What is the crime rate in Northern Ireland?

The PSNI recorded 93,601 crimes in the year to 31 March 2026, down 2.3% on the previous year and the lowest since the series began in 1998/99, according to its police recorded crime bulletin published on 14 May 2026.

The PSNI publishes monthly updates with figures by offence type and policing district, plus separate statistics on domestic abuse, hate motivation and security-related incidents. The Department of Justice publishes survey-based estimates of crime experienced by households in the Northern Ireland Safe Community Survey.

Recorded crime reflects reporting and recording practice as well as offending, and the latest months are revised as records are validated. For England and Wales, see crime in your area.

Official sources: PSNI recorded crime bulletin to 31 March 2026 · PSNI police recorded crime statistics

The latest figure

The newest value is at Office for National Statistics (ONS). More on it: Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime.

When is the next figure out?

Quarterly ONS bulletin, each covering a rolling year; the year ending March 2026 bulletin was published on 23 July 2026 and the next is due on 22 October 2026. The appendix tables file name changes with each period

Every official release due in the next two weeks is on the release calendar.

Terms used in this answer

• Survey sample
  The group of people or businesses selected to take part in a survey, chosen so that their answers can be used to estimate figures for the whole population.
• Response rate
  The share of people or businesses selected for a survey who actually take part. Lower response rates can make estimates less precise and risk bias.
• Confidence interval
  A range around an estimate that shows how much it could vary because it comes from a sample. A 95% interval is the usual standard.
• Statistical significance
  A test of whether a difference between estimates is larger than would be expected from sampling variation alone. It does not mean the difference is large or important.
• England and Wales
  A single legal jurisdiction, so crime, courts, prisons and death registration statistics are often published for England and Wales together.

Where the figures come from

• NHS statistics for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (Public Health Scotland, Welsh Government and Department of Health Northern Ireland)
  Where to find official NHS waiting times, A&E and workforce figures for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and why UK-wide comparisons need care.

Related questions

• How do I find the crime rate in my area?
• Is crime going up or down in the UK?
• How many police officers are there in Scotland?

This answer says where the official figures are published and how they are defined. It gives no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request. More questions about northern ireland: official figures: all Northern Ireland: official figures questions.