How safe is your city?

Feeling safe and secure is crucial for enjoying university. See how safe university towns and cities are to help you finalise where to study.

CHOOSING A UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE SAFETY UNDERGRADUATE

Joe Wood 13 Aug 2020

City crime stats methodology
England and Wales
Northern Ireland
Scotland
UK
Data sources

City crime stats methodology

The tables below show the crime rates against the general public in UK towns and cities with two or more universities, with a three-year rolling average of crime per population of 1,000.

Each town or city has three categories of crime measured – burglary in a dwelling, robbery and violence against the person with injury – and a total score and ranking. The data can help you decide if a university is right for you.

We also list crime rates specific to where students live during term time.

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Crime rates in university cities and towns
University crime statistics

England and Wales

Town/City	*Burglary in a dwelling	Robbery	**Violence against the person – with injury	Total	Rank
Bath	2.5	0.4	4.8	7.8	2
Birmingham	5.8	2.7	9.9	18.5	26
Bournemouth	4.4	0.7	9.4	14.5	18
Bradford	8.4	1.2	10.0	19.7	29
Brighton	2.7	1.0	9.7	13.5	13
Bristol	5.9	1.2	9.4	16.5	23
Cambridge	5.1	1.0	6.3	12.5	10
Canterbury	3.0	0.6	8.7	12.3	9
Cardiff	4.0	0.5	9.6	14.1	14
Chichester	2.0	0.1	5.1	7.2	1
Colchester	3.3	0.5	8.1	11.9	8
Coventry	5.7	1.5	7.2	14.4	16
Derby	4.6	1.3	10.9	16.9	25
Exeter	1.9	0.4	8.4	10.8	5
Guildford	2.1	0.2	5.9	8.2	3
Hull	7.1	1.4	14.3	22.8	35
Lancaster	3.9	0.4	9.9	14.1	15
Leeds	7.6	1.2	10.8	19.6	28
Leicester	5.9	1.4	8.4	15.7	21
Lincoln	4.9	0.7	9.4	14.9	19
Liverpool	7.6	1.3	11.5	20.4	30
Manchester	9.4	4.1	11.8	25.2	36
Middlesbrough	7.8	1.0	12.9	21.6	34
Newcastle	4.1	0.8	10.9	15.9	22
Newport	3.9	0.7	8.8	13.5	12
Northampton	5.3	1.8	12.5	19.6	27
Norwich	3.6	1.2	12.0	16.8	24
Nottingham	5.1	1.8	13.9	20.8	32
Oxford	3.8	0.7	7.1	11.6	7
Plymouth	2.4	0.5	11.4	14.4	17
Portsmouth	3.4	0.8	16.5	20.6	31
Reading	3.7	1.1	8.6	13.3	11
Sheffield	6.2	1.2	7.8	15.1	20
Southampton	4.8	1.2	15.5	21.5	33
Swansea	2.8	0.3	8.2	11.3	6
Winchester	1.9	0.2	6.6	8.7	4

Northern Ireland

Town/City	*Burglary in a dwelling	Robbery	**Violence against the person – with injury	Total	Rank
Belfast	6.2	1.0	13.0	20.2	1

Scotland

Town/City	*Burglary in a dwelling	Robbery	**Violence against the person – with injury	Total	Rank
Aberdeen	3.9	0.5	0.9	5.2	3
Dundee	3.4	0.5	0.9	4.8	2
Edinburgh	6.7	0.5	0.8	8.0	5
Glasgow	4.1	0.5	1.5	6.1	4
Stirling	2.4	0.2	0.5	3.1	1

UK

Town/City	*Burglary in a dwelling	Robbery	**Violence against the person – with injury	Total	Rank
Aberdeen	3.9	0.5	0.9	5.2	3
Bath	2.5	0.4	4.8	7.8	6
Belfast	6.2	1.0	13.0	20.2	35
Birmingham	5.8	2.7	9.9	18.5	31
Bournemouth	4.4	0.7	9.4	14.5	23
Bradford	8.4	1.2	10.0	19.7	34
Brighton	2.7	1.0	9.7	13.5	18
Bristol	5.9	1.2	9.4	16.5	28
Cambridge	5.1	1.0	6.3	12.5	15
Canterbury	3.0	0.6	8.7	12.3	14
Cardiff	4.0	0.5	9.6	14.1	19
Chichester	2.0	0.1	5.1	7.2	5
Colchester	3.3	0.5	8.1	11.9	13
Coventry	5.7	1.5	7.2	14.4	21
Derby	4.6	1.3	10.9	16.9	30
Dundee	3.4	0.5	0.9	4.8	2
Edinburgh	6.7	0.5	0.8	8.0	7
Exeter	1.9	0.4	8.4	10.8	10
Glasgow	4.1	0.5	1.5	6.1	4
Guildford	2.1	0.2	5.9	8.2	8
Hull	7.1	1.4	14.3	22.8	41
Lancaster	3.9	0.4	9.9	14.1	20
Leeds	7.6	1.2	10.8	19.6	33
Leicester	5.9	1.4	8.4	15.7	26
Lincoln	4.9	0.7	9.4	14.9	24
Liverpool	7.6	1.3	11.5	20.4	36
Manchester	9.4	4.1	11.8	25.2	42
Middlesbrough	7.8	1.0	12.9	21.6	40
Newcastle	4.1	0.8	10.9	15.9	27
Newport	3.9	0.7	8.8	13.5	17
Northampton	5.3	1.8	12.5	19.6	32
Norwich	3.6	1.2	12.0	16.8	29
Nottingham	5.1	1.8	13.9	20.8	38
Oxford	3.8	0.7	7.1	11.6	12
Plymouth	2.4	0.5	11.4	14.4	22
Portsmouth	3.4	0.8	16.5	20.6	37
Reading	3.7	1.1	8.6	13.3	16
Sheffield	6.2	1.2	7.8	15.1	25
Southampton	4.8	1.2	15.5	21.5	39
Stirling	2.4	0.2	0.5	3.1	1
Swansea	2.8	0.3	8.2	11.3	11
Winchester	1.9	0.2	6.6	8.7	9

Data sources

Metric	England and Wales definition	Latest data
Burglary in a dwelling	Burglary in a dwelling	gov.uk
Violence against the person – with Injury	Violence against the person – with injury	gov.uk
Robbery of personal property	Robbery of personal property	gov.uk
	Population	gov.uk

Metric	Northern Ireland definition	Latest data
Burglary in a dwelling	Burglary – dwelling	nisra.gov.uk
Violence against the person – with injury	Serious violent crime	nisra.gov.uk
Robbery of personal property	Robbery – personal	nisra.gov.uk
	Population	nisra.gov.uk

Metric	Scotland definition	Latest data
Burglary in a dwelling	Burglary in a dwelling = Housebreaking	gov.scot
Violence against the person – with injury	Violence against the person – with injury = Homicide, attempted murder and serious assault, and other violence	gov.scot
Robbery of personal property	Robbery	gov.scot
	Population	gov.scot