Photo: Geographer · CC BY-SA 2.0Mistley stands out for public order: 2.7 times the rate of a typical town its size
Violent crime was up 19% in a year. Violence and property crime split as 29.4 violent and sexual offences and 14.2 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents a year. Its letter overall is C: more crime per resident than 71% of UK towns, from crimes police recorded inside its built-up area through September 2023 to August 2026. It has more violent crime than 67% of UK towns, and more burglary, vehicle crime and damage than 78%.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Mistley
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 19% more violent crime per resident in Mistley than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Mistley has the 1,058th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Shireoaks, New Arley and Beaumaris, higher than Orsett, Wrotham and Llandovery. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
The grade: C for Mistley
A fairly firm grade. Built on 239 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Mistley 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, Mistley runs highest on public order (6.6 per 1,000 against 2.4), violence & sexual offences (34.5 per 1,000 against 16.6) and anti-social behaviour (7.7 per 1,000 against 5.3).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 63 | 34.5 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 14 | 7.7 | 5.3 |
| Public order | not graded | 12 | 6.6 | 2.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 8 | 4.4 | 2.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 7 | 3.8 | 1.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 7 | 3.8 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 3 | 1.6 | 0.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 3 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.5 | 3.2 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 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.
How crime in Mistley has moved
“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 +19% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -64% (towns its size +0%).
Set against 1,214 towns its size, Mistley is 1,058th
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 30 | Tolleshunt Knights Essex | 1,059 | 5.4 | 3.5 | 0.3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 67 | Bradfield Essex | 1,254 | 7.7 | 3.7 | 1.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 113 | Stebbing Essex | 1,061 | 7.9 | 5.3 | 1.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 121 | Thorrington Essex | 1,427 | 10.5 | 3 | 1.6 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 1055 | Orsett Essex | 1,428 | 14.7 | 28.7 | 5.8 | C |
| 1056 | Wrotham Kent | 1,961 | 22.1 | 21.4 | 4.4 | C |
| 1057 | Llandovery Dyfed | 1,455 | 32 | 11.6 | 7.5 | C |
| 1058 | Mistley Essex | 1,827 | 29.4 | 14.2 | 5.5 | C |
| 1059 | Heathfield Devon | 1,496 | 36 | 7.8 | 10.5 | C |
| 1060 | Pagham West Sussex | 1,291 | 30.2 | 13.7 | 21.4 | C |
| 1061 | Bean Kent | 1,633 | 27.6 | 16.5 | 3.3 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 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 Mistley, and others in Essex.
Crime in Mistley 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 4 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 Mistley’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 5 collisions with injuries inside Mistley in five years. 1 person was killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Mistley is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Mistley’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; Mistley 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 Mistley’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Mistley
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mistley | 1,827 | 29.4 | 14.2 | C |
| Manningtree | 1,676 | 29.6 | 15.3 | C |
| Bradfield | 1,254 | 7.7 | 3.7 | A+ |
| Lawford | 4,488 | 21.2 | 8.4 | B |
| Brantham | 2,081 | 15.1 | 4.3 | A− |
| East Bergholt | 2,211 | 16.7 | 8.6 | B+ |
| Holbrook | 2,146 | 14.9 | 3.7 | A |
| Ardleigh | 1,042 | 26.9 | 8.6 | C+ |
Mistley records more graded crime per resident than 6 of its 7 neighbours; only Manningtree records more. Bradfield, 1.3 miles away, records 7.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Mistley’s 29.4.
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
- 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 Mistley 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 Mistley
Is Mistley safe?
Police recorded 29.4 violent and sexual offences and 14.2 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Mistley’s built-up area). That earns a C for safety: less crime per resident than 29% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Mistley is 1,058th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Mistley?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 19%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 64%, shoplifting and theft fell 50% and anti-social behaviour rose 8%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Mistley?
Violence & sexual offences: 63 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (12) and other theft (8), with 14 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Mistley compare with Ipswich?
Ipswich records 41 violent and sexual offences and 14.9 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Mistley’s 29.4 and 14.2, 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.