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Crime

Crime in Colchester 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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5,358crimes recordedJune to August 2026
+11%on the 3 months beforemore crime
Chappellowest rate15.5 per 1,000 a year
79.1middle areacrimes per 1,000 a year

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

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Most improved: Highwoods (-10%), Berechurch (-3%) and Greenstead (0%), compared with the three months before.

Every area, ranked

#Most common
1New TownCO1 · 18,548 residents 283.6▲ 20%violence
2GreensteadCO4 · 11,266 residents 212.30%violence
3ColchesterCO1 · 62,393 residents 163▲ 12%violence
4HytheCO1 · 15,278 residents 152.9▲ 16%violence
5St Michael'sCO2 · 6,903 residents 108.4▲ 6%violence
6MylandCO4 · 11,525 residents 106.6▲ 3%violence
7Shrub EndCO2 · 9,024 residents 104.6▲ 10%violence
8StanwayCO3 · 12,298 residents 100.2▲ 10%violence
9BerechurchCO2 · 27,000 residents 98.7▼ 3%violence
10St John'sCO4 · 7,959 residents 95.5▲ 7%violence
11Old HeathCO2 · 11,487 residents 91.6▲ 14%violence
12Eight Ash GreenCO6 · 3,637 residents 84.7▲ 20%violence
13MonkwickCO2 · 9,394 residents 83▲ 6%violence
14Horkesley HeathCO6 · 2,022 residents 79.1▲ 122%violence
15HighwoodsCO4 · 10,256 residents 68.6▼ 10%violence
16West BergholtCO6 · 3,310 residents 65.3▲ 23%violence
17PrettygateCO3 · 8,927 residents 62.3▲ 18%violence
18RowhedgeCO5 · 12,664 residents 61.9▲ 5%violence
19CopfordCO6 · 1,726 residents 57.90%violence
20WivenhoeCO7 · 11,122 residents 57.2▲ 10%violence
21DedhamCO7 · 1,657 residents 53.1▲ 10%anti-social behaviour
22TiptreeCO5 · 11,834 residents 46.3▲ 10%violence
23West MerseaCO5 · 7,222 residents 44.3▼ 11%violence
24LexdenCO3 · 6,122 residents 42.5▲ 16%violence
25Marks TeyCO6 · 3,128 residents 29.4▲ 10%violence
26FingringhoeCO5 · 2,138 residents 18.7▼ 33%violence
27Wakes ColneCO6 · 1,545 residents 15.5–violence
28ChappelCO6 · 1,545 residents 15.5–violence

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 Colchester have the lowest crime?

Over June to August 2026, the areas with the fewest crimes per 1,000 residents were Chappel, Wakes Colne, Fingringhoe, Marks Tey and Lexden.

Which areas of Colchester 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 New Town, Greenstead, Colchester, Hythe and St Michael's.

Is crime going up or down in Colchester?

Across Colchester, 5,358 crimes were recorded over June to August 2026, 11% 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.