Most dangerous place in Cambridgeshire named as crime rates rise

The most dangerous place has experienced an increase in crime over the last 12 months

The most dangerous places in Cambridgeshire have been revealed, with the county experiencing an increase in crime over the last year. The latest Home Office figures have revealed there has been a two per cent increase in crime in Cambridgeshire over the last year up to March 2026.

Out of all of the towns and cities in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough has been revealed as the more dangerous place to live with the highest rates of crime.

Detective chief inspector Fiona Bail of Cambridgeshire Police said it is “always concerning” to see crime rates rise. However, she added: “It is also encouraging that members of the community and victims are reporting these incidents to us.

“Tackling violent crime is a force priority and we use a variety of tactics, including dedicated operations, working closely with partner agencies, and taking part in national initiatives. Our acquisitive crime teams (ACT) are committed to tackling burglaries and work hard to arrest those responsible and put them before the courts.”

She continued: “Drug dealing and associated criminality remains a priority for our policing teams across Peterborough. While it’s always concerning to see more drugs offences, the rise could be the result of two factors – proactive policing work and a change in recording practices.

“Police across the city have been carrying out proactive stop-searches in hotspot areas, executing warrants, and arresting suspects. Furthermore, we always encourage anyone with information about drug dealing in their area to report it.

“In addition, a change in recording practices has been implemented across the country, with all reports from border forces of drugs being intercepted on their way into the county, now being recorded as crimes rather than intelligence items.”

Why is Peterborough the most dangerous place to live?

• There were 106 crimes per 1,000 people reported over the last 12 months.
• The city has experienced a six per cent increase of crimes recorded from the previous year – 23,770 non-fraud crimes in the last 12 months.
• Peterborough is ranked as the most dangerous place to live in the East of England.

DCI Bail added: “Since the formation of our spree offender team last year and the introduction of a dedicated officer in the city centre, their hard work and dedication to tackling retail crime across Peterborough has resulted in an increase in the number of positive outcomes, and we are consistently detecting more than 50 per cent of crimes reported for shoplifting.

“The team, along with our city centre NPT, have been working closely with partner agencies and local retailers to encourage the reporting of retail crime so we can get a true indication of the number of offences. This has been successful as we have introduced direct reporting from systems that retailers use, so they are not having to duplicate their reports.

“We take all reports of crime seriously and continue to work tirelessly to keep Peterborough as safe as possible for residents.”

Cambridge was recorded with the second-highest crime rate in the county, and the seventh highest in the East of England. Cambridge experienced 92 crimes per 1,000 people in the last 12 months.

The data also revealed there has been a rise of serious types of offending in Cambridgeshire over the last year. Sexual offences increased by four per cent; stalking and harassment increased by four per cent; robbery increased by 10 per cent; drug crime increased by 12 per cent; possession of weapons increased by eight per cent.

While Peterborough and Cambridge are the most dangerous places to live in the county based on crime rates, the data showed that East Cambridgeshire is the safest place to live in the county. East Cambridgeshire recorded a crime rate of 46 crimes per 1,000 people.

In England, the data showed the highest volume of offences were committed in bigger cities including Birmingham, Leeds, and Manchester.