Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0Recorded crime in South Brent is close to typical for UK towns
Violence and property crime split as 22.1 violent and sexual offences and 8.4 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents a year. Overall, it grades B− for safety (#12 of 47 in Devon). What’s more, recorded violence fell 16% in a year. The typical town its size sees 3.2 cases of other theft per 1,000 residents; South Brent sees 5.7, or 15 in the 12 months to August 2026.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in South Brent
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 16% less violent crime per resident in South Brent 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 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, South Brent has the 478th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Stewartby, Creech St Michael and Kempsey, higher than Wollaston, Mickleton and Harlington. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind South Brent’s B−
A fairly firm grade. Built on 227 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks South Brent against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
How South Brent’s neighbourhoods rank in England
100% 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.
South Brent’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 South Brent 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%).
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, South Brent runs highest on other theft (5.7 per 1,000 against 3.2), criminal damage & arson (6.1 per 1,000 against 4.5) and public order (4.5 per 1,000 against 3.6). Anti-social behaviour sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 52 | 19.7 | 22.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 16 | 6.1 | 4.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 15 | 5.7 | 3.2 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 14 | 5.3 | 8.8 |
| Public order | not graded | 12 | 4.5 | 3.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 4 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 3 | 1.1 | 1.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 2 | 0.8 | 1.9 |
| Drugs | not graded | 2 | 0.8 | 1 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 2 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| 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.
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.
Set against 856 towns its size, South Brent is 478th
| # | 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 |
| … | ||||||
| 475 | Wollaston Northamptonshire | 3,564 | 23.5 | 6.9 | 3.9 | B |
| 476 | Mickleton Gloucestershire | 2,316 | 21.1 | 9.4 | 2.3 | B |
| 477 | Harlington Bedfordshire | 2,287 | 17.9 | 12.5 | 5.5 | B |
| 478 | South Brent Devon | 2,643 | 22.1 | 8.4 | 5.9 | B− |
| 479 | Lostwithiel Cornwall | 3,067 | 23 | 7.6 | 3.9 | B− |
| 480 | Bottesford Leicestershire | 3,046 | 18 | 12.7 | 7.1 | B− |
| 481 | Willingham Cambridgeshire | 3,912 | 21.1 | 9.6 | 4.8 | 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.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near South Brent, and others in Devon.
Crime in South Brent 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 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.
No one died in a collision on South Brent’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 3 collisions with injuries inside South Brent in five years. 1 person was killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and South Brent is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of South Brent’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; South Brent 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 South Brent’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around South Brent
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Brent | 2,643 | 22.1 | 8.4 | B− |
| Buckfastleigh | 2,720 | 42.2 | 11.1 | C− |
| Ivybridge | 12,485 | 24.2 | 7.6 | B− |
| Modbury | 1,687 | 13.6 | 5.6 | A |
| Totnes | 9,217 | 27.8 | 13.3 | C |
| Loddiswell | 1,032 | 23.6 | 5.6 | B |
| Ashburton | 3,368 | 28.1 | 8.8 | C+ |
| Stoke Gabriel | 1,340 | 11.4 | 3.8 | A |
South Brent records more graded crime per resident than 3 of its 7 neighbours. Modbury, 5.9 miles away, records 13.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against South Brent’s 22.1.
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 South Brent 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 South Brent
Is South Brent safe?
Police recorded 22.1 violent and sexual offences and 8.4 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside South Brent’s built-up area). That earns a B− for safety: less crime per resident than 54% of UK towns. Among 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, South Brent is 478th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in South Brent?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 16%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 5%, shoplifting and theft rose 20% and anti-social behaviour fell 22%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in South Brent?
Violence & sexual offences: 52 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (16) and other theft (15), with 14 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does South Brent compare with Paignton?
Paignton records 40.2 violent and sexual offences and 13.7 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against South Brent’s 22.1 and 8.4, 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.