Choosing where to study
Crime rates in university cities and towns
Student safety is important. Here are the rates for crimes most likely to affect students in the areas they live during university term time.
Joe Wood
27 Feb 2020
CONTENTS
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Crime statistics: England and Wales 2019
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How we compile the crime table
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Notes
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Police.uk glossary of terms
Crime statistics: England and Wales 2019
Incidents per 1,000 residents
| Institution | Robbery | Burglary | Violence and sexual offences | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Agricultural University | 0.4 | 6.4 | 13.8 | 20.6 |
| Harper Adams | 0.1 | 5.2 | 16.9 | 22.2 |
| Buckingham | 0.6 | 2.9 | 18.8 | 22.2 |
| Falmouth | 0.3 | 2.9 | 20.5 | 23.7 |
| Rose Bruford College | 1.2 | 7.3 | 17.8 | 26.3 |
| York | 0.4 | 4.9 | 21.7 | 27.1 |
| Royal Holloway | 1.0 | 5.6 | 21.7 | 28.3 |
| Bath | 0.6 | 6.2 | 22.4 | 29.2 |
| Surrey | 0.8 | 4.2 | 24.7 | 29.7 |
| Warwick | 1.3 | 6.3 | 23.0 | 30.6 |
| Oxford Brookes | 1.2 | 5.5 | 24.4 | 31.1 |
| St Mary's | 2.2 | 7.2 | 22.0 | 31.4 |
| Winchester | 0.7 | 5.7 | 25.2 | 31.6 |
| Reading | 1.2 | 5.9 | 25.2 | 32.2 |
| Bath Spa | 0.8 | 5.7 | 27.3 | 33.7 |
| East Anglia | 0.7 | 4.3 | 29.2 | 34.2 |
| Bucks New | 1.7 | 6.1 | 27.3 | 35.0 |
| Keele | 1.0 | 4.6 | 29.8 | 35.4 |
| Chichester | 0.7 | 6.0 | 28.9 | 35.6 |
| Edge Hill | 0.8 | 5.9 | 29.2 | 35.9 |
| Kingston | 2.9 | 7.3 | 26.7 | 36.9 |
| Gloucestershire | 1.1 | 9.5 | 26.9 | 37.5 |
| Worcester | 1.0 | 6.2 | 30.4 | 37.6 |
| University for the Creative Arts | 1.1 | 6.2 | 30.6 | 38.0 |
| Roehampton | 2.7 | 7.5 | 28.0 | 38.2 |
| University of Wales Trinity Saint David | 0.7 | 5.0 | 33.4 | 39.0 |
| Plymouth Marjon | 0.7 | 4.0 | 34.4 | 39.1 |
| Hertfordshire | 1.9 | 6.6 | 30.6 | 39.1 |
| Middlesex | 3.7 | 9.1 | 26.5 | 39.2 |
| Royal Central School of Speech and Drama | 4.5 | 11.0 | 23.9 | 39.4 |
| Royal College of Music | 4.1 | 10.3 | 25.1 | 39.5 |
| West London | 3.2 | 8.7 | 28.0 | 39.9 |
| Royal Veterinary College | 3.8 | 8.7 | 27.4 | 40.0 |
| Writtle University College | 0.9 | 8.9 | 30.4 | 40.1 |
| St George's, University of London | 3.2 | 9.1 | 27.9 | 40.2 |
| Loughborough | 0.8 | 14.0 | 25.5 | 40.3 |
| East London | 3.8 | 8.2 | 28.5 | 40.5 |
| Swansea | 0.9 | 5.8 | 33.9 | 40.6 |
| Exeter | 1.0 | 3.9 | 35.7 | 40.7 |
| Sheffield | 1.9 | 13.0 | 26.0 | 40.9 |
| Aberystwyth | 0.5 | 5.0 | 35.6 | 41.1 |
| Anglia Ruskin | 2.2 | 7.6 | 31.6 | 41.4 |
| Chester | 0.6 | 4.5 | 36.3 | 41.4 |
| Guildhall School of Music and Drama | 4.7 | 10.2 | 26.6 | 41.4 |
| Kent | 1.5 | 5.6 | 35.1 | 42.2 |
| Brighton | 1.8 | 5.0 | 35.5 | 42.3 |
| Brunel | 3.2 | 8.1 | 31.1 | 42.4 |
| West of England, Bristol | 2.3 | 7.5 | 33.1 | 42.9 |
| Bournemouth | 1.0 | 7.7 | 35.0 | 43.7 |
| Sussex | 2.1 | 4.8 | 37.0 | 43.8 |
