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Southend-on-Sea Counts — Southend-on-Sea, in numbers.Local help →

Southend-on-Sea · England

Crime and safety

Southend-on-Sea council area. Every figure carries its own date.

Southend-on-Sea

Recorded crime and population

A larger population can mean more recorded offences even when the number of offences per resident falls. Read the total and the rate together.

Southend-on-Sea · 2025/26 · Territorial police-recorded offences excluding fraud; British Transport Police excluded by CSP source. Source classifications retained.

Recorded offences

17,869

Offences per 1,000 residents

96.5

Population used for the rate

About 185,300

2024 mid-year population

The source rounds this population to the nearest 100. The rate shown is the official published rate.

Show the figures and workings

The rate is recorded offences divided by the population, multiplied by 1,000. Where the source rounds its population figure, we retain its published rate rather than recalculate it from that rounded figure. This counts offences, not the percentage of residents who were victims.

Checked counts and population-based rates
PeriodOffencesPopulation usedPer 1,000 residents
2025/2617,869About 185,300 (2024)96.5

These figures match the source area for this period. That does not establish a comparable history for today’s council boundaries.

Official source and method →
Can we test the population theory over 30 years?

Only where the offence definitions, recording practices and area boundaries are comparable. Changes in reporting, police recording and the types of crime matter too. We do not join incompatible series or invent missing years.

Only the latest independently checked observation is displayed. A comparable long-run crime-and-population trend has not been established.

  • 2002/03: Series starts after April 2002 recording-standard introduction; not comparable to pre-2002 records.
  • 2013/14: Offence grouping revision; source back-series retained. Recording practice changes also affect comparisons.
  • 2017/18: Burglary classification changed; broad total retained but detailed groups need review.
  • 2023/24: Burglary subcategories and recording-rule changes require interpretation review.

A comparable 30-year crime-and-population trend has not been established for this area.

For example, if offences rose by 10% while population rose by 20%, offences per resident would fall by about 8%. This is an illustration, not a finding about this area.

People commuting or visiting can also affect offences recorded in a place. The resident population is a useful common denominator, but does not count everyone present.

What could help? Follow the types and locations of repeated problems, check residents’ experiences, and assess the response. Area population totals do not identify who commits offences.

Local issues and proposed responses →

Police-recorded locations for Southend-on-Sea local authority area. Locations are approximate; these are not all crimes or a measure of personal risk.

18,671 mapped crimes

September 2025 to August 2026. Compared with 17,655 in the previous 12 months. Anti-social behaviour is counted separately.

Mapped crime over time

September 2024 to August 2026

Southend-on-Sea local authority area · mapped crimes

Reviewed figures: September 2024 to August 2026. This reviewed record covers fewer than 30 years, so the chart opens on all of it.

Shown on this chart: 1,303 mapped crimes in September 2024; 1,696 mapped crimes in August 2026. These are recorded counts; check the coverage notes before comparing periods.

The line joins consecutive published observations.

Monthly crime and anti-social behaviour
Recorded locations by month · Southend-on-Sea
MonthMapped crimeAnti-social behaviour
September 20241,303129
October 20241,427161
November 20241,373123
December 20241,265120
January 20251,365135
February 20251,298109
March 20251,445161
April 20251,543164
May 20251,499162
June 20251,720183
July 20251,797218
August 20251,620181
September 20251,406137
October 20251,431148
November 20251,489151
December 20251,477118
January 20261,330143
February 20261,316157
March 20261,563217
April 20261,604218
May 20261,725252
June 20261,760301
July 20261,874341
August 20261,696393
Crime categories in the latest complete year
September 2025 to August 2026 · Southend-on-Sea
CategoryMapped crimes
violent crime8,886
shoplifting1,944
criminal damage arson1,342
public order1,329
other theft1,244
vehicle crime1,055
drugs1,013
burglary633
other crime370
possession of weapons254
robbery253
bicycle theft211
theft from the person137
What these numbers include

Approximate published locations, not every crime or personal risk.

Anti-social behaviour is separate. Transport police and records without usable locations are excluded.

Do not compare directly with Scottish council-level recorded crime totals.

These are retrieved mapped records, not a guarantee of complete crime reporting. Approximate locations and unmapped incidents limit comparisons.

Missing ward-months invalidate totals and changes. Busy centres attract visitors, so residential population is not a measure of the number of people exposed.

Police data and method →

What could improve local safety →

Explore individual wards →