Crime in Istanbul, Turkey

Crime rates in Istanbul, Turkey

Level of crime
52.17 Moderate
Crime increasing in the past 5 years
70.42 High
Worries home broken and things stolen
41.27 Moderate
Worries being mugged or robbed
45.10 Moderate
Worries car stolen
31.88 Low
Worries things from car stolen
43.55 Moderate
Worries attacked
48.90 Moderate
Worries being insulted
50.84 Moderate
Worries being subject to a physical attack because of your skin color, ethnic origin, gender or religion
33.27 Low
Problem people using or dealing drugs
44.19 Moderate
Problem property crimes such as vandalism and theft
46.39 Moderate
Problem violent crimes such as assault and armed robbery
41.99 Moderate
Problem corruption and bribery
71.24 High

Safety in Istanbul, Turkey

Safety walking alone during daylight
69.89 High
Safety walking alone during night
39.77 Low

Contributors: 1278

Last update: November 2024

These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past 5 years.

If the value is 0, it means it is perceived as very low, and if the value is 100, it means it is perceived as very high.

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16 Comments so far
Yunus on Sep 05, 2024:
As a 22 year old, born and raised in the anatolian side of istanbul, ive never experienced anything crime related, thankfully. And i believe which part of Istanbul you are staying in plays a big role in this. European side of istanbul is usually the source of crimes, densely populated areas and historic bazaars and sites packed with hordes of visitors is such an easy target for pickpocketers, and the source of drug use is typically from districts on the european side. I believe you should visit the historic sites in the either side of the city when you visit istanbul, but i would strongly advise you to reside on the anatolian side, preferrably near sea, especially Üsküdar, Kuzguncuk, Çengelköy, Beylerbeyi, Vaniköy, maybe excluding Kadıköy (its very densely populated, thus a little more dangerous, but probably the best area for food and entertainment, little more expensive than rest though) its safer, less expensive, and you get to take the ferry every time you visit the european side for the historic monuments so its a bonus. And i suggest you get a couple of AirTags or any smart gps gadgets to hide in your bags, wallets and luggage, just to be safe. Hope i could help anyone planning to visit Istanbul with this information, safe travels!
Mikel on Jan 13, 2024:
It really depends in which erea you're in tbh,my friend was in Istanbul a few years ago.And she felt very safe there.When she had to walk alone at night,She always felt safe and had no problems.So it really depends on the erea that you are in.
Anonymous on Dec 10, 2023:
The turkish police took my boyfriends money and phone for your own safety pick a better city for holiday.
Most people I know that went to antalya were safe
Abu abed on Sep 05, 2023:
I have never been in a fight my whole life.
During my 2 weeks visit there I was in 3 fights, 2 of them were fist fights.
Turkish people have an obvious bias against Arabs and they're not even ashamed to admit it.
This is one place I won't be visiting anytime soon.
Guzman on Aug 24, 2023:
no city is safe in turkey anymore. thats it.
after the exodus of syrians and afghanis also pakistanis and also banhgladesh men. turkey is the one of the most dangerous country in the world.
You dont visit Afganistan, right? Millions of afghans are living in turkey. so you should not visit turkey too. Its a gambling and you might pay this gambling with your life.
K on Jul 29, 2023:
I've traveled to many cities all over the world. Never anything bad happened to me where I felt scared. In Istanbul, i was robbed by a gang of 5 people not far from where I was staying. I spent 5 hours with the police afterward and that itself was quite an experience, I am not sure why Turkey have police in the first place, I guess so they can drink tea and hang out with each other and laugh at people who've been wronged by their people.
After that happened to me i was really scared to go out and two times I went out to get some food I was followed by two guys ( on separate occasions). Luckily second time I was in an area with people and I saw a police guy, who helped me.
It is not a safe city for a woman.
Anonymous on Jul 21, 2023:
I have lived in Istanbul for 7 good years until 2021, I consider it as safer than the numbers above. The worst thing happened to me just once I got pickpocketed in the metro (in 2019).

And the worst thing I have witnessed was one guy beating up another guy with a bat brutally (in 2019). However, this is not a random thing to happen in the streets, I would suspect some background story: fighting over a girl or some political dispute.

