As of February 2026, the annual crime rate in South East region stands at 8.7 crimes per 1000 people. South East's current crime levels are at 105% of the national crime rate. Shoplifting crime makes up 9.5% of all crimes reported in the region. Shoplifting crime totalled 73.4k representing a decrease 3.4% year-over-year.
| South East region | crime statistic | England & Wales |
|---|---|---|
| 8.7 | annual crime rate per 1k workday people | 8.3 |
| 105% | ratio of national crime rate | 100% |
| 9.5% | share of all crimes | 8.3% |
| 73.4k | crimes reported | 465k |
| -3.4% | annual change | -2.8% |
| County | Crime rate vs. ENG & WLS rate | Crime rate per 1000 workday people | Total number of crimes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkshire | 101% | 8 | 7276 | |
| Buckinghamshire | 97% | 8 | 5926 | |
| East Sussex | 159% | 13 | 10047 | |
| Hampshire | 90% | 7 | 13027 | |
| Isle of Wight | 90% | 8 | 1018 | |
| Kent | 121% | 10 | 16562 | |
| Oxfordshire | 93% | 8 | 5141 | |
| Surrey | 68% | 6 | 6285 | |
| West Sussex | 123% | 10 | 8108 | |
Crime rate ranking : South East region has the 4. lowest crime rate out of 9 regions
Shoplifting crime totalled 73.4k representing a decrease 3.4% year-over-year. In the graph below, region are compared by crime rate and crime rate percentage change. Crime rate percentage change compares the region crime rate between February 2025 - January 2026 to the region crime rate in the previous 12 months. The size of the circle reflects the number of total crimes reported. The bigger the circle, the higher the number of crimes reported in the region.
-3.4% annual change, crime is declining
73.4k crimes reported
Crime rate percentage changeNumber of crime incidents by month from January 2014 to January 2026.
Crime rate per 1000 workday people compared to the national crime rate by year.
Total number of crimes reported in a given calendar month (1 = January … 12 = December) in the previous five years, i.e. from 2020 till 2024.
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