Bedford Crime Rate November 2024 | Monthly Statistics

November 2024 saw Bedford's overall crime rate remain 9.2% below the UK average at 6.9 per 1,000 residents, a position consistent with the area’s historical trend of relatively lower crime levels compared to national benchmarks. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 31.5% of all reported crimes, followed by shoplifting (15.2%) and anti-social behaviour (11.5%). This pattern aligns with Bedford’s character as a mixed urban area with a strong retail presence, which may contribute to shoplifting rates being 59% above the UK average. Seasonal factors, including the lead-up to Black Friday and the darkening evenings of November, likely influenced the timing and nature of reported incidents. While violent crime remains a significant category, its rate (2.2 per 1,000) is 15% below the UK average, suggesting local factors such as community policing or demographic composition may temper its prevalence. The prominence of anti-social behaviour, which is 28% below the UK average, highlights a combination of public space management and resident engagement. These figures illustrate a crime profile shaped by both local dynamics and broader national trends, with seasonal transitions playing a notable role in November’s statistics.

November 2024 marked a 29.1% increase in shoplifting compared to October, with 204 incidents reported — a sharp rise that may be linked to the Black Friday shopping period and heightened retail activity. This surge places shoplifting in Bedford 59% above the UK average (0.7 per 1,000), underscoring a specific vulnerability in the area’s retail sector. Conversely, anti-social behaviour fell by 27.4% (212 → 154), and possession of weapons dropped 38.5% (13 → 8), though the latter’s rate remains 100% below the UK average. The breakdown also reveals that violent crime, while still the most common category, is 15% below the UK average (2.6 per 1,000), a contrast to the 36% above UK levels seen in vehicle crime (0.4 per 1,000). Residents should be particularly vigilant around retail areas during late-night hours, given the seasonal spike in shoplifting and the ongoing prevalence of anti-social behaviour in public spaces.

Bedford’s crime rate in November 2024 (6.9 per 1,000) represents a 5.6% decrease from the previous month’s rate of 7.3 per 1,000, indicating a short-term decline in overall crime. On a daily basis, the area recorded approximately 45 crimes per day, a figure that contextualises the frequency of incidents for local residents. Over the course of the month, one reported crime occurred for roughly every 145 residents, a monthly exposure rate that remains lower than many comparable urban areas. This statistic, while not directly comparable to UK-wide figures, suggests that Bedford’s population of 194,976 experiences crime at a pace that is consistently below the national average. The 9.2% gap between Bedford’s rate and the UK’s 7.6 per 1,000 highlights the effectiveness of local policing strategies or socioeconomic factors that may reduce crime opportunities. However, the sharp rise in shoplifting and the ongoing disparities in specific categories — such as vehicle crime and anti-social behaviour — demonstrate that while the overall trend is positive, targeted awareness remains necessary for certain crime types.