Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0Less burglary, vehicle crime and damage is recorded per resident in North Tawton than in 88% of UK towns
Public order runs at 5.6 per 1,000 residents in North Tawton, against 2.4 in a typical town its size: police recorded 10 in the 12 months to August 2026. Violent crime barely moved in a year. In sum, crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put North Tawton at B−: close to the middle of UK towns. Police counts work out at 26.1 violent and sexual offences and 4.7 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents annually.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in North Tawton
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, North Tawton has the 835th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Thurlstone, Gosberton and Burham, higher than Brinklow, Blakedown and St Dogmaels. 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. 100% of North Tawton’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.
What’s behind North Tawton’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 156 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks North Tawton 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, North Tawton runs highest on public order (5.6 per 1,000 against 2.4) and violence & sexual offences (28 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 50 | 28 | 16.6 |
| Public order | not graded | 10 | 5.6 | 2.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 8 | 4.5 | 3.2 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 6 | 3.4 | 5.3 |
| Other theft | not graded | 3 | 1.7 | 2.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 0 | 0 | 1.6 |
| Drugs | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 0 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 0 | 0 | 1.1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 1,000 to 2,500 people.
Towns its size: North Tawton comes 835th of 1,214
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 832 | Brinklow Warwickshire | 1,121 | 18.7 | 11.9 | 2.7 | B− |
| 833 | Blakedown Worcestershire | 1,448 | 19.6 | 11.1 | 4.9 | B− |
| 834 | St Dogmaels Dyfed | 1,013 | 23.3 | 7.4 | 3 | B− |
| 835 | North Tawton Devon | 1,785 | 26.1 | 4.7 | 2.4 | B− |
| 836 | East Hanney Oxfordshire | 1,233 | 23.8 | 7 | 1.9 | B− |
| 837 | Pontesbury Shropshire | 1,968 | 25.4 | 5.4 | 6.3 | B− |
| 838 | Gayton Norfolk | 1,522 | 24.3 | 6.6 | 3.1 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 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 North Tawton, and others in Devon.
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%).
Crime in North Tawton 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 4 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 2 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
No one died in a collision on North Tawton’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 2 collisions with injuries inside North Tawton in five years. 2 people were killed or seriously injured: 1 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and North Tawton is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of North Tawton’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; North Tawton 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.
Collisions police recorded inside North Tawton’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around North Tawton
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Tawton | 1,785 | 26.1 | 4.7 | B− |
| Bow | 1,122 | 11.7 | 5.5 | A |
| Winkleigh | 1,342 | 16 | 6.5 | A− |
| Okehampton | 9,108 | 34.1 | 11.2 | C |
| Copplestone | 1,475 | 21.2 | 5.4 | B+ |
| Morchard Bishop | 1,041 | 5.9 | 1.8 | A+ |
| Chulmleigh | 1,232 | 18.6 | 9.2 | B |
| Chagford | 1,107 | 12.2 | 3 | A |
North Tawton records more graded crime per resident than 6 of its 7 neighbours; only Okehampton records more. Bow, 3.5 miles away, records 11.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against North Tawton’s 26.1.
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 North Tawton 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 North Tawton
Is North Tawton safe?
Police recorded 26.1 violent and sexual offences and 4.7 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside North Tawton’s built-up area). That earns a B− for safety: less crime per resident than 54% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, North Tawton is 835th from the least crime. 100% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in North Tawton?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 33%, shoplifting and theft fell 50% and anti-social behaviour rose 20%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in North Tawton?
Violence & sexual offences: 50 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (10) and criminal damage & arson (8), with 6 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does North Tawton 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 North Tawton’s 26.1 and 4.7, 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.