Total Crime Rate

220.9 per 1,000 10/10 · Very High

All offences · May 2025 - Apr 2026

Violent Crime Rate

89.2 per 1,000 9/10 · 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 220.9 10/10
  • Violent crimes 89.2 9/10
  • Violence and sexual offences 62.0 9/10
  • Other theft 31.0 10/10
  • Vehicle crime 31.0 10/10
  • Anti-social behaviour 23.3 8/10
  • Criminal damage and arson 23.3 10/10
  • Drugs 15.5 9/10
  • Public order 15.5 9/10
  • Bicycle theft 7.8 9/10
  • Possession of weapons 7.8 9/10
  • Robbery 3.9 5/10
  • Burglary 0.0 1/10
  • Other crime 0.0 1/10
  • Shoplifting 0.0 1/10
  • Theft from the person 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

Shakespeare Road area has the 7th highest crime rate of 25 local areas in Harpur , and the 45th highest crime rate of 543 local areas in Bedford .

Crime levels at this postcode are much higher than in the adjoining streets, suggesting that most neighbouring areas are relatively safer than this one.

The overall crime rate in the area around Shakespeare Road (MK40 2DN) in the last 12 months was 220.9 per 1,000 residents and was 37.6% higher than the Harpur average (160.6 per 1,000 residents). In the last 12 months, this area’s most reported crimes were Violence and sexual offences with 16 offences recorded. The least common crime was Robbery with 1 case , unchanged from 2025. The fastest-growing crime category was Bicycle theft ( 100.0% YoY). The sharpest decline was Vehicle crime ( -27.3% YoY).

Violent crimes totalled 23 (≈ 89.1 per 1,000 residents). Year-over-year these were rising ( 27.8% ). Over the last decade, overall crime has falling ( -74.4% comparing early vs recent averages) .

In the area around Shakespeare Road (MK40 2DN), the main crime hotspot is near Chaucer Road. Police recorded 42 crimes here, including 30 violent or public-order offences. All these locations are within roughly 0.3 miles.

View Crime In Bedford

Crime Over Time in Shakespeare Road area

Showing crimes within 0.3 miles (12/12)
Month:
MonthCrimeLocation*Last Outcome
Apr 2026Public order Keats Close Investigation complete; no suspect identified
Apr 2026Anti-social behaviour Cowper Road —
Apr 2026Anti-social behaviour Keats Close —
Apr 2026Anti-social behaviour Shakespeare Road —
Apr 2026Anti-social behaviour Shakespeare Road —
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Chaucer Road Under investigation
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Chaucer Road Awaiting court outcome
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Clapham Road Under investigation
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Chaucer Road Under investigation
Apr 2026Public order Shakespeare Road Under investigation
Apr 2026Drugs Chaucer Road Action to be taken by another organisation
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Byron Crescent Under investigation
* on or near this location Page 1 • Showing 12 of 12

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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