Monthly report · police.uk data released 2026-09-01
UK car theft report: September 2026
Police recorded 2,811 vehicle crimes within a mile of 84 town and city centres in England and Wales in September 2026, 7% more than in August 2026 and 4% more than in September 2025. Birmingham city centre recorded the most, with 141 offences.
- 2,811vehicle crimes, September 2026
- +7%change on August 2026
- +4%change on September 2025
- 84panel towns across 40 police forces
September 2026 figures, retrieved 2026-11-06. Source: police.uk. Method and limits.
Key findings for September 2026
- 44 of the 84 panel towns recorded more vehicle crime in September 2026 than in August 2026, and 36 recorded less.
- Stoke-on-Trent climbed furthest, +275%, with 45 recorded in September 2026 after 12 a month earlier.
- The largest decrease came in Carlisle: 13 offences in August 2026, then 0 in September 2026 (-100%).
- Compared with September 2025, the same 84 towns recorded 2,693 offences then and 2,811 now (+4%).
- Car parks were the most common named location in September 2026: 214 offences, or 7.6% of the panel total.
- So far, 58% of September 2026's offences are recorded as closed with no suspect identified; that share can still change.
- Scaled to September 2026's 30 days, DVLA's 2025 total of 54,830 works out at around 4,507 vehicles stolen in Great Britain; the most stolen model was the Ford Fiesta.
Vehicle crime by town, September 2026
| Rank | Town | Police force | September 2026 | August 2026 | Month on month | September 2025 | Year on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham city centre | West Midlands Police | 141 | 100 | +41% | 104 | +36% |
| 2 | Cardiff | South Wales Police | 129 | 164 | -21% | 95 | +36% |
| 3 | Leeds | West Yorkshire Police | 113 | 90 | +26% | 54 | +109% |
| 4 | Leicester | Leicestershire Police | 95 | 71 | +34% | 106 | -10% |
| 5 | Luton | Bedfordshire Police | 92 | 65 | +42% | 67 | +37% |
| 6 | Ilford | Metropolitan Police Service | 87 | 53 | +64% | 85 | +2% |
| 7 | Slough | Thames Valley Police | 84 | 58 | +45% | 59 | +42% |
| 8 | Croydon | Metropolitan Police Service | 76 | 75 | +1% | 96 | -21% |
| 9 | Nottingham | Nottinghamshire Police | 64 | 67 | -4% | 63 | +2% |
| 10 | Coventry | West Midlands Police | 61 | 45 | +36% | 38 | +61% |
| 11 | Bristol | Avon and Somerset Constabulary | 57 | 74 | -23% | 84 | -32% |
| 12 | Wolverhampton | West Midlands Police | 57 | 49 | +16% | 29 | +97% |
| 13 | Middlesbrough | Cleveland Police | 56 | 77 | -27% | 37 | +51% |
| 14 | Doncaster | South Yorkshire Police | 52 | 40 | +30% | 46 | +13% |
| 15 | Bradford | West Yorkshire Police | 51 | 69 | -26% | 73 | -30% |
| 16 | Walsall | West Midlands Police | 51 | 45 | +13% | 51 | no change |
| 17 | Sheffield city centre | South Yorkshire Police | 50 | 34 | +47% | 78 | -36% |
| 18 | Southampton | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary | 49 | 55 | -11% | 45 | +9% |
| 19 | Northampton | Northamptonshire Police | 47 | 33 | +42% | 76 | -38% |
| 20 | Southend-on-Sea | Essex Police | 47 | 50 | -6% | 29 | +62% |
| 21 | Romford | Metropolitan Police Service | 46 | 28 | +64% | 32 | +44% |
| 22 | Stoke-on-Trent | Staffordshire Police | 45 | 12 | +275% | 23 | +96% |
| 23 | Enfield Town | Metropolitan Police Service | 43 | 33 | +30% | 36 | +19% |
| 24 | Plymouth | Devon and Cornwall Police | 43 | 49 | -12% | 18 | +139% |
| 25 | Crawley | Sussex Police | 42 | 16 | +162% | 18 | +133% |
| 26 | Blackpool | Lancashire Constabulary | 40 | 45 | -11% | 20 | +100% |
| 27 | Sunderland | Northumbria Police | 37 | 18 | +106% | 36 | +3% |
| 28 | Dudley | West Midlands Police | 36 | 35 | +3% | 29 | +24% |
| 29 | Swansea | South Wales Police | 36 | 26 | +38% | 15 | +140% |
| 30 | Rotherham | South Yorkshire Police | 35 | 33 | +6% | 11 | +218% |
| 31 | Hull | Humberside Police | 34 | 30 | +13% | 21 | +62% |
| 32 | Milton Keynes | Thames Valley Police | 34 | 34 | no change | 25 | +36% |
| 33 | Newport | Gwent Police | 33 | 38 | -13% | 33 | no change |
| 34 | Basildon | Essex Police | 32 | 18 | +78% | 33 | -3% |
| 35 | Cambridge | Cambridgeshire Constabulary | 32 | 18 | +78% | 12 | +167% |
| 36 | Darlington | Durham Constabulary | 32 | 39 | -18% | 26 | +23% |
