Locacity has analysed 12 months of official Police.uk crime data to rank the South East of England's major towns and cities by crime rate. The analysis covers 21 Built-Up Areas with a population of 75,000 or above, using ONS Census 2021 population data to calculate crimes per 1,000 residents.
Key Findings
Bracknell
Safest major urban area in the South East
89.6
Regional average crimes per 1,000 residents
Southampton & Chatham
Highest crime rates in the South East — joint last
Rankings — Crimes per 1,000 Residents
| Rank | Area | Crimes per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bracknell | 67.3 |
| 2 | Woking | 69.7 |
| 3 | Worthing | 74 |
| 4 | Basingstoke | 75.8 |
| 5 | Aylesbury | 76.2 |
| 6 | Ashford | 81.6 |
| 7 | Gillingham | 87 |
| 8 | Oxford | 87 |
| 9 | Slough | 87.8 |
| 10 | Crawley | 88.4 |
| 11 | High Wycombe | 89 |
| 12 | Reading | 89.2 |
| 13 | Maidstone | 94.6 |
| 14 | Brighton and Hove | 95.2 |
| 15 | Milton Keynes | 95.3 |
| 16 | Hastings | 98.3 |
| 17 | Guildford | 98.9 |
| 18 | Portsmouth | 99.6 |
| 19 | Eastbourne | 105.1 |
| 20 | Southampton | 110.3 |
| 21 | Chatham | 110.3 |
Source: Locacity analysis of Police.uk data (April 2025 – March 2026) and ONS Census 2021 population estimates.
Analysis
Bracknell emerged as the safest major urban area in the South East, recording 67.3 crimes per 1,000 residents — the lowest of any major urban area in the region. Woking ranked second at 69.7, followed by Worthing (74.0) and Basingstoke (75.8).
At the other end of the table, Southampton and Chatham tied as the least safe major urban areas in the South East, both recording 110.3 crimes per 1,000 residents. Eastbourne ranked third from bottom at 105.1, ahead of Portsmouth (99.6) and Guildford (98.9).
The South East table includes some counterintuitive results. Oxford, widely regarded as one of England's most desirable cities, ranked eighth at 87.0 crimes per 1,000 residents — above more affordable towns such as Bracknell, Woking and Basingstoke. Brighton and Hove ranked 14th at 95.2, while Guildford — one of the most expensive property markets in the South East — ranked 17th at 98.9.
The South East's regional average of 89.6 crimes per 1,000 residents is below the national average of 101.5 crimes per 1,000 residents across all major urban areas in England and Wales analysed by Locacity (excludes Greater Manchester, where data is not published through Police.uk).
The findings carry real implications for the property market. According to a Churchill Home Insurance survey, around 29,000 property sales fall through every year across England and Wales due to buyers’ concerns about local crime — representing an estimated £6.6 billion in lost property transactions annually. Understanding crime levels before committing to a purchase has never been more important.
However, these figures represent averages across entire urban areas. Crime levels can vary significantly from one street to the next within the same town or city — making street-level analysis essential for anyone making a property decision.
What this means for homebuyers and renters
Regional rankings provide a useful starting point, but they only tell part of the story. A Locacity report gives you a detailed, street-level picture of crime around a specific property — including the area immediately surrounding your home, nearby schools, transport hubs, and 999 police and ambulance response times.
Methodology
- • Analysis covers 21 Built-Up Areas (BUAs) in the South East with a population of 75,000 or above, as defined by the Office for National Statistics.
- • Crime data sourced from Police.uk open data service (April 2025 – March 2026).
- • Population data sourced from ONS Census 2021.
- • BUA boundaries sourced from ONS Built-Up Areas (December 2022) boundary data.
- • Crime coordinates in Police.uk data are approximated to the nearest street in accordance with Police.uk anonymisation policy; a small number of crimes near BUA boundaries may therefore be assigned to an adjacent area.
- • Greater Manchester Police does not publish data through Police.uk and is excluded from all Locacity analysis.