Photo: Michael FORD · CC BY-SA 2.0Arborfield Garrison records shoplifting at 8 times the rate of a typical town its size
Violence recorded locally held about level in a year. Measured against the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, 19% of them record more crime per resident. Taking everything together, Arborfield Garrison scores C− (#26 of 30 in Berkshire): more crime per resident than 77% of UK towns, measured on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area between September 2023 and August 2026. For every 1,000 residents, 35.1 violent and sexual offences and 13.8 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage were logged a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Arborfield Garrison
More crime than many places its size
Of 706 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people, Arborfield Garrison has the 578th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Winterton, Cullingworth and Newent, higher than New Romney, Callington and Essington. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Arborfield Garrison: C− for safety, and why
A fairly firm grade. Built on 633 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Arborfield Garrison against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Arborfield Garrison runs highest on shoplifting (14.6 per 1,000 against 1.8), vehicle crime (5.1 per 1,000 against 2) and other theft (6.3 per 1,000 against 3.2). Criminal damage & arson sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 134 | 31.1 | 22.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 63 | 14.6 | 1.8 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 60 | 13.9 | 8.8 |
| Other theft | not graded | 27 | 6.3 | 3.2 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 22 | 5.1 | 2 |
| Public order | not graded | 21 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 14 | 3.2 | 4.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 14 | 3.2 | 1.9 |
| Drugs | not graded | 7 | 1.6 | 1 |
| Other crime | not graded | 5 | 1.2 | 1.5 |
| Robbery | Violent | 5 | 1.2 | 0.2 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 1 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
How Arborfield Garrison’s neighbourhoods rank in England
0% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 0% in the highest-crime 20%. The crime domain scores the risk of violence, burglary, theft and criminal damage where people live, so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
Arborfield Garrison’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) in the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (crime domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of England’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
Among 706 towns its size, Arborfield Garrison ranks 578th for the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 67 | Charvil Berkshire | 3,158 | 10.6 | 8.1 | 7.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 131 | Binfield Berkshire | 4,851 | 17 | 6 | 3 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 145 | Cookham Berkshire | 5,216 | 14.1 | 9.4 | 5.1 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 297 | Lambourn Berkshire | 3,141 | 22 | 7.9 | 3.8 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 575 | New Romney Kent | 3,870 | 35.4 | 13.1 | 12.5 | C− |
| 576 | Callington Cornwall | 4,665 | 36.9 | 11.9 | 12.6 | C− |
| 577 | Essington Staffordshire | 3,471 | 32.8 | 15.9 | 2.8 | C− |
| 578 | Arborfield Garrison Berkshire | 4,311 | 35.1 | 13.8 | 14.1 | C− |
| 579 | Westerham Kent | 3,390 | 28.9 | 20.1 | 19.2 | C− |
| 580 | Fortuneswell Dorset | 4,554 | 38.5 | 10.5 | 7 | C− |
| 581 | Ruthin Clwyd | 5,700 | 39.8 | 9.6 | 8.3 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 706 | Eastchurch Kent | 3,381 | 132 | 13.9 | 3.5 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Arborfield Garrison, and others in Berkshire.
Crime in Arborfield Garrison per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 12 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 21 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Lowest recorded crime in Arborfield, Barkham and Finchampstead South; highest in Finchampstead South
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arborfield | 1,422 | 23 | 11.3 | |
| Barkham | 1,933 | 38.5 | 16.4 | |
| Finchampstead South | 956 | 46.4 | 12.6 |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Arborfield Garrison’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026.
Police name a suspect about as often as across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 67% of Arborfield Garrison’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 8% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (63% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 3% of violent and 1% of household crimes reached court.
The latest outcome police.uk shows for each crime recorded in the first of the three years (September 2023 to August 2024), so most cases have closed. 244 crimes.
Violent crime held steady over the year
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent -3% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -12% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft +142% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour +3% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on Arborfield Garrison’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 3 collisions with injuries inside Arborfield Garrison in five years. 1 person was killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Arborfield Garrison is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Arborfield Garrison’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 4 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Arborfield Garrison had 1.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Arborfield Garrison’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Arborfield Garrison
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arborfield Garrison | 4,311 | 35.1 | 13.8 | C− |
| Shinfield | 5,417 | 23.4 | 9.2 | B− |
| Wokingham | 50,320 | 18.3 | 8.6 | B |
| Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross | 7,612 | 19.3 | 7.9 | B |
| Winnersh | 8,904 | 20.5 | 8.2 | B |
| Yateley | 14,676 | 17 | 8.2 | B+ |
| Crowthorne | 15,196 | 20.3 | 6.7 | B |
| Woodley | 28,019 | 18.1 | 5.8 | B+ |
Arborfield Garrison records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Shinfield, 2.6 miles away, records 23.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Arborfield Garrison’s 35.1.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Arborfield Garrison sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Arborfield Garrison
Is Arborfield Garrison safe?
Police recorded 35.1 violent and sexual offences and 13.8 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Arborfield Garrison’s built-up area). That earns a C− for safety: less crime per resident than 23% of UK towns. Among 706 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people, Arborfield Garrison is 578th from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Arborfield Garrison?
By council ward, Arborfield, Barkham and Finchampstead South record the least violent and household crime per resident: 23, 38.5 and 46.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 46.4 in Finchampstead South.
Is crime going up in Arborfield Garrison?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 12%, shoplifting and theft rose 142% and anti-social behaviour held steady. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Arborfield Garrison?
Violence & sexual offences: 134 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (63) and other theft (27), with 60 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Arborfield Garrison compare with Reading?
Reading records 39.6 violent and sexual offences and 15.5 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Arborfield Garrison’s 35.1 and 13.8, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.