# Highest and lowest recorded crime rates in South East (August 2026)

Hastings had the highest recorded crime rate of South East’s 64 councils in August 2026, at 146.8 per 1,000 people.

Waverley had the lowest, at 43.1 per 1,000 people. The middle council, Lewes, had 73.1 per 1,000 people.

Rates are per resident, so places that many people work in or visit, such as Westminster, the City of London and other city centres, have far higher rates than their residents alone would suggest.

Worked out by Open Index from police.uk crime records and ONS and NISRA population estimates.

| Rank | Area | Recorded crime rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Hastings](https://openindex.co.uk/hastings) | 146.8 per 1,000 |
| 2 | [Eastbourne](https://openindex.co.uk/eastbourne) | 140.9 per 1,000 |
| 3 | [Southampton](https://openindex.co.uk/southampton) | 133.8 per 1,000 |
| 4 | [Crawley](https://openindex.co.uk/crawley) | 129.1 per 1,000 |
| 5 | [Portsmouth](https://openindex.co.uk/portsmouth) | 126.7 per 1,000 |
| 6 | [Brighton and Hove](https://openindex.co.uk/brighton-and-hove) | 125.0 per 1,000 |
| 7 | [Thanet](https://openindex.co.uk/thanet) | 114.8 per 1,000 |
| 8 | [Reading](https://openindex.co.uk/reading) | 111.5 per 1,000 |
| 9 | [Canterbury](https://openindex.co.uk/canterbury) | 107.5 per 1,000 |
| 10 | [Oxford](https://openindex.co.uk/oxford) | 107.1 per 1,000 |
| 11 | [Dartford](https://openindex.co.uk/dartford) | 105.9 per 1,000 |
| 12 | [Slough](https://openindex.co.uk/slough) | 103.2 per 1,000 |
| 13 | [Medway](https://openindex.co.uk/medway) | 102.4 per 1,000 |
| 14 | [Worthing](https://openindex.co.uk/worthing) | 101.6 per 1,000 |
| 15 | [Milton Keynes](https://openindex.co.uk/milton-keynes) | 99.4 per 1,000 |
| 16 | [Swale](https://openindex.co.uk/swale) | 97.7 per 1,000 |
| 17 | [Gravesham](https://openindex.co.uk/gravesham) | 92.3 per 1,000 |
| 18 | [Arun](https://openindex.co.uk/arun) | 87.8 per 1,000 |
| 19 | [Havant](https://openindex.co.uk/havant) | 87.6 per 1,000 |
| =20 | [Dover](https://openindex.co.uk/dover) | 86.8 per 1,000 |
| =20 | [Spelthorne](https://openindex.co.uk/spelthorne) | 86.8 per 1,000 |
| 22 | [Folkestone and Hythe](https://openindex.co.uk/folkestone-and-hythe) | 86.0 per 1,000 |
| 23 | [Maidstone](https://openindex.co.uk/maidstone) | 85.4 per 1,000 |
| 24 | [Runnymede](https://openindex.co.uk/runnymede) | 85.0 per 1,000 |
| 25 | [Epsom and Ewell](https://openindex.co.uk/epsom-and-ewell) | 84.9 per 1,000 |
| 26 | [Isle of Wight](https://openindex.co.uk/isle-of-wight) | 84.0 per 1,000 |
| 27 | [Guildford](https://openindex.co.uk/guildford) | 80.6 per 1,000 |
| 28 | [Chichester](https://openindex.co.uk/chichester) | 80.3 per 1,000 |
| 29 | [Gosport](https://openindex.co.uk/gosport) | 79.9 per 1,000 |
| 30 | [Rushmoor](https://openindex.co.uk/rushmoor) | 77.9 per 1,000 |
| 31 | [Ashford](https://openindex.co.uk/ashford) | 76.4 per 1,000 |
| 32 | [Lewes](https://openindex.co.uk/lewes) | 73.1 per 1,000 |
| 33 | [Rother](https://openindex.co.uk/rother) | 72.0 per 1,000 |
| 34 | [Woking](https://openindex.co.uk/woking) | 71.9 per 1,000 |
| 35 | [Cherwell](https://openindex.co.uk/cherwell) | 71.0 per 1,000 |
| 36 | [Adur](https://openindex.co.uk/adur) | 70.6 per 1,000 |
| 37 | [Reigate and Banstead](https://openindex.co.uk/reigate-and-banstead) | 69.8 per 1,000 |
| 38 | [Basingstoke and Deane](https://openindex.co.uk/basingstoke-and-deane) | 69.7 per 1,000 |
