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Crime

Crime in Reading 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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7,009crimes recordedJune to August 2026
+5%on the 3 months beforemore crime
Caversham Heightslowest rate28.2 per 1,000 a year
89.9middle areacrimes per 1,000 a year

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

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Most improved: Kennet Island (-12%), Coley Park (-9%) and Whitley Wood (-6%), compared with the three months before.

Every area, ranked

#Most common
1KatesgroveRG1 · 21,006 residents 294.6▲ 7%violence
2ColeyRG1 · 23,885 residents 254.7▲ 4%violence
3ReadingRG1 · 90,312 residents 165.7▲ 8%violence
4Reading WestRG1 · 23,216 residents 163.7▲ 11%violence
5Kennet IslandRG2 · 6,863 residents 143.4▼ 12%violence
6CavershamRG4 · 12,049 residents 140.4▲ 35%violence
7Dee ParkRG30 · 16,978 residents 125.8▲ 5%violence
8BattleRG30 · 20,377 residents 125.2▲ 17%violence
9Coley ParkRG1 · 12,695 residents 124.8▼ 9%violence
10NewtownRG1 · 19,736 residents 122.8▲ 6%violence
11NorcotRG30 · 15,330 residents 119▼ 1%violence
12WhitleyRG2 · 17,101 residents 91.2▲ 5%violence
13KentwoodRG31 · 11,386 residents 89.9▼ 6%shoplifting
14Whitley WoodRG2 · 11,943 residents 88.8▼ 6%violence
15SouthcoteRG30 · 10,796 residents 88.6▲ 4%violence
16CalcotRG31 · 7,885 residents 87.8▲ 10%violence
17TilehurstRG30 · 55,461 residents 87.1▼ 1%violence
18EarleyRG6 · 9,362 residents 77.8▲ 26%violence
19ShinfieldRG2 · 7,688 residents 76.5▲ 18%violence
20Lower EarleyRG6 · 62,909 residents 65.2▲ 17%violence
21WoodleyRG5 · 46,845 residents 64.5▲ 25%violence
22Emmer GreenRG4 · 6,617 residents 39.9▼ 15%violence
23Caversham ParkRG4 · 8,060 residents 36.2▼ 10%violence
24Purley on ThamesRG8 · 9,670 residents 29.8▼ 9%violence
25Caversham HeightsRG4 · 8,218 residents 28.2▼ 3%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 Reading have the lowest crime?

Over June to August 2026, the areas with the fewest crimes per 1,000 residents were Caversham Heights, Purley on Thames, Caversham Park, Emmer Green and Woodley.

Which areas of Reading 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 Katesgrove, Coley, Reading, Reading West and Kennet Island.

Is crime going up or down in Reading?

Across Reading, 7,009 crimes were recorded over June to August 2026, 5% 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.