| Liverpool Hope | 1.5 | 8.9 | 33.4 | 43.9 |
| Ravensbourne | 3.7 | 9.7 | 30.8 | 44.2 |
| Newman | 3.3 | 10.2 | 31.0 | 44.5 |
| Bishop Grosseteste | 0.8 | 7.2 | 36.4 | 44.5 |
| London Metropolitan University | 4.8 | 9.7 | 30.1 | 44.6 |
| Trinity Laban | 4.0 | 10.6 | 30.0 | 44.6 |
| Goldsmiths | 5.1 | 9.6 | 30.0 | 44.7 |
| Birmingham | 4.3 | 13.0 | 27.7 | 45.0 |
| Greenwich | 3.2 | 8.8 | 33.1 | 45.0 |
| Canterbury Christ Church | 1.4 | 6.1 | 37.7 | 45.1 |
| Westminster | 5.3 | 9.9 | 30.5 | 45.8 |
| London South Bank | 4.9 | 9.9 | 31.8 | 46.6 |
| Queen Mary | 4.9 | 10.3 | 31.8 | 47.0 |
| Suffolk | 1.6 | 7.3 | 38.2 | 47.1 |
| Derby | 2.1 | 8.4 | 36.6 | 47.1 |
| South Wales | 0.8 | 6.3 | 41.1 | 48.2 |
| Lancaster | 0.6 | 8.4 | 39.4 | 48.3 |
| Royal Academy of Music | 7.0 | 12.9 | 28.5 | 48.4 |
| Nottingham | 2.4 | 10.8 | 35.4 | 48.6 |
| Cambridge | 2.9 | 7.7 | 38.0 | 48.6 |
| Southampton | 1.3 | 9.0 | 38.6 | 49.0 |
| Imperial College London | 6.9 | 12.3 | 30.2 | 49.4 |
| Cumbria | 0.9 | 6.9 | 42.2 | 49.9 |
| Wolverhampton | 3.1 | 9.5 | 37.4 | 50.0 |
| Oxford | 2.1 | 4.8 | 43.2 | 50.1 |
| City, University of London | 6.0 | 11.4 | 32.8 | 50.2 |
| Durham | 0.8 | 7.1 | 42.7 | 50.6 |
| York St John | 1.1 | 8.5 | 41.1 | 50.7 |
| Cardiff Metropolitan | 1.1 | 7.7 | 42.5 | 51.3 |
| Birmingham City | 5.3 | 9.9 | 36.1 | 51.3 |
| Bedfordshire | 2.8 | 10.9 | 38.2 | 51.9 |
| Hull | 1.4 | 10.1 | 40.9 | 52.3 |
| Staffordshire | 1.9 | 6.5 | 44.0 | 52.4 |
| Leeds Trinity University | 1.5 | 13.4 | 38.1 | 53.0 |
| SOAS University of London | 7.1 | 12.2 | 33.9 | 53.3 |
| Coventry | 5.1 | 10.7 | 37.7 | 53.5 |
| University of the Arts London | 6.8 | 12.0 | 34.8 | 53.7 |
| Conservatoire for Dance and Drama | 4.6 | 12.2 | 37.3 | 54.1 |
| Essex | 1.5 | 6.7 | 45.9 | 54.2 |
| Arts University Bournemouth | 1.4 | 9.2 | 44.7 | 55.3 |
| Northumbria | 1.3 | 8.1 | 46.8 | 56.2 |
| Sunderland | 1.6 | 10.0 | 46.4 | 58.0 |
| Plymouth | 1.4 | 7.3 | 49.3 | 58.0 |
| Wrexham Glyndŵr | 0.8 | 7.9 | 49.8 | 58.5 |
| King's College London | 7.5 | 12.8 | 38.3 | 58.6 |
| Northampton | 2.3 | 10.8 | 45.7 | 58.8 |
| Sheffield Hallam | 3.5 | 11.2 | 44.4 | 59.1 |
| Bangor | 0.5 | 7.4 | 51.2 | 59.1 |
| University College London | 9.3 | 14.4 | 35.5 | 59.2 |
| Norwich University of the Arts | 2.4 | 7.3 | 50.5 | 60.2 |
| Aston | 8.0 | 9.6 | 42.8 | 60.5 |
| Portsmouth | 1.5 | 7.4 | 51.7 | 60.7 |
| Bristol | 4.7 | 11.9 | 44.8 | 61.4 |
| Newcastle | 1.6 | 8.6 | 51.6 | 61.9 |
| Lincoln | 1.6 | 7.9 | 53.4 | 62.9 |
| Manchester Metropolitan | 6.5 | 14.0 | 43.0 | 63.5 |
| Salford | 3.9 | 11.4 | 48.2 | 63.5 |
| Liverpool | 3.3 | 11.8 | 48.6 | 63.8 |
| Leicester | 3.7 | 12.4 | 47.9 | 64.0 |
| Cardiff | 1.6 | 8.9 | 54.8 | 65.2 |
| Nottingham Trent | 3.5 | 9.8 | 52.7 | 66.0 |
| Huddersfield | 2.3 | 10.3 | 53.5 | 66.1 |
| Leeds | 4.2 | 14.3 | 48.3 | 66.7 |
| Bolton | 3.0 | 11.9 | 52.8 | 67.7 |
| Leeds Beckett | 3.2 | 14.5 | 50.0 | 67.7 |
| Liverpool John Moores | 3.5 | 10.8 | 53.5 | 67.8 |
