Burglary in numbers
153,229 homes. One year.
Police recorded 153,229 home burglaries in England and Wales in the year to June 2026. The real number is higher, because many are never reported.
Greater Manchester, London and the home counties
Home burglaries recorded by police in the year to June 2026, highest rate first. In London about 1 in every 108 homes was burgled; in Greater Manchester about 1 in 148.
| Police force area | Home burglaries | Per 1,000 homes | About 1 in every… | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Police (Greater London) | 32,999 | 9.2 | 108 homes | Down 1% |
| Greater Manchester | 8,294 | 6.8 | 148 homes | Down 14% |
| Hertfordshire | 2,685 | 5.4 | 185 homes | Down 10% |
| City of London | 39 | 5.3 | 187 homes | Too few to compare |
| Essex | 3,837 | 4.8 | 208 homes | Up 1% |
| Surrey | 2,277 | 4.5 | 220 homes | Down 7% |
| Kent | 3,342 | 4.2 | 237 homes | Down 15% |
| Thames Valley (Berks, Bucks, Oxon) | 4,375 | 4.2 | 238 homes | Down 1% |
| Bedfordshire | 1,150 | 3.9 | 254 homes | Down 14% |
| Sussex | 2,657 | 3.5 | 289 homes | Down 12% |
| England and Wales | 153,229 | 5.9 | 169 homes | Down 5% |
Burglary counts and households: ONS police force area tables, year ending June 2026. “Per 1,000 homes” and “1 in every…” are our calculations from those ONS figures. The City of London has very few homes, so its rate swings a lot from year to year.
The latest ONS figures (year to June 2026)
The Office for National Statistics published these on 22 October 2026. The next update is due on 28 January 2027.
| Measure | Year to June 2026 | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|
| Burglary recorded by police (homes and other buildings) | 222,304 | Down 6% |
| Other household theft, e.g. from gardens and sheds (Crime Survey) | About 833,000 | Up 27% |
| Fraud (Crime Survey) | 4.5 million | Up 11% |
| All Crime Survey headline crime | 9.7 million | No significant change |
Burglary is falling, but theft from around the home is rising. Sheds, garages, bikes and tools left outside are targets too, and a ladder or tool left out can be used to get into the house.
How to read crime statistics without being misled
- Check the period. Official figures are rolling 12-month totals, such as “year to June 2026”. A headline that doesn’t give dates may be comparing different periods.
- Check the source. Police figures count crimes reported and recorded. The Crime Survey asks households directly and includes crimes never reported. The two aren’t directly comparable.
- Look for “statistically significant”. The Crime Survey is a sample, so small changes can be noise. “No significant change” means treat it as flat.
- Watch the categories. Some burglary totals include businesses as well as homes; theft from a garden counts as “other household theft”, not burglary.
- Use local maps with care. The police.uk map shows crimes on or near where they happened, not at the exact address. Use it for patterns on your street, not to judge one house.
The odds are on their side. Put your door on yours.
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Pre-order the Door Handle Guard – £47Sources: ONS – Police force area data tables, year ending June 2026 · ONS – Crime in England and Wales, year ending June 2026 · Home Office recorded crime data, analysed by the Yorkshire Evening Post
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