Total Crime Rate

953.3 per 1,000 10/10 · Very High

All offences · May 2025 - Apr 2026

Violent Crime Rate

533.3 per 1,000 10/10 · Very High

May 2025 - Apr 2026
Latest update: 06.06.2026 Crime figures are sourced from data.police.uk and are typically published with a 3-month delay.
Crime rate per 1000 residents
  • All crimes 953.3 10/10
  • Violent crimes 533.3 10/10
  • Violence and sexual offences 373.3 10/10
  • Anti-social behaviour 160.0 10/10
  • Public order 126.7 10/10
  • Other theft 66.7 10/10
  • Shoplifting 53.3 8/10
  • Criminal damage and arson 46.7 10/10
  • Drugs 40.0 10/10
  • Bicycle theft 26.7 10/10
  • Robbery 26.7 10/10
  • Burglary 20.0 10/10
  • Possession of weapons 6.7 9/10
  • Theft from the person 6.7 8/10
  • Other crime 0.0 1/10
  • Vehicle crime 0.0 1/10
Values shown per 1,000 residents · May 2025 - Apr 2026 · Rating compares this oa to UK peers of the same type.
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Crime overview

Merchant Place area has the 5th highest crime rate of 51 local areas in Castle & Newnham , and the 6th highest crime rate of 543 local areas in Bedford .

The streets immediately around this postcode mostly have high or very high crime levels, and on average the bordering areas are much more affected by crime than this postcode itself.

The overall crime rate in the area around Merchant Place (MK40 1AR) in the last 12 months was 953.3 per 1,000 residents and was 350.8% higher than the Castle & Newnham average (211.5 per 1,000 residents). In the last 12 months, this area’s most reported crimes were Violence and sexual offences with 56 offences recorded. The least common crime was Possession of weapons with 1 case , unchanged from 2025. The fastest-growing crime category was Burglary ( 50.0% YoY). The sharpest decline was Theft from the person ( -75.0% YoY).

Violent crimes totalled 80 (≈ 533.3 per 1,000 residents). Year-over-year these were rising ( 11.1% ). Over the last decade, overall crime has falling ( -57.7% comparing early vs recent averages) .

In the area around Merchant Place (MK40 1AR), the main crime hotspot is near Shopping Area. Police recorded 219 crimes here, including 135 violent or public-order offences. All these locations are within roughly 0.3 miles.

View Crime In Bedford

Crime Over Time in Merchant Place area

Showing crimes within 0.3 miles (30/177)
Month:
MonthCrimeLocation*Last Outcome
Apr 2026Anti-social behaviour Cauldwell Place —
Apr 2026Shoplifting Silver Street Investigation complete; no suspect identified
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Cauldwell Street Unable to prosecute suspect
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Cauldwell Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Cauldwell Street Unable to prosecute suspect
Apr 2026Public order Kingsway Under investigation
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Kingsway Investigation complete; no suspect identified
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Kingsway Under investigation
Apr 2026Public order Silver Street Investigation complete; no suspect identified
Apr 2026Public order Silver Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Public order Silver Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Shoplifting Silver Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Shoplifting Silver Street Investigation complete; no suspect identified
Apr 2026Criminal damage and arson Cauldwell Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Shoplifting Silver Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Shoplifting Silver Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Shoplifting Silver Street Investigation complete; no suspect identified
Apr 2026Vehicle crime Silver Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Silver Street Awaiting court outcome
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Silver Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Anti-social behaviour High Street —
Apr 2026Anti-social behaviour High Street —
Apr 2026Burglary High Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Drugs High Street Awaiting court outcome
Apr 2026Shoplifting High Street Investigation complete; no suspect identified
Apr 2026Public order Cauldwell Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Burglary Cauldwell Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences High Street Under investigation
Apr 2026Anti-social behaviour Dane Street —
Apr 2026Shoplifting Gwyn Street Investigation complete; no suspect identified
* on or near this location Page 1 • Showing 30 of 177

Data Sources

StreetScan crime figures are based on official UK open data:

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right.

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