Crime in the Thames Valley Police area: statistics, rates and trends

193,726 crimes were recorded in the Thames Valley Police area in the 12 months to August 2026, 73.4 per 1,000 residents. That is lower than the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and almost unchanged 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 (73,620), anti-social behaviour (20,972) and shoplifting (19,102) made up 59% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 33rd of the 41 police force areas covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lowest quarter.

Measurethe Thames Valley Police areaEnglandEngland and Wales
Crimes, the 12 months to August 2026193,7265,311,1065,618,064
Crimes per 1,000 residents73.496.796.7
Change on previous 12 months0%-1%-1%
Population2,640,20154,941,05758,127,638

Recorded crime in the Thames Valley Police area peaked in the year to August 2022 (205,161 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2019 (173,935). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 11%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

PeriodCrimesPer 1,000England and Wales per 1,000
Year to August 2026193,72673.496.7
Year to August 2025193,53273.397.2
Year to August 2024195,57874.197.9
Year to August 2023204,89277.6n/a
Year to August 2022205,16177.7102.0
Year to August 2021191,13772.4101.4
Year to August 2020177,85167.4102.7
Year to August 2019173,93565.9101.7
Year to August 2018174,69366.2100.8

Month by month

MonthCrimes
August 202617,158
July 202618,657
June 202617,478
May 202617,342
April 202616,066
March 202616,243
February 202614,192
January 202614,738
December 202514,428
November 202515,567
October 202515,878
September 202515,979

Compared with England and Wales, the Thames Valley Police area recorded notably more bicycle theft (32% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (63% below) and possession of weapons (54% below). On the year before, other crime rose from 3,664 to 4,257, while theft from the person fell from 2,224 to 1,634.

Crime typeCrimesPer 1,000England and Wales per 1,000Change on year
Violence and sexual offences73,62027.934.2+1%
Anti-social behaviour20,9727.915.40%
Shoplifting19,1027.28.5-2%
Public order15,2055.86.7+3%
Other theft15,1065.76.4+2%
Criminal damage and arson13,8215.26.7-1%
Vehicle crime10,8284.15.0-5%
Burglary6,7582.63.6+1%
Drugs6,1752.33.3+2%
Other crime4,2571.62.1+16%
Bicycle theft2,8761.10.8-6%
Robbery2,2050.81.4+14%
Theft from the person1,6340.61.7-27%
Possession of weapons1,1670.41.0-15%

What each category covers: crime categories.

169,175 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in the Thames Valley Police area in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 64.1 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 2% on the year ending March 2025 (172,264), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 43 territorial police force areas of England and Wales, the Thames Valley Police area had the 9th 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 Thames Valley Police area, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 27,462 offences (16% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for bicycle theft (1.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.35 times), robbery of personal property (0.45 times) and possession of weapons (0.54 times).

The largest falls were in theft from the person (−33%) and bicycle theft (−14%). 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 injury27,46210.413.20.79+3%
Stalking and harassment19,8387.510.10.75+4%
Shoplifting18,1666.98.10.85–
Violence with injury16,1596.18.10.75−2%
Public order offences15,2415.87.00.83+2%
Other theft offences14,8945.66.50.86−2%
Criminal damage13,1745.06.80.73−1%
Vehicle offences11,0234.25.00.83−9%
Possession of drugs4,9931.92.50.76+3%
Other sexual offences4,8181.82.30.80+6%
Residential burglary4,3781.72.50.67−4%
Miscellaneous crimes against society3,2991.22.10.60−4%
Bicycle theft2,8911.10.851.28−14%
Rape2,5270.961.20.79+4%
Trafficking of drugs2,4980.951.20.80+7%
Non-residential burglary1,9840.751.10.67−11%
Theft from the person1,6170.611.80.35−33%
Possession of weapons1,4170.541.000.54−10%
Robbery of personal property1,0900.410.910.45+0%
Robbery of business property1,0230.390.470.82–
Arson6520.250.380.65−13%
Death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving170.010.030.18−54%
Homicide140.010.010.66−7%

Recorded crime in the Thames Valley 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 Thames Valley 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
2026169,17564.183.2
2025172,26465.284.5
2024174,08765.986.2
2023181,95268.989.2
2022174,90966.285.4
2021149,72656.774.1
2020170,69964.784.7
2019161,51761.284.1
2018148,71056.378.2
2017137,90652.269.1
2016129,52549.162.3
2015120,94245.857.1
2014127,43148.355.9
2013131,76449.956.7

Districts in the Thames Valley Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 13 districts in the Thames Valley Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Reading had the highest rate (97.9 per 1,000) and Wokingham the lowest (39.2).

