Braintree is less safe than the district around it, with about 77 recorded crimes for every 1,000 residents in a year. That is roughly a fifth above the district average. Violence makes up the biggest share, as it does almost everywhere, though by more here. Anti-social behaviour is below the national share. Overall that adds up to a below-average record for the area, and not a dramatic one.
Essex Police recorded 3,998 crimes in Braintree in the year to May 2026, and the published rate for the town was about 77 per 1,000 residents. That puts Braintree roughly 21% above the average for Braintree district over the same twelve months. The rate is calculated on a different population base from the town's census headcount, so the count and the rate are each published figures and should not be divided into each other.
The district's own rate in the year to May 2026 was about 64 crimes per 1,000 residents, against Braintree's 77. The district is mostly villages and fields, and the town is its largest settlement, so the town is where the district's busiest high street and evening economy are.
Braintree has about 5,260 people per square kilometre on average across its neighbourhoods. About 3% of residents were unemployed at the 2021 census, and about 3% of households were overcrowded. That describes a working town at ordinary density, with neither figure especially high. The crime rate stands out more than anything around it.
Violence and sexual offences made up about 45% of Braintree's recorded crime in the year to May 2026, against about 35% across England and Wales. The category covers a wide legal range, from serious assault down to a push where nobody was hurt, and it tops the list in most places. Here it is also about ten points above the national share. Anti-social behaviour was about 10%, below the 16% national share. Shoplifting, public order offences and other theft were all close to their national shares at around 7% to 9% each. Criminal damage and arson was about 6%, against 7% nationally. Aside from violence, Braintree's crime looks much like the national mix. Aetheric Road is named after a Saxon nobleman who died at the Battle of Maldon in 991, so the town has been naming streets after fighters for over a thousand years.
When a crime is reported, Essex Police charges a suspect in about 11% of cases across the force, against about 12% nationally, which places it 28th of 42 forces. About 37% of the force's cases in the year to May 2026 were closed without a suspect being identified. Those are force-wide figures for all of Essex and measure what happens after a crime is reported, which is a separate question from how much crime happens. The police.uk crime map shows the streets around any house you are considering, and it is worth checking the months either side of the summer as well as the latest one.
Braintree's safety record is below average, driven mostly by violence and backed up by a district rate that is lower than the town's. A buyer here should judge it street by street.