Crime in the Cambridgeshire Police area: statistics, rates and trends

83,024 crimes were recorded in the Cambridgeshire Police area in the 12 months to August 2026, 88.9 per 1,000 residents. That is close to the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and up 2% on the year before.

Crime map

Circle size: crimes in each districtSeptember 2025 to August 2026. Source: data.police.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0

Violence and sexual offences (29,472), anti-social behaviour (14,674) and shoplifting (6,805) made up 61% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 23rd of the 41 police force areas covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lower half.

Measurethe Cambridgeshire Police areaEnglandEngland and Wales
Crimes, the 12 months to August 202683,0245,311,1065,618,064
Crimes per 1,000 residents88.996.796.7
Change on previous 12 months+2%-1%-1%
Population933,97254,941,05758,127,638

The year to August 2026 had the most recorded crime in the Cambridgeshire Police area of any year here (83,024 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 2%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

PeriodCrimesPer 1,000England and Wales per 1,000
Year to August 202683,02488.996.7
Year to August 202581,24787.097.2
Year to August 202480,71386.497.9
Year to August 202382,34188.2n/a
Year to August 202280,11185.8102.0
Year to August 202175,77081.1101.4
Year to August 202078,88284.5102.7
Year to August 201980,24885.9101.7
Year to August 201881,41887.2100.8

Month by month

MonthCrimes
August 20267,951
July 20267,713
June 20267,502
May 20267,319
April 20266,843
March 20266,880
February 20265,940
January 20266,682
December 20256,195
November 20256,559
October 20256,673
September 20256,767

Compared with England and Wales, the Cambridgeshire Police area recorded notably more bicycle theft (2.1 times the national rate) and possession of weapons (32% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (56% below) and robbery (52% below). On the year before, drugs rose from 1,872 to 3,170.

Crime typeCrimesPer 1,000England and Wales per 1,000Change on year
Violence and sexual offences29,47231.634.2+3%
Anti-social behaviour14,67415.715.4+2%
Shoplifting6,8057.38.5-8%
Criminal damage and arson6,4386.96.70%
Other theft4,9195.36.4-3%
Public order4,5224.86.7-2%
Vehicle crime3,5563.85.0-7%
Drugs3,1703.43.3+69%
Burglary2,9963.23.6+5%
Other crime2,3672.52.1+9%
Bicycle theft1,6001.70.8-4%
Possession of weapons1,1971.31.0+12%
Theft from the person6920.71.7-8%
Robbery6160.71.4+6%

What each category covers: crime categories.

69,372 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in the Cambridgeshire Police area in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 74.3 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was up 2% on the year ending March 2025 (67,702), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 43 territorial police force areas of England and Wales, the Cambridgeshire Police area had the 22nd highest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 41 force areas with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).

Offences recorded in the Cambridgeshire Police area, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 13,183 offences (19% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving (3.0 times the national rate), bicycle theft (2.0 times the national rate) and trafficking of drugs (1.5 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for robbery of business property (0.14 times), theft from the person (0.40 times) and possession of drugs (0.61 times).

The largest rises on the year were in trafficking of drugs (from 467 to 1,674) and arson (+29%). The largest falls were in theft from the person (−27%) and bicycle theft (−16%). 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).

OffenceOffencesPer 1,000England and Wales per 1,000Index (E&W = 1.00)Change on 2024/25
Violence without injury13,18314.113.21.07+4%
Shoplifting7,1617.78.10.94–
Stalking and harassment7,0987.610.10.75+7%
Criminal damage6,0976.56.80.96−4%
Violence with injury6,0896.58.10.80+8%
Other theft offences5,2205.66.50.85−1%
Public order offences4,6084.97.00.71−8%
Vehicle offences3,7874.15.00.81−7%
Miscellaneous crimes against society2,2822.42.11.16+13%
Other sexual offences2,1052.32.30.99+9%
Residential burglary2,0552.22.50.88+16%
Trafficking of drugs1,6741.81.21.51+258%
Bicycle theft1,5751.70.851.98−16%
Possession of drugs1,4171.52.50.61+9%
Possession of weapons1,1341.21.001.22+13%
Non-residential burglary1,1271.21.11.08−8%
Rape9821.11.20.87+6%
Theft from the person6600.711.80.40−27%
Robbery of personal property5550.590.910.65−1%
Arson3870.410.381.09+29%
Death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving990.110.033.04+5%
Robbery of business property610.070.470.14–
Homicide160.020.012.13+100%

Recorded crime in the Cambridgeshire Police area 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. The Cambridgeshire Police area'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).

Year ending MarchOffencesPer 1,000England and Wales per 1,000
202669,37274.383.2
202567,70272.584.5
202468,87573.786.2
202371,47276.589.2
202267,69672.585.4
202160,08464.374.1
202068,22073.084.7
201964,50569.184.1
201866,13570.878.2
201757,85461.969.1
201648,57452.062.3
201546,32149.657.1
201443,97047.155.9
201345,59248.856.7

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

Of the 6 districts in the Cambridgeshire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Peterborough had the highest rate (106.3 per 1,000) and East Cambridgeshire the lowest (46.1). 1.5% of the crimes recorded in the area that year were not assigned to a district, so the district figures add up to less than the force total.

