Photo: David Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Exeter has more crime per resident than 89% of UK towns
From September 2023 to August 2026, crimes police recorded inside Exeter’s built-up area put it at D for safety: #42 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 Exeter
One ward carries much of the rate
St David's ward, where 33% of Exeter’s shoplifting and theft is recorded, recorded 4,406 of Exeter’s 17,081 violent and sexual offences in three years: 139.6 per 1,000 of its own residents a year. Across the rest of Exeter the figure is 36.3. Where in Exeter ↓
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 9% more violent crime per resident in Exeter than in the year before; across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage rose 9% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
About the middle for a city its size
Of 50 UK towns and cities of 88,000 to 170,000 people, Exeter has the 23rd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Eastbourne, Slough and Bedford, higher than Gillingham, Chelmsford and Nuneaton. 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. 20% of Exeter’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 8% 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.
Exeter grades D for safety
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
A firm grade. Built on 22,361 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Exeter against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
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 and cities of 50,000 or more.
Against the typical town its size, Exeter runs highest on bicycle theft (2.4 per 1,000 against 0.9), violence & sexual offences (47.8 per 1,000 against 38.6) and criminal damage & arson (8.9 per 1,000 against 7.5). Robbery and vehicle crime sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 6,030 | 47.8 | 38.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 2,137 | 16.9 | 17.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 1,497 | 11.9 | 10.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 1,118 | 8.9 | 7.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 959 | 7.6 | 7.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 863 | 6.8 | 6.6 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 391 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 388 | 3.1 | 3.8 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 367 | 2.9 | 4.9 |
| Other crime | not graded | 305 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 298 | 2.4 | 0.9 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 154 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 127 | 1 | 1.4 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 107 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
“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.
Lowest recorded crime in Exwick, Pennsylvania and Heavitree; highest in St David's
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Exeter’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exwick | 9,425 | 27.2 | 6.9 | |
| Pennsylvania | 10,535 | 24.7 | 10.1 | |
| Heavitree | 9,250 | 26.6 | 12.2 | |
| Duryard and St James | 15,148 | 31.2 | 8.5 | |
| St Thomas | 9,847 | 31.6 | 10.7 | |
| Topsham | 5,849 | 32 | 10.4 | |
| St Loyes | 9,383 | 32.2 | 11 | |
| Alphington | 8,270 | 32.3 | 15.8 | |
| Mincinglake and Whipton | 8,800 | 41.4 | 11.5 | |
| Pinhoe | 9,584 | 47.9 | 16.1 | |
| Priory | 8,716 | 56.7 | 13.2 | |
| Newtown and St Leonard's | 10,851 | 53.8 | 18.3 | |
| St David's | 10,523 | 139.6 | 35.3 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 3,245 | 77% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 2,638 | 36% violent |
| Shopping areas | 1,400 | 42% shoplifting & theft |
| Nightclubs | 1,092 | 49% violent |
| Hospitals | 664 | 60% violent |
| Petrol stations | 412 | 49% shoplifting & theft |
| Prisons | 296 | 65% violent |
| Bus and coach stations | 244 | 70% shoplifting & theft |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 223 | 41% violent |
| College and university buildings | 179 | 39% violent |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so St David's records 3.8× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Exeter. 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 Exeter. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Police in Exeter identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
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. 6,684 crimes.
No suspect was identified for 52% of Exeter’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 11% 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 7% of household crimes reached court.
For every 1,000 residents, about 50 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026
And about 15 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 22 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.
1 in 5 Exeter residents lives in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
Exeter’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.
43% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 8% 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.
Violent crime up 9% in a year, while towns its size held steady
Rolling three-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year. In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent +9% (towns its size +2%), homes and vehicles +9% (towns its size -5%), shoplifting and theft -24% (towns its size -3%), anti-social behaviour -20% (towns its size -2%).
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 and cities of 50,000 or more that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Exeter is 23rd of 50 UK towns of 88,000 to 170,000
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Exeter, and others in Devon.
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kingston upon Thames London | 166,333 | 24.7 | 14 | 20.6 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | Gillingham Kent | 108,485 | 42.7 | 16.7 | 14.9 | D |
| 21 | Chelmsford Essex | 110,612 | 44.5 | 15.2 | 21 | D |
| 22 | Nuneaton Warwickshire | 88,818 | 42.7 | 18.5 | 15.9 | D |
| 23 | Exeter Devon | 126,181 | 47.6 | 14.5 | 25.3 | D |
| 24 | Blackburn Lancashire | 124,958 | 44.5 | 18.3 | 15.3 | D |
| 25 | Worcester Worcestershire | 105,439 | 44.8 | 18.2 | 22 | D |
| 26 | Maidstone Kent | 109,503 | 46.4 | 17 | 20.1 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 50 | Middlesbrough North Yorkshire | 148,232 | 70.8 | 40.1 | 30.1 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
10 people died in collisions on Exeter’s roads in 2021–2025
Collisions police recorded inside Exeter’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Police recorded 756 collisions with injuries inside Exeter in five years, in which 10 people died (3 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist). 171 people were killed or seriously injured: 55 on foot and 53 on a bicycle. One person was killed on a motorway.
That is 1.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (1.1, 210 towns).
Counting serious injuries too, Exeter had 27.1 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (30.3). 32% of them were on foot, against 31% across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more.
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 Exeter
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exeter | 126,181 | 47.6 | 14.5 | D |
| West Clyst | 2,683 | 27.6 | 10 | C+ |
| Clyst Honiton | 1,030 | 100.2 | 30.4 | D− |
| Clyst St Mary | 1,193 | 17.7 | 4.6 | A− |
| Exminster | 4,388 | 16.8 | 5.6 | A− |
| Topsham | 4,193 | 20.2 | 10.9 | B− |
| Broadclyst | 1,549 | 20.7 | 4.7 | B+ |
| Cranbrook | 4,936 | 46 | 10.7 | C− |
Exeter records more graded crime per resident than 6 of its 7 neighbours; only Clyst Honiton records more. West Clyst, 2.7 miles away, records 27.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Exeter’s 47.6.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A prison inside the boundary. police.uk counted 296 at or near a prison (65% violent) and 664 at or near a hospital over three years. They count in Exeter’s rate, as they would for any town that has them.
- 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 Exeter 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 Exeter
Is Exeter safe?
Police recorded 47.6 violent and sexual offences and 14.5 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Exeter’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 11% of UK towns. Among 50 UK towns of 88,000 to 170,000 people, Exeter is 23rd from the least crime. 20% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
What are the safest areas of Exeter?
By council ward, Exwick, Pennsylvania and Heavitree record the least violent and household crime per resident: 27.2, 24.7 and 26.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 139.6 in St David's.
Is crime going up in Exeter?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 9%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 9%, shoplifting and theft fell 24% and anti-social behaviour fell 20%. Across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, violent crime held steady.
Is Exeter city centre safe at night?
police.uk placed 1,092 crimes and reports at or near nightclubs in three years, 49% of them violent, and St David's ward records 139.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 of its residents a year. Over the last two years, violent crime peaked in July and was lowest in November.
What is the most common crime in Exeter?
Violence & sexual offences: 6,030 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (1,497) and criminal damage & arson (1,118), with 2,137 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.