 times the national rate) and arson (1.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.23 times), vehicle offences (0.48 times) and possession of drugs (0.50 times).

The largest rises on the year were in arson (from 35 to 102) and trafficking of drugs (from 130 to 266). The largest falls were in bicycle theft (−34%) and theft from the person (−24%). 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 York 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. York district'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 North Yorkshire Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 2 districts in the North Yorkshire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, York 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.

6 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than York district; the highest is Doncaster district (131.8 per 1,000) and the lowest East Riding of Yorkshire (62.2).

Of the 34 areas within York district, Guildhall had the highest crime rate (322.4 per 1,000) and Wheldrake the lowest (6.7), 48 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 29% of the crime recorded in York district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “On or near” (2,389).

Of the 14,422 crimes in York district with a recorded outcome, 28% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 6.3% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 5,065 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

York district has an estimated population of 209,301 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more students (15.7%, against 7.9%), fewer residents with no qualifications (13%, against 18%) and fewer children (15%, against 18%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up York district average decile 7.7 (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.