Chelmsford: burglary down, drugs up
A little above the national average, falling over three years — but rising again since February.
Chelmsford records 107 crimes per 1,000 residents a year. The England and Wales average is 99. So it is a little above average — about 8% — and around two-thirds of the country's constituencies came in lower.
Chart: Crimes Weekly · GB-ES-02 · Source: police.uk street-level recorded crime, 12 months to July 2026 · Census 2021 population
Across the 18 Essex seats it sits 5th, well behind Southend East and Rochford (157) and Colchester (122).
Why a city scores higher
Part of that is simply what Chelmsford is. It's a city with a big shopping centre and a busy night-time economy, and these figures divide crime by the people who live here, not everyone who comes in to shop, work or go out. That pushes up shoplifting and violence in particular — and those are exactly the two categories where Chelmsford is furthest above average: shoplifting 12.9 per 1,000 against 8.5 nationally; violence and sexual offences 44 against 35.
Three years of change
Comparing the year to July 2024 with the year to July 2026:
Chart: Crimes Weekly · GB-CH-01 · Source: police.uk street-level recorded crime, Chelmsford constituency, Aug 2023 – Jul 2026
- Burglary has halved — 549 down to 278
- Vehicle crime has nearly halved — 739 down to 380
- Bicycle theft is down 58% — 239 down to 101
Overall recorded crime is down 6.9%, from 11,361 offences a year to 10,574.
Two things went the other way. Drug offences are up 80% (317 to 572). That sounds alarming, but drug offences are almost never reported by the public — they're recorded when police find them, through stop and search or targeted operations. A rise like this usually means more of that activity, not more drugs. Anti-social behaviour is up a third (808 to 1,076), though Chelmsford is still well below the national rate for it.
Most of the fall happened in the first year. The rolling twelve-month total hit its low in the year to February 2026 and has risen about 4% since, so "falling" is true over three years but not over the last six months.
What these figures can't tell you
"Violence and sexual offences" is the largest category at 41% of the total. It's a broad police heading that takes in common assault, harassment and threats, not only the serious offences the name suggests.
This is recorded crime — what was reported to police and logged. A rise can mean more crime, more reporting or more policing, and things people often don't report, like most fraud, barely show up at all.
Look up your own area on the crime map.
Figures: police.uk street-level recorded crime, Chelmsford constituency (2024 boundaries), per 1,000 residents (Census 2021). Rankings: 12 months to July 2026. Three-year comparison: August 2023 – July 2024 against August 2025 – July 2026. Monthly counts: data.
