Photo: Peter S · CC BY-SA 2.0Willingham records vehicle crime at 2.9 times the rate of a typical town its size
Recorded violence held steady in a year. Its letter overall is B− (#23 of 50 in Cambridgeshire): close to the middle of UK towns, from crimes police recorded inside its built-up area through September 2023 to August 2026. Of all the kinds of crime, vehicle crime is where Willingham departs most from towns its size: 5.9 per 1,000 against 2.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Willingham
About the middle for a town its size
Of 539 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, Willingham has the 263rd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Wilford, Topsham and Elm and Emneth, higher than Wollaston, Lostwithiel and Bottesford. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Willingham’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 361 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Willingham 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, Willingham runs highest on vehicle crime (5.9 per 1,000 against 2), other crime (2.8 per 1,000 against 1.5) and other theft (5.1 per 1,000 against 3.2).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 94 | 24 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 45 | 11.5 | 8.8 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 23 | 5.9 | 2 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 20 | 5.1 | 4.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 20 | 5.1 | 3.2 |
| Other crime | not graded | 11 | 2.8 | 1.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 8 | 2 | 1.9 |
| Drugs | not graded | 7 | 1.8 | 1 |
| Public order | not graded | 6 | 1.5 | 3.6 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 3 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 2 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 2 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 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 Willingham’s neighbourhoods rank in England
46% 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.
Willingham’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.
How crime in Willingham 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 +3% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +65% (towns its size -1%), anti-social behaviour +105% (towns its size +0%).
For every 1,000 residents, about 25 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026
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 13 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 6 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
263rd of 539: Willingham among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Hemingford Grey Cambridgeshire | 3,372 | 6.8 | 7.8 | 3.8 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 43 | Girton Cambridgeshire | 4,384 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 4.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 127 | Bar Hill Cambridgeshire | 3,899 | 13.6 | 10.3 | 18.3 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 136 | Haddenham Cambridgeshire | 3,050 | 16.2 | 8.1 | 3 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 260 | Wollaston Northamptonshire | 3,564 | 23.5 | 6.9 | 3.9 | B |
| 261 | Lostwithiel Cornwall | 3,067 | 23 | 7.6 | 3.9 | B− |
| 262 | Bottesford Leicestershire | 3,046 | 18 | 12.7 | 7.1 | B− |
| 263 | Willingham Cambridgeshire | 3,912 | 21.1 | 9.6 | 4.8 | B− |
| 264 | Loughor West Glamorgan | 4,632 | 22.3 | 8.4 | 4 | B− |
| 265 | Kempsey Worcestershire | 3,753 | 23 | 7.8 | 4 | B− |
| 266 | Sedgefield County Durham | 4,979 | 19.6 | 11.3 | 13.5 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 539 | 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 Willingham, and others in Cambridgeshire.
One person died in collisions on Willingham’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 9 collisions with injuries inside Willingham in five years, in which one person died (1 was a pedestrian). 3 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, so with numbers this small a single collision changes the picture; Willingham’s one death is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Willingham’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 3 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Willingham had 3.
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 Willingham’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Willingham
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willingham | 3,912 | 21.1 | 9.6 | B− |
| Over | 2,898 | 10.8 | 4.6 | A |
| Longstanton and Northstowe | 5,278 | 35.2 | 16.1 | C− |
| Swavesey | 2,739 | 26 | 10.8 | C+ |
| Cottenham | 6,156 | 19.7 | 12 | B− |
| Earith | 1,656 | 15.3 | 8.5 | B+ |
| Oakington | 1,494 | 12.1 | 6.3 | A |
| Bluntisham and Colne | 2,790 | 10.5 | 7.2 | A |
Willingham records more graded crime per resident than 4 of its 7 neighbours. Over, 1.7 miles away, records 10.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Willingham’s 21.1.
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 Willingham 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 Willingham
Is Willingham safe?
Police recorded 21.1 violent and sexual offences and 9.6 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Willingham’s built-up area). That earns a B− for safety: less crime per resident than 54% of UK towns. Among 539 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, Willingham is 263rd from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Willingham?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 65%, shoplifting and theft rose 67% and anti-social behaviour rose 105%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Willingham?
Violence & sexual offences: 94 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came vehicle crime (23) and criminal damage & arson (20), with 45 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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.