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Crime

Crime in Braintree 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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2,870crimes recordedJune to August 2026
+6%on the 3 months beforemore crime
Ridgewelllowest rate5.4 per 1,000 a year
51.9middle areacrimes per 1,000 a year

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

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Most improved: Halstead (-7%), Great Notley (0%) and Bocking (1%), compared with the three months before.

Every area, ranked

#Most common
1WithamCM8 · 27,036 residents 96.9▲ 17%violence
2Hatfield PeverelCM3 · 2,931 residents 94.2▼ 18%violence
3Silver EndCM8 · 3,665 residents 93.9▲ 18%violence
4BockingCM7 · 42,680 residents 91.2▲ 1%violence
5BraintreeCM7 · 44,399 residents 91▲ 2%violence
6Bocking ChurchstreetCM7 · 4,796 residents 87.6▲ 30%violence
7FeeringCO5 · 1,594 residents 80.3▲ 19%violence
8Great YeldhamCO9 · 2,303 residents 69.5▲ 74%violence
9HalsteadCO9 · 14,853 residents 67.3▼ 7%violence
10Great NotleyCM77 · 22,308 residents 65.60%violence
11KelvedonCO5 · 5,241 residents 59.5▲ 7%violence
12CoggeshallCO6 · 5,167 residents 51.9▼ 1%violence
13Sible HedinghamCO9 · 4,150 residents 49.2▼ 7%violence
14Castle HedinghamCO9 · 1,725 residents 46.40%violence
15Black NotleyCM77 · 2,698 residents 44.5▼ 14%violence
16RayneCM77 · 2,360 residents 44.1▲ 53%violence
17Earls ColneCO6 · 3,680 residents 41.3▲ 15%violence
18CressingCM77 · 2,650 residents 40.8▲ 93%violence
19TerlingCM3 · 1,588 residents 40.3–violence
20Colne EngaineCO6 · 1,818 residents 24.2–violence
21RivenhallCM8 · 2,310 residents 10.4–violence
22Steeple BumpsteadCB9 · 2,501 residents 9.6▼ 60%violence
23RidgewellCO9 · 2,217 residents 5.4–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 Braintree have the lowest crime?

Over June to August 2026, the areas with the fewest crimes per 1,000 residents were Ridgewell, Steeple Bumpstead, Rivenhall, Colne Engaine and Terling.

Which areas of Braintree 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 Witham, Hatfield Peverel, Silver End, Bocking and Braintree.

Is crime going up or down in Braintree?

Across Braintree, 2,870 crimes were recorded over June to August 2026, 6% 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.