And, I can recommend a few things to avoid problems:

You need to know the place you are going beforehand. Istanbul is a very big city, population-wise even bigger than some countries. So the differences between districts, even streets can be huge. Some districts might be considered as unsafe during night, but usually okay during daylight, try to ask some locals.

For the taxi problem: it is true, but of course, I also needed taxis occasionally (maybe after a long night out), I used taxis always with friends (might be a deterrent for the driver to cheat), and always checked the route. Note that, the roads are very, VERY intricate in Istanbul, still looks like a labyrinth to me. Thankfully, google maps is your good old friend.

Lastly, for women, it might get a bit uncomfortable during night. You can still enjoy the great nightlife city offers, but it is better to be precautious: sticking to your friends group and not wandering alone on 'quiet' streets during night are some basics that all locals know. This 'quiet' thing is a warning especially for people coming from Europe's calm and relaxing places. Istanbul city center is almost never a calm place, if you see any, it is for a good reason. However, the city overall might be more secure and joyful than you might have been thinking.

I don't know the situation after I left, but I am hearing it is changing recently.
Saniya on Jan 31, 2023:
I live in Istanbul for 8 years. never something scary happened with me, thanks God
Kimberly on Jan 11, 2023:
Have been to Istanbul several times, in 2011, 2016, 2021 and in 2022 last time. This city is quite safe and hospitable for anyone who comes here. I experienced no problems here
Randy on Sep 10, 2022:
I have lived in İstanbul for 4 years and have never witnessed a crime or seen the results of a crime, for instance, an area surrounded by police tape. I have walked at all times of day and night and never felt unsafe. I am sure there are some neighbourhoods where crime does occur. It's a very large city after all. But I have never seen it. I have lived in several places all over the world and İstanbul (and Turkey in general) is by far the safest - certainly safer than anywhere in the US and most of Europe. I don't know where the low ranking on this site comes from, to be honest. In all this time I've only seen one traffic accident as well, and a very small one at that, and there is an enormous amount of traffic here. It almost seems too good to be true, but that is my experience.

I've read some of the comments and, yes, sometimes taxi drivers will take advantage by taking a longer route than necessary, but that happens to some extent everywhere. The fare is always displayed in the rear view mirror and can't be adjusted by the driver. If you plan to travel to İstanbul and take taxis download one of the taxi apps, they are in English as well as Turkish and drivers won't mess around if you are using one. Estimated fare and route is displayed before you ever get in the taxi and you also have a chance to rate the driver. But in 4 years I think I have had 1 or 2 bad drivers and I taxi often. Taxis are very affordable here so even if they take a longer route it's not a lot of money. It's not nice to be taken advantage of but you won't get stuck with an enormous fare. And if you are a tourist, public transportation here is cheap, spotlessly clean, easy to use and goes everywhere, and includes buses, metro, ferries, and funicular, all for pennies. And on holidays all public transportation is free!
Mahmud on Jun 28, 2022:
Istanbul is the safest city in the world. I have visited many cities in the world but Istanbul is safe, comfortable and affordable. But beware of taxi drivers.
Anonymous on Jun 04, 2021:
City is safe, be careful with taxi DRIVERS! the soonest they realize you are tourist/foreigner and you don't speak the language, they cheat! Alost 90 to 95% of taxi drivers do
Anonymous on Jun 01, 2021:
Didn't feel unsafe when i visited the city. Just be careful with taxi drivers and the nightlife.
Cicisikuş on Mar 04, 2021:
I am living in Istanbul for 17 years. I can say living in Istanbul is gambling. If you go out of your house, you have a %50 chance to die. After the syrian immigrants, living in Turkey and especially living in Istanbul became so uncomfortable. But you can choose to live in Eskişehir. It is the safest place in Turkey now.
Arman on Dec 18, 2020:
The most dangerous city i have visited so far, majority of taxi divers are bacically robbers riding tourists, and if you survive that you are most probably robbed by either the organazied crime gangs or the international criminals, the police are wildly corrupted, it is safer to go to Syria or Afghanistan than Turkey
Joria on Nov 26, 2020:
I lived in istanbul for 6 years. I have never been a victim of any crime or even witnessed any crime.