Photo: Terry Burnett · CC BY-SA 2.0Combe Martin records public order at 1.9 times the rate of a typical town its size
Public order: police recorded 18 in Combe Martin in the 12 months to August 2026, 6.6 per 1,000 residents against 3.6 in a typical town its size. Overall, it grades B− for safety (#16 of 47 in Devon).
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Combe Martin
More crime than many places its size
Of 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Combe Martin has the 517th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Forest Row, Elstead and Dyserth, higher than Catterall, Hambrook and Nutbourne and Eglwys-Brewis. Towns its size ↓
Many neighbourhoods rank low for crime nationally
The government’s Indices of Deprivation 2025 rank every neighbourhood in England on recorded crime. 12% of Combe Martin’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 0% in one of the highest-crime 20%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Combe Martin grades B− for safety
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
A fairly firm grade. Built on 251 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Combe Martin against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
1 in 8 Combe Martin residents lives in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
Combe Martin’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.
64% 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.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
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.
Against the typical town its size, Combe Martin runs highest on public order (6.6 per 1,000 against 3.6), other theft (5.9 per 1,000 against 3.2) and criminal damage & arson (5.5 per 1,000 against 4.5).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 61 | 22.5 | 22.4 |
| Public order | not graded | 18 | 6.6 | 3.6 |
| Other theft | not graded | 16 | 5.9 | 3.2 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 15 | 5.5 | 4.5 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 8 | 3 | 8.8 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 5 | 1.8 | 0.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 4 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 3 | 1.1 | 1.9 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 3 | 1.1 | 2 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 2 | 0.7 | 1.8 |
| Drugs | not graded | 2 | 0.7 | 1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 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.
Combe Martin is 517th of 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Combe Martin, and others in Devon.
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Yealmpton Devon | 2,007 | 8.3 | 3.8 | 3.1 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 41 | Bishopsteignton Devon | 2,271 | 10.4 | 4 | 2.6 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 74 | Ipplepen Devon | 2,150 | 10.6 | 5.6 | 4.4 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 101 | Landkey Devon | 2,001 | 13.3 | 4 | 2.7 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 514 | Catterall Lancashire | 2,800 | 27.3 | 5 | 8.1 | B− |
| 515 | Hambrook and Nutbourne West Sussex | 2,752 | 20.1 | 12.2 | 4 | B− |
| 516 | Eglwys-Brewis South Glamorgan | 3,300 | 24.3 | 8.1 | 4.1 | B− |
| 517 | Combe Martin Devon | 2,707 | 25.8 | 6.7 | 5 | B− |
| 518 | Y Felinheli Gwynedd | 2,333 | 25.3 | 7.3 | 2.6 | B− |
| 519 | Bloxham Oxfordshire | 3,681 | 26 | 6.8 | 3.5 | B− |
| 520 | Hatton Derbyshire | 2,560 | 24.7 | 8.1 | 11.6 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 856 | 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.
Violent crime held steady over the year
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 -4% (towns its size +1%).
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).
For every 1,000 residents, about 24 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026
And about 8 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 7 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
No one died in a collision on Combe Martin’s roads in 2021–2025
Collisions police recorded inside Combe Martin’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Police recorded 8 collisions with injuries inside Combe Martin 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 Combe Martin is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Combe Martin’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 2 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Combe Martin 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.
Crime in the places around Combe Martin
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combe Martin | 2,707 | 25.8 | 6.7 | B− |
| Chambercombe | 1,502 | 15 | 9.7 | B+ |
| Ilfracombe | 9,199 | 52.1 | 16.8 | D |
| Barnstaple | 31,271 | 48 | 14.6 | D |
| Braunton | 6,610 | 17.3 | 7.8 | B+ |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 20.5 | 3.4 | B+ |
| Bickington | 2,105 | 17.8 | 5.7 | B+ |
| Landkey | 2,001 | 13.3 | 4 | A |
Combe Martin records more graded crime per resident than 5 of its 7 neighbours; only Ilfracombe and Barnstaple record more. Chambercombe, 3.2 miles away, records 15 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Combe Martin’s 25.8.
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 Combe Martin 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 Combe Martin
Is Combe Martin safe?
Police recorded 25.8 violent and sexual offences and 6.7 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Combe Martin’s built-up area). That earns a B− for safety: less crime per resident than 50% of UK towns. Among 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Combe Martin is 517th from the least crime. 12% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Combe Martin?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 17%, shoplifting and theft rose 29% and anti-social behaviour fell 58%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Combe Martin?
Violence & sexual offences: 61 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (18) and other theft (16), with 8 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Combe Martin compare with Barnstaple?
Barnstaple records 48 violent and sexual offences and 14.6 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Combe Martin’s 25.8 and 6.7, 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.