| De Montfort | 3.8 | 14.2 | 53.4 | 71.3 |
| Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts | 4.1 | 10.8 | 57.2 | 72.1 |
| Royal Northern College of Music | 10.5 | 14.1 | 50.4 | 75.0 |
| Manchester | 9.3 | 19.6 | 49.0 | 77.9 |
| Central Lancashire | 2.2 | 13.6 | 63.8 | 79.5 |
| Teesside | 2.7 | 14.6 | 64.7 | 82.0 |
| London School of Economics | 12.9 | 19.6 | 51.2 | 83.7 |
| Leeds Arts University | 5.2 | 15.9 | 63.4 | 84.5 |
| Solent University | 4.0 | 12.2 | 69.2 | 85.4 |
| Courtauld Institute of Art | 14.5 | 17.7 | 64.1 | 96.2 |
| Bradford | 4.7 | 14.2 | 79.4 | 98.3 |
How we compile the crime table
Following professional advice, the data presented is of the crimes most relevant to students: robbery, burglary, and violence and sexual crimes. The universities are ranked on the combined rate of all three crimes occurring in the past 12 months in areas where students live during term time.
The official data for crime specifically against students isn’t available – these figures are based on all the victims in the vicinity, not just students.
This data aims to helps students with their university decision process when their prospective universities can’t provide the relevant information.
Notes
- These statistics are derived from data produced by police.uk, Ordnance Survey and the Office for National Statistics, and used under Open Government Licence v3. Student term-time accommodation data, HESA 2017–18
- The ranking is based on the relative levels of crimes of relevance to students – it doesn’t record crimes where students are themselves involved
- We calculated the annual reported incidents per thousand residents for the period May 2018–April 2019 by each ward or electoral division in England and Wales – for each institution, these crime rates were then combined using a weighting derived from the proportion of the institution's students who lived in each ward
- Where universities have multiple campuses, the figures relate to the aggregate for the institution – crime heat maps around universities can be found in the university profiles on the Living Here tab
- Because they’re based on resident populations and take no account of short-stay visitors and commuters, the figures may over-represent crime levels – however, this reporting problem is a common issue and the relative crime rates remain valid
- Comparable data for Scotland and Northern Ireland isn’t available – rankings for cities and towns in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales with two or more universities are available
Police.uk glossary of terms
- Burglary includes offences where a person enters a house or other building with the intention of stealing
- Robbery includes offences where a person uses force or threat of force to steal
- Violence & Sexual Crime includes offences against a person such as common assault, Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) and sexual offences
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