Police recorded 1,732 crimes and ASB incidents in central Stafford from March to July, up from 1,343 a year earlier. Bike thefts rose from 25 to 70.
Recorded crime and anti-social behaviour in central Stafford rose by 29% this spring and summer. Police recorded 1,732 crimes and incidents in the Stafford Town neighbourhood between March and July 2026. In the same five months of 2025 the figure was 1,343.
That is 389 more, and the rise has held month after month. Every month from March to July this year was higher than any month in the twelve before it.
The figures come from the street-level records Staffordshire Police publishes on data.police.uk. We pulled them for the force’s own Stafford Town neighbourhood boundary, which covers the town centre and the streets around it. July 2026 is the latest month published.
What went up
Most of the rise comes from two categories: anti-social behaviour, and violence and sexual offences. Bike theft rose fastest.
| Category | March to July 2025 | March to July 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 511 | 615 | +104 |
| Anti-social behaviour | 176 | 289 | +113 |
| Public order | 151 | 178 | +27 |
| Shoplifting | 148 | 149 | +1 |
| Criminal damage and arson | 84 | 95 | +11 |
| Drugs | 60 | 84 | +24 |
| Bicycle theft | 25 | 70 | +45 |
| Burglary | 28 | 56 | +28 |
| All categories | 1,343 | 1,732 | +389 |
The table shows the larger categories. The all-categories row includes the smaller ones too, such as vehicle crime, robbery and weapons possession.
A few things stand out:
- Anti-social behaviour is up by almost two thirds, from 176 incidents to 289.
- Bicycle theft has nearly trebled, from 25 to 70. July alone had 21, the highest month in the 17 we looked at.
- Burglary has doubled, from 28 to 56.
- Shoplifting has not moved: 148 last year, 149 this year.
Month by month
The lowest month in the last five was May, at 328. The highest month in the twelve before March was June 2025, at 306. June 2026 was the peak of the whole period, at 367.
July 2026 came in at 333, against 300 in July 2025. That is a smaller gap, about 11%, but it is still higher.
Where the incidents were recorded
Police.uk places each record at an approximate point, “on or near” a street or a type of place, to protect the people involved. So the locations show where things cluster, not the exact address.
Anti-social behaviour recorded on or near St Martin’s Place, off Market Square, rose from 7 incidents in March to July 2025 to 24 this year.
The bike thefts cluster around shops. Of the 70 this year, 9 were recorded on or near a supermarket, 6 on or near Parker’s Croft Road and 5 on or near a petrol station.
Most of them go unsolved. Police.uk shows 38 of the 70 closed with no suspect identified, and 18 still under investigation.
It is not just the town centre
The other Stafford neighbourhoods rose too, by less:
| Neighbourhood | March to July 2025 | March to July 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford Town | 1,343 | 1,732 | +29% |
| Stafford North | 561 | 702 | +25% |
| Stafford South | 841 | 994 | +18% |
| Stone Town | 519 | 583 | +12% |
In all three of Stafford North, Stafford South and Stone Town, July 2026 was the busiest month of the 17 we examined. Stafford South recorded 234, Stafford North 163 and Stone Town 133.
What the figures can and cannot tell you
These are recorded incidents, not a measure of how safe a street feels. A rise can mean more happened. It can also mean more people reported things, or officers recorded more. Drugs offences in particular tend to rise when police go looking for them.
Anti-social behaviour is counted alongside crime on police.uk, but it is not all criminal. We have kept it in because it is the category that grew the most.
We used the same force boundary for every month, so the comparison is like for like. The figures will move slightly if the force revises its records.
What it means for you
- If you cycle into town, lock the frame, not just a wheel, and use a stand in view. Most of this year’s bike thefts ended with no suspect found.
- Report anti-social behaviour, even when it seems minor. Staffordshire Police takes reports on 101 or through its website, and 999 is for an emergency. Recorded reports are what drive where patrols go.
- Stafford’s new street rules start in December. The borough council’s renewed Public Spaces Protection Order adds a rule on face coverings worn to hide identity, backed by 92% of people who responded. We covered the PSPO consultation and result.
- Check the figures for your own street on police.uk’s Stafford Town neighbourhood page.
We will update this when the August figures are published.
Sources
- data.police.uk street-level crime data, Staffordshire Police, for every monthly total, category and location in this article. Queried on 28 September 2026 for March 2025 to July 2026 using the force’s boundaries for the Stafford Town (WM0), Stafford North (WM2), Stafford South (WM1) and Stone Town (WM7) neighbourhoods.
- Stafford Town neighbourhood, Staffordshire Police.
- New measures to help tackle ASB in Stafford Borough backed by residents, Stafford Borough Council, 14 September 2026, for the PSPO result.
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