| 37 | Portsmouth | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary | 31 | 30 | +3% | 22 | +41% |
| 38 | Liverpool city centre | Merseyside Police | 30 | 15 | +100% | 69 | -57% |
| 39 | Peterborough | Cambridgeshire Constabulary | 30 | 27 | +11% | 40 | -25% |
| 40 | Reading | Thames Valley Police | 30 | 38 | -21% | 53 | -43% |
| 41 | Wakefield | West Yorkshire Police | 30 | 19 | +58% | 15 | +100% |
| 42 | Wembley | Metropolitan Police Service | 29 | 24 | +21% | 35 | -17% |
| 43 | Nuneaton | Warwickshire Police | 28 | 13 | +115% | 21 | +33% |
| 44 | Bedford | Bedfordshire Police | 27 | 32 | -16% | 49 | -45% |
| 45 | Derby | Derbyshire Constabulary | 26 | 25 | +4% | 30 | -13% |
| 46 | Colchester | Essex Police | 25 | 12 | +108% | 13 | +92% |
| 47 | Newcastle upon Tyne | Northumbria Police | 24 | 40 | -40% | 28 | -14% |
| 48 | West Bromwich | West Midlands Police | 24 | 35 | -31% | 32 | -25% |
| 49 | York | North Yorkshire Police | 24 | 36 | -33% | 24 | no change |
| 50 | Kingston upon Thames | Metropolitan Police Service | 23 | 11 | +109% | 18 | +28% |
| 51 | Preston | Lancashire Constabulary | 23 | 23 | no change | 43 | -47% |
| 52 | Bournemouth | Dorset Police | 22 | 18 | +22% | 22 | no change |
| 53 | Barnsley | South Yorkshire Police | 21 | 14 | +50% | 17 | +24% |
| 54 | Lincoln | Lincolnshire Police | 20 | 15 | +33% | 13 | +54% |
| 55 | Mansfield | Nottinghamshire Police | 20 | 37 | -46% | 11 | +82% |
| 56 | Blackburn | Lancashire Constabulary | 19 | 30 | -37% | 29 | -34% |
| 57 | Brighton | Sussex Police | 19 | 43 | -56% | 24 | -21% |
| 58 | Watford | Hertfordshire Constabulary | 19 | 35 | -46% | 17 | +12% |
| 59 | Huddersfield | West Yorkshire Police | 17 | 19 | -11% | 22 | -23% |
| 60 | Swindon | Wiltshire Police | 16 | 14 | +14% | 38 | -58% |
| 61 | Worcester | West Mercia Police | 15 | 28 | -46% | 18 | -17% |
| 62 | Oxford | Thames Valley Police | 14 | 7 | n/a | 14 | no change |
| 63 | Bath | Avon and Somerset Constabulary | 13 | 19 | -32% | 39 | -67% |
| 64 | Canterbury | Kent Police | 13 | 8 | n/a | 20 | -35% |
| 65 | Maidstone | Kent Police | 11 | 10 | +10% | 12 | -8% |
| 66 | Loughborough | Leicestershire Police | 10 | 11 | -9% | 30 | -67% |
| 67 | Solihull | West Midlands Police | 10 | 11 | -9% | 8 | n/a |
| 68 | Warrington | Cheshire Constabulary | 10 | 11 | -9% | 15 | -33% |
| 69 | Stafford | Staffordshire Police | 9 | 11 | -18% | 4 | n/a |
| 70 | Telford | West Mercia Police | 9 | 4 | n/a | 5 | n/a |
| 71 | Chelmsford | Essex Police | 8 | 14 | -43% | 7 | n/a |
| 72 | Exeter | Devon and Cornwall Police | 8 | 12 | -33% | 9 | n/a |
| 73 | Guildford | Surrey Police | 8 | 12 | -33% | 2 | n/a |
| 74 | Shrewsbury | West Mercia Police | 8 | 2 | n/a | 3 | n/a |
| 75 | Ipswich | Suffolk Constabulary | 7 | 17 | -59% | 19 | -63% |
| 76 | Norwich | Norfolk Constabulary | 7 | 14 | -50% | 14 | -50% |
| 77 | Chesterfield | Derbyshire Constabulary | 6 | 2 | n/a | 12 | -50% |
| 78 | Hereford | West Mercia Police | 5 | 4 | n/a | 4 | n/a |
| 79 | Chester | Cheshire Constabulary | 2 | 3 | n/a | 2 | n/a |
| 80 | Wrexham | North Wales Police | 2 | 10 | -80% | 8 | n/a |
| 81 | Carlisle | Cumbria Constabulary | 0 | 13 | -100% | 8 | n/a |
| 82 | Cheltenham | Gloucestershire Constabulary | 0 | 0 | n/a | 27 | -100% |
| 83 | Durham | Durham Constabulary | 0 | 7 | n/a | 5 | n/a |
| 84 | Gloucester | Gloucestershire Constabulary | 0 | 0 | n/a | 20 | -100% |
Where vehicles were targeted in September 2026
In September 2026, police.uk gave a type of location instead of a street for 487 offences. The most common:
- Car parks: 214 (7.6%)
- Supermarkets: 53 (1.9%)
- Petrol stations: 45 (1.6%)
- Shopping areas: 35 (1.2%)
- Colleges and universities: 34 (1.2%)
- Nightclubs: 33 (1.2%)
Download the September 2026 data
September 2026 town figures (CSV) (OGL v3.0). Models: Ford Fiesta and the UK Vehicle Theft Index.
Cite the September 2026 report
Trackerstop, UK car theft report: September 2026, https://trackerstop.co.uk/uk-car-theft-report/2026-09/, police.uk data (Open Government Licence) released 2026-09-01.
Protect your vehicle
September 2026 figures (2,811 offences and 214 at car parks) are why dual layer protection matters: one layer keeps the car where you left it, the other finds it if it goes. Check your postcode and car or find the right tracker.