DistrictOffencesPer 1,000Index (E&W = 1.00)
Peterborough23,770106.31.28
Cambridge13,69991.71.10
Fenland7,84674.80.90
Huntingdonshire10,65955.90.67
South Cambridgeshire8,09246.90.56
East Cambridgeshire4,28746.10.55

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.

2 of the 8 nearest police force areas have a higher crime rate than the Cambridgeshire Police area; the highest is the Lincolnshire Police area (92.0 per 1,000) and the lowest the Suffolk Police area (61.9).

Police force areaCrimesPer 1,000Rate vs the Cambridgeshire Police area
Bedfordshire60,03680.1-10%
Northamptonshire73,72290.6+2%
Hertfordshire106,43086.1-3%
Suffolk48,65561.9-30%
Lincolnshire72,61392.0+3%
Leicestershire100,53585.5-4%
Norfolk66,67570.9-20%
Essex165,54485.8-3%

Of the 6 areas within the Cambridgeshire Police area, Peterborough had the highest crime rate (125.9 per 1,000) and South Cambridgeshire the lowest (59.1).

AreaTypePopulationCrimesPer 1,000
PeterboroughDistrict223,65528,159125.9
CambridgeDistrict149,35216,597111.1
FenlandDistrict104,8969,52590.8
HuntingdonshireDistrict190,61912,94667.9
East CambridgeshireDistrict92,9065,60760.4
South CambridgeshireDistrict172,54410,19059.1

Of the 68,350 crimes in the Cambridgeshire Police area with a recorded outcome, 32% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 6.6% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 14,674 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

OutcomeCrimesShareEngland and Wales
Unable to prosecute suspect26,17638.3%34.5%
Investigation complete; no suspect identified21,85532.0%35.3%
Under investigation7,35710.8%11.5%
Awaiting court outcome4,5066.6%5.2%
Status update unavailable2,5683.8%4.7%
Court result unavailable1,9812.9%2.5%
Local resolution1,9092.8%3.1%
Offender given a caution8391.2%0.6%
Action to be taken by another organisation8381.2%1.3%
Further action is not in the public interest1340.2%0.3%
Formal action is not in the public interest750.1%0.3%
Suspect charged as part of another case590.1%0.0%

The Cambridgeshire Police area has an estimated population of 933,972 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer households without a car (18%, against 23%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up the Cambridgeshire Police area average decile 6.4 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.

Measurethe Cambridgeshire Police areaEngland and Wales
Aged 0 to 1519.0%18.3%
Aged 65 and over17.9%18.9%
Residents 16+ in work60.1%57.2%
Residents 16+ unemployed2.7%3.4%
Residents 16+ retired20.3%21.6%
Residents 16+ who are students8.8%7.9%
Residents 16+ with Level 4 qualifications or above (degree, HND and similar)36.7%33.8%
Residents 16+ with no qualifications16.7%18.2%
Households with no car or van18.2%23.3%
Homes owned outright or with a mortgage63.4%62.5%
Social rented homes16.0%17.1%
Private rented homes20.5%20.3%
Average deprivation decile (1 = most deprived, 10 = least)6.45.5 (England)
Residents in the most deprived 10% of areas4.3%10.1% (England)

Is the Cambridgeshire Police area a safe place to live?

The Cambridgeshire Police area recorded 88.9 crimes per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to August 2026, close to the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and ranks 23rd of the 41 police force areas on this site by crime rate (1 = highest). The categories most above the national rate were bicycle theft and possession of weapons.

What is the most common crime in the Cambridgeshire Police area?

Violence and sexual offences was the most common category, with 29,472 reports in the 12 months to August 2026, followed by anti-social behaviour (14,674).

Is crime in the Cambridgeshire Police area going up or down?

Recorded crime in the Cambridgeshire Police area was up 2% on the year before: 83,024 crimes in the 12 months to August 2026 against 81,247 in the previous 12 months.

What is the population of the Cambridgeshire Police area?

About 933,972 people (ONS mid-2024 estimate), 18% of them aged 65 or over (England and Wales: 19%).

How many crimes did the police record in the Cambridgeshire Police area in the year ending March 2026?

69,372 crimes, excluding fraud, in the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics: 74.3 per 1,000 residents, against 83.2 across England and Wales. In the year ending March 2025 the figure was 67,702.

Which offences are more common in the Cambridgeshire Police area than across England and Wales?

Relative to the national rate, the most over-represented categories in the year ending March 2026 were death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving (99 offences, 3.0 times the England and Wales rate), bicycle theft (1,575 offences, 2.0 times the England and Wales rate) and trafficking of drugs (1,674 offences, 1.5 times the England and Wales rate).

Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.

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<a href="https://policestatistics.co.uk/police-forces/cambridgeshire">https://policestatistics.co.uk/police-forces/cambridgeshire</a>