Plymouth Crime Rate January 2025 | Monthly Statistics

Plymouth's crime profile in January 2025 reveals a distinct balance between violent and property crimes, shaped by the city's coastal urban character and seasonal rhythms. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 43% of all reported crimes, significantly outpacing the UK average for this category by 47%. This dominance of violent crime is consistent with the area's mix of nightlife venues, student populations, and social hubs that may contribute to higher rates of aggression and disorder. Anti-social behaviour (16.7% of total crimes) and criminal damage (7.5%) followed closely, both exceeding UK averages by 43% and 18% respectively. These figures align with the post-holiday period in January, when shorter days and reduced retail activity may shift social dynamics toward indoor spaces, amplifying tensions. Shoplifting rates (0.5 per 1,000) were 19% below the UK average, reflecting lower footfall in retail areas during the post-Christmas lull. The city's coastal location, with its mix of tourist attractions and residential zones, likely influences patterns of anti-social behaviour and public order issues, which accounted for 21.2% of all crimes combined. This crime mix suggests a combination of urban density, seasonal transitions, and local demographics that require nuanced analysis beyond raw numbers.

January 2025 saw marked fluctuations in specific crime categories, with possession of weapons rising by 25.8% (31 → 39) and other crime increasing by 17% (47 → 55). These upward trends contrast with sharp declines in robbery (-55.6%, 18 → 8) and theft from the person (-39.1%, 23 → 14), which may reflect heightened police presence or seasonal factors during the post-holiday period. The violent crime category remained high, with violence and sexual offences at 3.7 per 1,000 (43% of total crimes) — 47% above the UK average. This divergence is particularly stark when compared to shoplifting, which was 19% below the UK rate (0.5 vs 0.6 per 1,000). Drug-related crimes also stood out, with a rate of 0.5 per 1,000 — 92% above the UK average — suggesting persistent challenges in addressing substance-related offending. For residents, the 55.6% drop in robbery incidents offers a tangible indicator of potential effectiveness in targeted interventions during January. The significant rise in 'other crime' (55 cases) warrants further scrutiny, as this category often includes unclassified or emerging forms of criminal activity.

Plymouth's crime rate in January 2025 (8.5 per 1,000) represented a 3.6% decrease from the previous month's rate of 8.8 per 1,000, marking a slight downward trend. On a daily basis, the city experienced approximately 75 crimes per day — a figure that contextualises the ongoing pace of criminal activity in a densely populated urban environment. Over the course of the month, one reported crime occurred for roughly every 118 residents, highlighting the frequency of incidents in a city of 272,067 people. While this monthly exposure rate is lower than the previous month, it remains higher than the UK average of 7.1 per 1,000. The population-scaled perspective reveals that residents in Plymouth face a slightly higher risk of encountering crime compared to the national average, particularly in violent and drug-related categories. This contrast becomes more pronounced when considering that drug crimes in Plymouth were 92% above the UK rate, underscoring regional disparities in policing priorities or social factors. The slight month-on-month decrease may reflect the natural ebb and flow of criminal activity during the post-holiday period, but the overall rate still positions Plymouth as a city with above-average crime challenges that require sustained attention.