| 39 | [Tandridge](https://openindex.co.uk/tandridge) | 69.1 per 1,000 |
| =40 | [Tonbridge and Malling](https://openindex.co.uk/tonbridge-and-malling) | 67.3 per 1,000 |
| =40 | [Tunbridge Wells](https://openindex.co.uk/tunbridge-wells) | 67.3 per 1,000 |
| 42 | [Eastleigh](https://openindex.co.uk/eastleigh) | 65.6 per 1,000 |
| 43 | [Mole Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/mole-valley) | 65.3 per 1,000 |
| =44 | [Bracknell Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/bracknell-forest) | 65.0 per 1,000 |
| =44 | [West Berkshire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-berkshire) | 65.0 per 1,000 |
| 46 | [Windsor and Maidenhead](https://openindex.co.uk/windsor-and-maidenhead) | 64.8 per 1,000 |
| 47 | [Sevenoaks](https://openindex.co.uk/sevenoaks) | 62.5 per 1,000 |
| 48 | [Surrey Heath](https://openindex.co.uk/surrey-heath) | 61.4 per 1,000 |
| =49 | [Buckinghamshire](https://openindex.co.uk/buckinghamshire) | 61.3 per 1,000 |
| =49 | [Winchester](https://openindex.co.uk/winchester) | 61.3 per 1,000 |
| 51 | [Fareham](https://openindex.co.uk/fareham) | 61.1 per 1,000 |
| 52 | [Elmbridge](https://openindex.co.uk/elmbridge) | 61.0 per 1,000 |
| 53 | [Test Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/test-valley) | 60.7 per 1,000 |
| 54 | [Mid Sussex](https://openindex.co.uk/mid-sussex) | 60.2 per 1,000 |
| 55 | [New Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/new-forest) | 58.4 per 1,000 |
| 56 | [Horsham](https://openindex.co.uk/horsham) | 56.8 per 1,000 |
| 57 | [Wealden](https://openindex.co.uk/wealden) | 54.1 per 1,000 |
| 58 | [Vale of White Horse](https://openindex.co.uk/vale-of-white-horse) | 52.2 per 1,000 |
| 59 | [West Oxfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-oxfordshire) | 48.8 per 1,000 |
| =60 | [East Hampshire](https://openindex.co.uk/east-hampshire) | 47.1 per 1,000 |
| =60 | [South Oxfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-oxfordshire) | 47.1 per 1,000 |
| 62 | [Wokingham](https://openindex.co.uk/wokingham) | 44.6 per 1,000 |
| 63 | [Hart](https://openindex.co.uk/hart) | 44.2 per 1,000 |
| 64 | [Waverley](https://openindex.co.uk/waverley) | 43.1 per 1,000 |

Source: Worked out by Open Index from police.uk crime records and ONS and NISRA population estimates. Covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Period: August 2026. Period: August 2026.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [England, Wales and Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/england)
- [Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/northern-ireland)
- [Wales](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/wales)
- [North East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/north-east)
- [North West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/north-west)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [East Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/east-midlands)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/west-midlands)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/london)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/recorded-crime-rate)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/recorded-crime-rate)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/south-east.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.11. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/recorded-crime-rate/south-east