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

163,298 crimes were recorded in the Sussex Police area in the 12 months to August 2026, 92.8 per 1,000 residents. That is close to the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and up 5% 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 (51,042), anti-social behaviour (35,209) and shoplifting (18,945) made up 64% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 16th of the 41 police force areas covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

Measurethe Sussex Police areaEnglandEngland and Wales
Crimes, the 12 months to August 2026163,2985,311,1065,618,064
Crimes per 1,000 residents92.896.796.7
Change on previous 12 months+5%-1%-1%
Population1,759,78954,941,05758,127,638

The year to August 2026 had the most recorded crime in the Sussex Police area of any year here (163,298 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 12%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

PeriodCrimesPer 1,000England and Wales per 1,000
Year to August 2026163,29892.896.7
Year to August 2025156,07988.797.2
Year to August 2024154,78488.097.9
Year to August 2023150,30985.4n/a
Year to August 2022146,65283.3102.0
Year to August 2021155,81288.5101.4
Year to August 2020158,36190.0102.7
Year to August 2019151,22285.9101.7
Year to August 2018145,96882.9100.8

Month by month

MonthCrimes
August 202615,922
July 202616,552
June 202614,849
May 202615,370
April 202613,987
March 202613,838
February 202611,711
January 202611,795
December 202511,496
November 202512,125
October 202513,088
September 202512,565

Compared with England and Wales, the Sussex Police area recorded notably more possession of weapons (40% above the national rate), anti-social behaviour (30% above the national rate) and shoplifting (27% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (69% below) and vehicle crime (39% below). On the year before, anti-social behaviour rose from 25,808 to 35,209 and robbery rose from 1,307 to 1,706, while theft from the person fell from 1,123 to 931.

Crime typeCrimesPer 1,000England and Wales per 1,000Change on year
Violence and sexual offences51,04229.034.20%
Anti-social behaviour35,20920.015.4+36%
Shoplifting18,94510.88.5-6%
Public order12,9157.36.7+2%
Criminal damage and arson11,7436.76.7-1%
Other theft9,6085.56.4-3%
Vehicle crime5,3413.05.0-9%
Drugs4,8362.73.3+7%
Burglary4,1552.43.6-13%
Other crime3,2441.82.1-6%
Possession of weapons2,3861.41.0+2%
Robbery1,7061.01.4+31%
Bicycle theft1,2370.70.8-11%
Theft from the person9310.51.7-17%

What each category covers: crime categories.

130,298 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in the Sussex Police area in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 74.0 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 4% on the year ending March 2025 (135,289), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 43 territorial police force areas of England and Wales, the Sussex Police area had the 20th lowest 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 Sussex Police area, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 20,306 offences (16% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for possession of weapons (1.4 times the national rate) and shoplifting (1.4 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.33 times), robbery of personal property (0.54 times) and vehicle offences (0.57 times).

The largest rises on the year were in trafficking of drugs (+12%). The largest falls were in vehicle offences (−25%) and death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving (−18%). 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 injury20,30611.513.20.87−5%
Shoplifting19,35411.08.11.35–
Violence with injury14,7518.48.11.03−1%
Public order offences12,4117.17.01.01−1%
Stalking and harassment11,3776.510.10.64+6%
Criminal damage10,8996.26.80.91−9%
Other theft offences9,7625.56.50.85−8%
Vehicle offences5,0342.95.00.57−25%
Other sexual offences3,9202.22.30.98−0%
Possession of drugs3,5532.02.50.81+9%
Miscellaneous crimes against society3,5092.02.10.95−1%
Residential burglary2,7331.62.50.62−12%
Possession of weapons2,4871.41.001.42−2%
Rape1,9621.11.20.92−4%
Non-residential burglary1,7470.991.10.89−15%
Trafficking of drugs1,5240.871.20.73+12%
Bicycle theft1,3330.760.850.89−9%
Robbery of business property1,0390.590.471.24–
Theft from the person1,0140.581.80.33−16%
Robbery of personal property8630.490.910.54−12%
Arson6580.370.380.98+5%
Death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving550.030.030.90−18%
Homicide7<0.010.010.50−12%

Recorded crime in the Sussex 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 Sussex 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
2026130,29874.083.2
2025135,28976.984.5
2024135,93777.286.2
2023129,42873.589.2
2022120,09968.285.4
2021108,24661.574.1
2020127,83272.684.7
2019116,91466.484.1
2018113,34964.478.2
2017104,83359.669.1
201694,98554.062.3
201590,40751.457.1
201483,39347.455.9
201389,39050.856.7

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

Of the 13 districts in the Sussex Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Eastbourne had the highest rate (110.4 per 1,000) and Wealden the lowest (41.1). 1.8% 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)
Eastbourne11,505110.41.33
Hastings10,035110.01.32
Crawley13,538109.21.31
Brighton and Hove28,33599.81.20
Worthing9,13880.30.96
Arun12,00370.60.85
Chichester7,79960.50.73
Rother5,52757.50.69
Lewes5,64955.20.66
Adur3,58055.20.66
Mid Sussex7,28045.00.54
Horsham6,72944.40.53
Wealden6,85241.10.49

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 Sussex Police area; the highest is the City of London Police area (639.5 per 1,000) and the lowest the Surrey Police area (70.3).

