Photo: David Gearing · CC BY-SA 2.0St Columb Major records criminal damage & arson at 3.1 times the rate of a typical town its size
Each year brought 35.8 violent and sexual offences and 11.7 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage for every 1,000 residents. It has more violent crime than 78% of UK towns, and more burglary, vehicle crime and damage than 65%. Overall, St Columb Major grades C− for safety (#19 of 35 in Cornwall): more crime per resident than 76% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Violence recorded locally held about level in a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in St Columb Major
More crime than many places its size
Of 539 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, St Columb Major has the 450th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than New Romney, Callington and Essington, higher than Warton (Fylde), Llanbradach and Dudley. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind St Columb Major’s C−
A fairly firm grade. Built on 501 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks St Columb Major against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Police in St Columb Major identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 49% of St Columb Major’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 7% of violent and 0% 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. 139 crimes.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, St Columb Major runs highest on criminal damage & arson (13.9 per 1,000 against 4.5), violence & sexual offences (37.1 per 1,000 against 22.4) and other theft (4.9 per 1,000 against 3.2). Anti-social behaviour sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 136 | 37.1 | 22.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 51 | 13.9 | 4.5 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 25 | 6.8 | 8.8 |
| Other theft | not graded | 18 | 4.9 | 3.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 16 | 4.4 | 3.6 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 9 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
| Other crime | not graded | 8 | 2.2 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 5 | 1.4 | 1 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 5 | 1.4 | 2 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 3 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 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 St Columb Major’s neighbourhoods rank in England
50% 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.
St Columb Major’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.
Set against 539 towns its size, St Columb Major is 450th
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 109 | Carbis Bay Cornwall | 3,967 | 18.1 | 4.7 | 2.5 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 157 | St Agnes Cornwall | 3,253 | 18.8 | 6.7 | 2.9 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 185 | Gunnislake and St Ann's Chapel Cornwall | 3,506 | 20.7 | 6.4 | 5.5 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 210 | Indian Queens, Fraddon and St Columb Road Cornwall | 3,888 | 21.9 | 6.3 | 32.5 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 447 | Warton (Fylde) Lancashire | 4,180 | 38 | 9.3 | 4.8 | C− |
| 448 | Llanbradach Gwent | 3,766 | 32.7 | 14.7 | 4.9 | C− |
| 449 | Dudley Tyne and Wear | 4,799 | 36.6 | 11 | 7.7 | C− |
| 450 | St Columb Major Cornwall | 3,663 | 35.8 | 11.7 | 5.9 | C− |
| 451 | Monkton Heathfield Somerset | 4,584 | 38.2 | 9.4 | 16.8 | C− |
| 452 | Howden East Riding of Yorkshire | 4,572 | 37 | 11.1 | 14.1 | C− |
| 453 | Pill Somerset | 4,956 | 34.2 | 14.1 | 5 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 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 St Columb Major, and others in Cornwall.
Crime in St Columb Major 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 18 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.
Violent crime held steady over the year
Devon & Cornwall Police published three months short or not at all (Sep 2023, Oct 2023 and Nov 2023), so the line breaks there and those months are left out of the rates. “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 +5% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +141% (towns its size -1%), anti-social behaviour -11% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on St Columb Major’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 24 collisions with injuries inside St Columb Major in five years. 5 people were killed or seriously injured: 2 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 St Columb Major is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of St Columb Major’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; St Columb Major had 5.
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 St Columb Major’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around St Columb Major
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Columb Major | 3,663 | 35.8 | 11.7 | C− |
| Indian Queens, Fraddon and St Columb Road | 3,888 | 21.9 | 6.3 | B |
| Quintrell Downs | 1,358 | 28.9 | 10.2 | C+ |
| St Dennis | 2,363 | 39.4 | 13.5 | C− |
| Roche | 2,311 | 27.5 | 5.8 | B− |
| Nanpean | 1,077 | 20.9 | 11.1 | B− |
| Newquay | 24,543 | 45.9 | 14.8 | D |
| Foxhole | 1,526 | 35.7 | 9.3 | C |
St Columb Major records more graded crime per resident than 5 of its 7 neighbours; only St Dennis and Newquay record more. Indian Queens, Fraddon and St Columb Road, 2.8 miles away, records 21.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against St Columb Major’s 35.8.
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
- Some months are short. Devon & Cornwall Police published September 2023, October 2023 and November 2023 only in part or not at all. Those months are left out of the rates, which average the months that were published in full; the raw counts include what was published.
- 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 St Columb Major 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 St Columb Major
Is St Columb Major safe?
Police recorded 35.8 violent and sexual offences and 11.7 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside St Columb Major’s built-up area). That earns a C− for safety: less crime per resident than 24% of UK towns. Among 539 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, St Columb Major is 450th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in St Columb Major?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 141%, shoplifting and theft rose 29% and anti-social behaviour fell 11%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in St Columb Major?
Violence & sexual offences: 136 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (51) and other theft (18), with 25 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does St Columb Major compare with Newquay?
Newquay records 45.9 violent and sexual offences and 14.8 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against St Columb Major’s 35.8 and 11.7, 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.