Car theft and vehicle crime in Derby
306 vehicle crimes were reported to Derbyshire Constabulary within about a mile of Derby from October 2025 to September 2026. Recent months have been broadly steady: 78 offences in the latest quarter against 79 previously.
Derby month by month
The busiest month was March 2026 with 31 offences; the quietest was January 2026 with 18. There was little difference between the first and second six months. Average: 25.5 a month.
| Month | Offences | vs 12-month average |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 24 | -2 |
| Nov 2025 | 27 | +2 |
| Dec 2025 | 22 | -4 |
| Jan 2026 | 18 | -8 |
| Feb 2026 | 27 | +2 |
| Mar 2026 | 31 | +6 |
| Apr 2026 | 31 | +6 |
| May 2026 | 27 | +2 |
| Jun 2026 | 21 | -4 |
| Jul 2026 | 27 | +2 |
| Aug 2026 | 25 | -0 |
| Sep 2026 | 26 | +0 |
How Derby compares
Out of the 84 areas we track, Derby ranks 40 for monthly vehicle crime at 26 a month, close to the typical town in our set. Cardiff averaged 116.
Over the latest three months the one-mile circle around Derby averaged 26 vehicle offences a month. That is more than 86% of the sampled British postcodes, but well short of the worst. The comparison uses 400 randomly chosen British postcodes, each measured over Jul 2026, Aug 2026, Sep 2026 exactly as Derby is here. Test your own street with the free theft risk checker.
Within the Derbyshire Constabulary area, Derby ranks 1 of the 2 centres we track at 26 offences a month. The others: Chesterfield (8).
Towns nearest to Derby
- Nottingham (13 miles away): 85 a month, 235% more than Derby
- Loughborough (15 miles away): 18 a month, 30% fewer than Derby
- Mansfield (19 miles away): 22 a month, 14% fewer than Derby
Where in Derby offences were recorded
The top five recorded locations hold 15% of all offences in the radius around Derby.
- On or near Parking Area: 24
- On or near Burleigh Drive: 7
- On or near Curzon Street: 6
- On or near Magnus Court: 5
- On or near Riverview Court: 5
What happened to Derby cases
The most common recorded outcome near Derby was "investigation complete; no suspect identified" (226 cases).
| Outcome | Offences | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Investigation complete; no suspect identified | 226 | 74% |
| Under investigation | 32 | 10% |
| Unable to prosecute suspect | 24 | 8% |
| Status update unavailable | 8 | 3% |
| Court result unavailable | 7 | 2% |
| Awaiting court outcome | 6 | 2% |
What this means if you park near Derby
At about 26 offences a month, Derby is quieter than a big-city centre, but one theft still costs the full value of the vehicle. Expect pressure to build again around March, the worst month in this data.
For a car kept near Derby, layering helps: an immobiliser to stop the engine starting, and a certified tracker for recovery if it goes anyway. See installation options.
Derby car theft questions
How much car crime is there in Derby?
306 in the latest 12 months (26 a month on average) within roughly a mile of the Derby centre. Of our 84 towns, Derby comes 40, in the middle end of the table.
When was vehicle crime worst in Derby?
The worst month was March 2026 (31). The quietest was January 2026 (18), and September 2026 came in at 26.
Are car thieves caught in Derby?
Police.uk shows 226 of 306 Derby cases (74%) closed without a suspect and 13 with a court-stage outcome, so an owner is far better served by an immobiliser and tracker than by the odds of a conviction.
Does this cover stolen cars only in Derby?
The Derby total of 306 includes thefts of vehicles, thefts from them and interference: police.uk does not split these at street level, so treat it as all car crime rather than stolen cars only.
Source: police.uk, centred on 52.9225, -1.4746, retrieved 2026-11-06. Method and limits.