Photo: Nilfanion · CC BY-SA 4.0Dawlish Warren records more crime per resident than 90% of UK towns
Violent crime barely moved in a year. The grade is D, built on crimes police recorded inside Dawlish Warren’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Police recorded 44 cases of anti-social behaviour here in the 12 months to August 2026, a rate of 36.9 per 1,000 against a typical 5.3. Violence and property crime split as 53.4 violent and sexual offences and 10.4 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
The D for Dawlish Warren, and how it is built
A fairly firm grade. Built on 217 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Dawlish Warren 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, Dawlish Warren runs highest on anti-social behaviour (36.9 per 1,000 against 5.3), public order (14.3 per 1,000 against 2.4) and other theft (10.1 per 1,000 against 2.5).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 71 | 59.6 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 44 | 36.9 | 5.3 |
| Public order | not graded | 17 | 14.3 | 2.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 12 | 10.1 | 2.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 8 | 6.7 | 0 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 6 | 5 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 3 | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 3 | 2.5 | 1.1 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 2 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 2 | 1.7 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1 | 0.8 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 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 1,000 to 2,500 people.
How Dawlish Warren compares with UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Exton Devon | 1,287 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 4.8 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Morchard Bishop Devon | 1,041 | 5.9 | 1.8 | 1 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 60 | Abbotskerswell Devon | 1,182 | 6.2 | 4.9 | 0.6 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 63 | Chillington Devon | 1,074 | 10.2 | 1 | 2 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 1161 | Penwithick Cornwall | 1,706 | 50.1 | 12.8 | 4.5 | D |
| 1162 | Charnock Richard Lancashire | 1,098 | 36.4 | 27 | 25.2 | D |
| 1163 | Onley Northamptonshire | 1,667 | 60.6 | 3 | 1.2 | D |
| 1164 | Dawlish Warren Devon | 1,191 | 53.4 | 10.4 | 15.3 | D |
| 1165 | Tow Law County Durham | 1,796 | 43.8 | 20 | 9.3 | D |
| 1166 | Swffryd Gwent | 1,721 | 44.8 | 19.4 | 4.5 | D |
| 1167 | Seven Sisters West Glamorgan | 1,343 | 54.5 | 10.2 | 4.2 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 1214 | Ingoldmells Lincolnshire | 1,928 | 259 | 64.7 | 57.2 | 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 Dawlish Warren, and others in Devon.
Crime in Dawlish Warren 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 9 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 18 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 1,000 to 2,500 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 -4% (towns its size +3%), anti-social behaviour +42% (towns its size -1%).
No one died in a collision on Dawlish Warren’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 4 collisions with injuries inside Dawlish Warren in five years. 0 people were killed or seriously injured.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Dawlish Warren is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Dawlish Warren’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Dawlish Warren had 0.
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 Dawlish Warren’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Dawlish Warren
Dawlish Warren records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Dawlish, 1.3 miles away, records 39.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Dawlish Warren’s 53.4.
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
- 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 Dawlish Warren 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 Dawlish Warren
Is Dawlish Warren safe?
Police recorded 53.4 violent and sexual offences and 10.4 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Dawlish Warren’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 10% of UK towns. Among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Dawlish Warren has less crime per resident than 4%.
Is crime going up in Dawlish Warren?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 21%, shoplifting and theft rose 29% and anti-social behaviour rose 42%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Dawlish Warren?
Violence & sexual offences: 71 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (17) and other theft (12), with 44 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Dawlish Warren compare with Exeter?
Exeter records 47.6 violent and sexual offences and 14.5 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Dawlish Warren’s 53.4 and 10.4, 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.