Skip to content
Cheshire West and Chester Counts — Cheshire West and Chester, in numbers.Local help →

Cheshire West and Chester, in numbers

Crime and safety

Cheshire West and Chester council area. Every figure carries its own date.

What the recorded figures show, and what they cannot tell us.

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.

Cheshire West and Chester · 2025/26 · Territorial police-recorded offences excluding fraud; British Transport Police excluded by CSP source. Source classifications retained.

Recorded offences

24,822

Offences per 1,000 residents

66.8

Population used for the rate

About 371,700

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
2025/2624,822About 371,700 (2024)66.8

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 Cheshire West and Chester council area. Locations are approximate; these are not all crimes or a measure of personal risk.

24,614 mapped crimes

September 2025 to August 2026. Compared with 23,844 in the previous 12 months. Anti-social behaviour is counted separately.

Mapped crime over time

September 2024 to August 2026

Cheshire West and Chester council 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: 2,037 mapped crimes in September 2024; 2,108 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 · Cheshire West and Chester
MonthMapped crimeAnti-social behaviour
September 20242,037215
October 20241,982277
November 20241,902180
December 20241,919147
January 20251,821157
February 20251,722134
March 20252,054219
April 20251,995250
May 20251,978221
June 20252,191206
July 20252,269242
August 20251,974243
September 20251,896216
October 20252,004280
November 20252,036171
December 20252,062121
January 20261,853180
February 20261,808157
March 20262,034229
April 20261,959231
May 20262,154255
June 20262,266234
July 20262,434276
August 20262,108296
Crime categories in the latest complete year
September 2025 to August 2026 · Cheshire West and Chester
CategoryMapped crimes
violent crime12,340
public order3,161
shoplifting2,197
criminal damage arson1,718
other theft1,595
drugs1,068
burglary743
other crime589
vehicle crime582
possession of weapons228
bicycle theft167
robbery148
theft from the person78
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 →