Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0Great Torrington records shoplifting at 3.1 times the rate of a typical town its size
Its letter overall is B− (#13 of 47 in Devon): close to the middle of UK towns, from crimes police recorded inside its built-up area through September 2023 to August 2026. Violence recorded locally climbed 16% in a year. Even so, of all the kinds of crime, shoplifting is where Great Torrington departs most from towns its size: 5.7 per 1,000 against 1.8.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Great Torrington
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 16% more violent crime per resident in Great Torrington than in the year before; across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
About the middle for a town its size
Of 628 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000 people, Great Torrington has the 263rd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Hullbridge, Kilburn and Horsley Woodhouse and Wheathampstead, higher than Tetbury, Topsham and Elm and Emneth. 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. 22% of Great Torrington’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.
Great Torrington: B− for safety, and why
A fairly firm grade. Built on 539 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Great Torrington 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, Great Torrington runs highest on shoplifting (5.7 per 1,000 against 1.8). Criminal damage & arson and anti-social behaviour sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 152 | 25.5 | 22.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 34 | 5.7 | 1.8 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 27 | 4.5 | 8.8 |
| Public order | not graded | 24 | 4 | 3.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 23 | 3.9 | 4.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 20 | 3.4 | 3.2 |
| Other crime | not graded | 6 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 5 | 0.8 | 1 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 5 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 2 | 0.3 | 1.9 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.2 | 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.
1 in 5 Great Torrington residents lives in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
54% 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.
Great Torrington’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 Great Torrington has moved
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 +16% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -29% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft +49% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour -62% (towns its size +0%).
Police in Great Torrington identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 61% of Great Torrington’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 12% 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 3% of violent and 2% 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. 180 crimes.
Great Torrington places 263rd of 628 towns its size, the least crime first
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 32 | Budleigh Salterton Devon | 5,237 | 13.1 | 5 | 4 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 49 | Bovey Tracey Devon | 6,241 | 14.9 | 5.2 | 2.9 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 52 | Northam Devon | 5,191 | 14 | 6.2 | 3.7 | A− |
| 53 | Fremington Devon | 5,229 | 15.6 | 4.7 | 2.3 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 260 | Tetbury Gloucestershire | 6,454 | 23.1 | 8 | 4.6 | B− |
| 261 | Topsham Devon | 4,193 | 20.2 | 10.9 | 7.9 | B− |
| 262 | Elm and Emneth Norfolk | 4,555 | 21.1 | 10.2 | 4.6 | B− |
| 263 | Great Torrington Devon | 5,958 | 23.4 | 7.9 | 7.1 | B− |
| 264 | Whitchurch Hampshire | 5,291 | 22.6 | 8.7 | 4.5 | B− |
| 265 | Wareham Dorset | 5,876 | 19.6 | 11.7 | 12.8 | B− |
| 266 | Whaley Bridge Derbyshire | 4,618 | 22.4 | 9 | 9.5 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 628 | City of London London | 7,820 | 252.8 | 111.5 | 710 | 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 Great Torrington, and others in Devon.
For every 1,000 residents, about 26 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 5 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 9 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Where in Great Torrington police recorded crime
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol stations | 69 | 67% shoplifting & theft |
| Supermarkets | 47 | 40% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 27 | 48% violent |
| Hospitals | 25 | 32% violent |
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 Great Torrington. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
No one died in a collision on Great Torrington’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 13 collisions with injuries inside Great Torrington in five years. 1 person was 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 Great Torrington is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Great Torrington’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 5 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Great Torrington had 1.
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 Great Torrington’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Great Torrington
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Torrington | 5,958 | 23.4 | 7.9 | B− |
| Bideford | 19,493 | 37.9 | 11.6 | C− |
| Northam | 5,191 | 14 | 6.2 | A− |
| Westward Ho! | 3,468 | 33.2 | 8.6 | C |
| Appledore | 1,711 | 18.1 | 9.8 | B |
| Fremington | 5,229 | 15.6 | 4.7 | A− |
| Bickington | 2,105 | 17.8 | 5.7 | B+ |
| Barnstaple | 31,271 | 48 | 14.6 | D |
Great Torrington records more graded crime per resident than 4 of its 7 neighbours. Northam, 6.8 miles away, records 14 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Great Torrington’s 23.4.
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 Great Torrington 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 Great Torrington
Is Great Torrington safe?
Police recorded 23.4 violent and sexual offences and 7.9 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Great Torrington’s built-up area). That earns a B− for safety: less crime per resident than 53% of UK towns. Among 628 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000 people, Great Torrington is 263rd from the least crime. 22% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Great Torrington?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 16%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 29%, shoplifting and theft rose 49% and anti-social behaviour fell 62%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Great Torrington?
Violence & sexual offences: 152 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (34) and public order (24), with 27 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Great Torrington 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 Great Torrington’s 23.4 and 7.9, 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.