DistrictOffencesPer 1,000Index (E&W = 1.00)
Reading17,91597.91.18
Oxford15,98796.31.16
Slough14,78488.31.06
Milton Keynes26,84387.81.05
Cherwell10,85463.70.77
Windsor and Maidenhead9,08157.10.69
West Berkshire9,07855.00.66
Buckinghamshire31,03853.60.64
Bracknell Forest6,88152.60.63
Vale of White Horse6,92546.40.56
West Oxfordshire5,17342.80.51
South Oxfordshire6,35940.60.49
Wokingham7,34139.20.47

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 police force areas have a higher crime rate than the Thames Valley Police area; the highest is the City of London Police area (639.5 per 1,000) and the lowest the Wiltshire Police area (67.3).

Police force areaCrimesPer 1,000Rate vs the Thames Valley Police area
Hertfordshire106,43086.1+17%
Bedfordshire60,03680.1+9%
Surrey87,79470.3-4%
Metropolitan Police1,117,214123.1+68%
City of London9,663639.5+772%
Northamptonshire73,72290.6+23%
Wiltshire51,65967.3-8%
Hampshire166,95880.9+10%

Of the 13 areas within the Thames Valley Police area, Reading had the highest crime rate (112.0 per 1,000) and Wokingham the lowest (45.1).

AreaTypePopulationCrimesPer 1,000
ReadingDistrict182,90720,492112.0
OxfordDistrict166,03417,767107.0
SloughDistrict167,35917,289103.3
Milton KeynesDistrict305,88430,686100.3
CherwellDistrict170,42612,22571.7
Bracknell ForestDistrict130,8068,59065.7
Windsor and MaidenheadDistrict158,94310,36065.2
West BerkshireDistrict165,11210,75665.1
BuckinghamshireDistrict578,77235,81261.9
Vale of White HorseDistrict149,3477,94753.2
West OxfordshireDistrict120,9415,92449.0
South OxfordshireDistrict156,4707,44047.5
WokinghamDistrict187,2008,43845.1

Of the 172,754 crimes in the Thames Valley Police area with a recorded outcome, 34% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 4.1% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 20,972 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

OutcomeCrimesShareEngland and Wales
Investigation complete; no suspect identified59,15034.2%35.3%
Unable to prosecute suspect57,51033.3%34.5%
Under investigation23,11713.4%11.5%
Status update unavailable8,9765.2%4.7%
Awaiting court outcome7,0024.1%5.2%
Local resolution6,9214.0%3.1%
Action to be taken by another organisation3,9382.3%1.3%
Court result unavailable3,2411.9%2.5%
Further investigation is not in the public interest1,3060.8%0.5%
Offender given a caution1,1040.6%0.6%
Suspect charged as part of another case2000.1%0.0%
Offender given penalty notice1320.1%0.1%

The Thames Valley Police area has an estimated population of 2,640,201 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer households without a car (15%, against 23%) and fewer residents with no qualifications (14%, against 18%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up the Thames Valley Police area average decile 7.2 (1 = most deprived), less deprived than average.

Measurethe Thames Valley Police areaEngland and Wales
Aged 0 to 1519.7%18.3%
Aged 65 and over17.0%18.9%
Residents 16+ in work62.3%57.2%
Residents 16+ unemployed3.0%3.4%
Residents 16+ retired19.2%21.6%
Residents 16+ who are students7.9%7.9%
Residents 16+ with Level 4 qualifications or above (degree, HND and similar)40.4%33.8%
Residents 16+ with no qualifications14.1%18.2%
Households with no car or van15.1%23.3%
Homes owned outright or with a mortgage65.7%62.5%
Social rented homes14.4%17.1%
Private rented homes19.8%20.3%
Average deprivation decile (1 = most deprived, 10 = least)7.25.5 (England)
Residents in the most deprived 10% of areas0.6%10.1% (England)

Is the Thames Valley Police area a safe place to live?

The Thames Valley Police area recorded 73.4 crimes per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to August 2026, lower than the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and ranks 33rd of the 41 police force areas on this site by crime rate (1 = highest). The categories most above the national rate were bicycle theft.

What is the most common crime in the Thames Valley Police area?

Violence and sexual offences was the most common category, with 73,620 reports in the 12 months to August 2026, followed by anti-social behaviour (20,972).

Is crime in the Thames Valley Police area going up or down?

Recorded crime in the Thames Valley Police area was almost unchanged on the year before: 193,726 crimes in the 12 months to August 2026 against 193,532 in the previous 12 months.

What is the population of the Thames Valley Police area?

About 2,640,201 people (ONS mid-2024 estimate), 17% of them aged 65 or over (England and Wales: 19%).

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

169,175 crimes, excluding fraud, in the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics: 64.1 per 1,000 residents, against 83.2 across England and Wales. In the year ending March 2025 the figure was 172,264.

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

Relative to the national rate, the most over-represented categories in the year ending March 2026 were bicycle theft (2,891 offences, 1.3 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/thames-valley">https://policestatistics.co.uk/police-forces/thames-valley</a>