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Crime

Crime in Bedford by area

Every neighbourhood we cover, ranked by crimes per 1,000 residents a year, from police.uk figures for June to August 2026. Highest first. Pick a type of crime to re-rank, or tap a column to sort.

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5,686crimes recordedJune to August 2026
+16%on the 3 months beforemore crime
Coplelowest rate17.7 per 1,000 a year
59middle areacrimes per 1,000 a year

Darker means more crime per resident. Tap an area for its page.

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Most improved: Shortstown (-15%), Elstow (-12%) and Great Denham (-5%), compared with the three months before.

Every area, ranked

#Most common
1BedfordMK40 · 74,040 residents 183.6▲ 24%violence
2WixamsMK42 · 4,443 residents 135.9▲ 31%violence
3KempstonMK42 · 55,128 residents 134.9▲ 9%violence
4ElstowMK42 · 15,768 residents 87▼ 12%violence
5ShortstownMK42 · 6,667 residents 76.2▼ 15%violence
6Great DenhamMK40 · 6,776 residents 75▼ 5%violence
7Great BarfordMK44 · 2,252 residents 65.7▲ 37%anti-social behaviour
8StewartbyMK43 · 2,781 residents 61.8▲ 65%anti-social behaviour
9ClaphamMK41 · 4,503 residents 59.50%violence
10BiddenhamMK40 · 7,599 residents 59▲ 37%violence
11WillingtonMK44 · 1,586 residents 50.4▲ 54%anti-social behaviour
12WoottonMK43 · 7,566 residents 47.1▼ 11%violence
13WilsteadMK45 · 4,574 residents 43.7▼ 12%violence
14ChellingtonMK43 · 1,508 residents 42.4▼ 53%anti-social behaviour
15HarroldMK43 · 1,949 residents 39▼ 56%anti-social behaviour
16SharnbrookMK44 · 2,898 residents 34.5▼ 7%anti-social behaviour
17OakleyMK43 · 2,510 residents 33.5▲ 17%violence
18BromhamMK43 · 4,586 residents 29.7▲ 17%violence
19CarltonMK43 · 1,508 residents 21.2▼ 58%anti-social behaviour
20CopleMK44 · 1,586 residents 17.7–theft

Change compares the last three months with the three before. A dash means too few crimes to compare fairly.

Why busy centres look worst

Crimes are counted where they happen, but residents are counted where they live. Town centres and shopping areas have lots of shops, bars and visitors and not many residents, so their rates come out high even though most people there are just passing through.

How we work it out

Each area is a circle round its middle, the same as on its MeBabber page. We count the crimes police.uk records inside the circle over the last three months and turn that into a yearly figure, then divide by the number of people who live inside the circle, from the 2021 Census. Police locations are moved slightly on purpose to protect victims, so treat small differences between neighbouring areas with a pinch of salt.

Sources: data.police.uk and the Office for National Statistics, both under the Open Government Licence. Figures update every month.

Crime in every area

Questions people ask

Which areas of Bedford have the lowest crime?

Over June to August 2026, the areas with the fewest crimes per 1,000 residents were Cople, Carlton, Bromham, Oakley and Sharnbrook.

Which areas of Bedford have the highest crime?

Leaving aside the big shopping and industrial areas, where visitors and workers push the figures up, the highest rates over June to August 2026 were in Bedford, Wixams, Kempston, Elstow and Shortstown.

Is crime going up or down in Bedford?

Across Bedford, 5,686 crimes were recorded over June to August 2026, 16% more than the three months before.

How is crime per 1,000 residents worked out?

We count the crimes police.uk records inside each area, turn the last three months into a yearly figure, and divide by the number of people who live there from the 2021 Census.