Police force areaCrimesPer 1,000Rate vs the Sussex Police area
Surrey87,79470.3-24%
Metropolitan Police1,117,214123.1+33%
City of London9,663639.5+589%
Kent175,74191.0-2%
Hampshire166,95880.9-13%
Hertfordshire106,43086.1-7%
Essex165,54485.8-8%
Thames Valley193,72673.4-21%

Of the 13 areas within the Sussex Police area, Hastings had the highest crime rate (146.2 per 1,000) and Wealden the lowest (54.6).

AreaTypePopulationCrimesPer 1,000
HastingsDistrict91,21913,338146.2
EastbourneDistrict104,25914,639140.4
CrawleyDistrict124,00816,073129.6
Brighton and HoveDistrict283,87035,519125.1
WorthingDistrict113,86611,569101.6
ArunDistrict170,06415,12989.0
ChichesterDistrict128,93410,45281.1
LewesDistrict102,3637,50073.3
RotherDistrict96,1336,92372.0
AdurDistrict64,8894,57570.5
Mid SussexDistrict161,7559,83960.8
HorshamDistrict151,5218,63557.0
WealdenDistrict166,9089,10754.6

Of the 128,089 crimes in the Sussex Police area with a recorded outcome, 44% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 5.6% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 35,209 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

OutcomeCrimesShareEngland and Wales
Investigation complete; no suspect identified56,37244.0%35.3%
Unable to prosecute suspect38,64230.2%34.5%
Under investigation11,5869.0%11.5%
Awaiting court outcome7,2225.6%5.2%
Local resolution4,4043.4%3.1%
Status update unavailable4,0133.1%4.7%
Court result unavailable2,7972.2%2.5%
Action to be taken by another organisation1,1060.9%1.3%
Offender given a caution7650.6%0.6%
Formal action is not in the public interest4280.3%0.3%
Further action is not in the public interest3770.3%0.3%
Further investigation is not in the public interest3460.3%0.5%

The Sussex Police area has an estimated population of 1,759,789 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has less social housing (13%, against 17%) and an older population (23%, against 19%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up the Sussex Police area average decile 6.1 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.

Measurethe Sussex Police areaEngland and Wales
Aged 0 to 1516.6%18.3%
Aged 65 and over22.9%18.9%
Residents 16+ in work56.5%57.2%
Residents 16+ unemployed3.2%3.4%
Residents 16+ retired25.3%21.6%
Residents 16+ who are students6.8%7.9%
Residents 16+ with Level 4 qualifications or above (degree, HND and similar)34.2%33.8%
Residents 16+ with no qualifications15.7%18.2%
Households with no car or van20.6%23.3%
Homes owned outright or with a mortgage66.7%62.5%
Social rented homes12.5%17.1%
Private rented homes20.7%20.3%
Average deprivation decile (1 = most deprived, 10 = least)6.15.5 (England)
Residents in the most deprived 10% of areas4.6%10.1% (England)

Is the Sussex Police area a safe place to live?

The Sussex Police area recorded 92.8 crimes per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to August 2026, close to the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and ranks 16th of the 41 police force areas on this site by crime rate (1 = highest). The categories most above the national rate were possession of weapons and anti-social behaviour.

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

Violence and sexual offences was the most common category, with 51,042 reports in the 12 months to August 2026, followed by anti-social behaviour (35,209).

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

Recorded crime in the Sussex Police area was up 5% on the year before: 163,298 crimes in the 12 months to August 2026 against 156,079 in the previous 12 months.

What is the population of the Sussex Police area?

About 1,759,789 people (ONS mid-2024 estimate), 23% of them aged 65 or over (England and Wales: 19%).

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

130,298 crimes, excluding fraud, in the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics: 74.0 per 1,000 residents, against 83.2 across England and Wales. In the year ending March 2025 the figure was 135,289.

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

Relative to the national rate, the most over-represented categories in the year ending March 2026 were possession of weapons (2,487 offences, 1.4 times the England and Wales rate) and shoplifting (19,354 offences, 1.4 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/sussex">https://policestatistics.co.uk/police-forces/sussex</a>