Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0Hungerford stands out for shoplifting: 3.5 times the rate of a typical town its size
Violence recorded locally dropped 14% in a year. Set against the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 29% of them. Per 1,000 residents a year, 29.4 violent and sexual offences and 12.6 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage were recorded.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Hungerford
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 14% less violent crime per resident in Hungerford than in the year before; across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage fell 23% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 518 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people, Hungerford has the 359th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Keswick, Holmfirth and Annesley Woodhouse, higher than Blythe Bridge and Forsbrook, Nailsworth and Clayton West and Scissett. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
The grade: C for Hungerford
A fairly firm grade. Built on 649 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Hungerford 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, Hungerford runs highest on shoplifting (6.4 per 1,000 against 1.8), other crime (2.5 per 1,000 against 1.5) and criminal damage & arson (6.2 per 1,000 against 4.5).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 136 | 26.2 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 43 | 8.3 | 8.8 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 33 | 6.4 | 1.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 32 | 6.2 | 4.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 25 | 4.8 | 3.6 |
| Other theft | not graded | 23 | 4.4 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 13 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
| Other crime | not graded | 13 | 2.5 | 1.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 10 | 1.9 | 2 |
| Drugs | not graded | 8 | 1.5 | 1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 4 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 3 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 1 | 0.2 | 0 |
“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 Hungerford’s neighbourhoods rank in England
10% 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.
Hungerford’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.
Police in Hungerford identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 54% of Hungerford’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 9% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (64% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 8% of violent and 10% 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. 220 crimes.
How crime in Hungerford has moved
“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 -14% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -23% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft +39% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour -2% (towns its size +0%).
Among 518 towns its size, Hungerford ranks 359th 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 83 | Binfield Berkshire | 4,851 | 17 | 6 | 3 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 90 | Cookham Berkshire | 5,216 | 14.1 | 9.4 | 5.1 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 243 | Burghfield Common Berkshire | 6,216 | 20.4 | 12.2 | 12.3 | B− |
| 244 | Shinfield Berkshire | 5,417 | 23.4 | 9.2 | 21.8 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 356 | Blythe Bridge and Forsbrook Staffordshire | 6,798 | 31.3 | 10.3 | 8.2 | C |
| 357 | Nailsworth Gloucestershire | 5,657 | 31.5 | 10.2 | 8.3 | C |
| 358 | Clayton West and Scissett West Yorkshire | 4,382 | 29.9 | 11.8 | 10.5 | C |
| 359 | Hungerford Berkshire | 5,184 | 29.4 | 12.6 | 9.4 | C |
| 360 | Netley Hampshire | 6,309 | 29.4 | 12.7 | 6.2 | C |
| 361 | Crigglestone and Durkar West Yorkshire | 6,672 | 31.4 | 10.6 | 6.9 | C |
| 362 | Lofthouse and Robin Hood West Yorkshire | 4,187 | 30 | 12.7 | 5.3 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 518 | Stainforth South Yorkshire | 5,999 | 72.5 | 49.7 | 14.4 | 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 Hungerford, and others in Berkshire.
Crime in Hungerford 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 11 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 12 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Where in Hungerford police recorded crime
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 57 | 56% shoplifting & theft |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 41 | 59% violent |
| Car parks | 26 | 42% violent |
police.uk places each crime at an anonymous map point; some are named for the kind of place (a supermarket, a car park), and each row adds up every place of that kind in Hungerford. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
No one died in a collision on Hungerford’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 12 collisions with injuries inside Hungerford in five years. 2 people were killed or seriously injured: 1 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 Hungerford is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Hungerford’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; Hungerford had 2.
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 Hungerford’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Hungerford
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hungerford | 5,184 | 29.4 | 12.6 | C |
| Kintbury | 2,054 | 20.5 | 6 | B+ |
| Great Bedwyn | 1,194 | 13.1 | 10.9 | B+ |
| Ramsbury | 1,541 | 8.9 | 4.8 | A+ |
| Aldbourne | 1,686 | 11.7 | 4.7 | A |
| Lambourn | 3,141 | 22 | 7.9 | B |
| Woolton Hill and Highclere | 2,755 | 11 | 6.9 | A |
| Burbage | 1,322 | 15.4 | 5.8 | A− |
Hungerford records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Kintbury, 3.2 miles away, records 20.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Hungerford’s 29.4.
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 Hungerford 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 Hungerford
Is Hungerford safe?
Police recorded 29.4 violent and sexual offences and 12.6 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Hungerford’s built-up area). That earns a C for safety: less crime per resident than 32% of UK towns. Among 518 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people, Hungerford is 359th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Hungerford?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 14%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 23%, shoplifting and theft rose 39% 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 Hungerford?
Violence & sexual offences: 136 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (33) and criminal damage & arson (32), with 43 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Hungerford compare with Newbury?
Newbury records 37.1 violent and sexual offences and 14.1 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Hungerford’s 29.4 and 12.6, 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.