Burr Hall · Photo: MadeInBasildon · CC BY-SA 4.0Runwell stands out for possession of weapons: 3.5 times the rate of a typical town its size
Violence recorded locally climbed 10% in a year. Recorded violent and sexual offences ran at 36.4 per 1,000 residents a year, and burglary, vehicle crime and damage at 20.0. Overall, Runwell grades C− for safety (#63 of 81 in Essex): more crime per resident than 85% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. For its size, it sits below 12% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people on crime per resident.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Runwell
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 10% more violent crime per resident in Runwell than in the year before; across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage fell 23% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 430 UK towns of 6,000 to 11,000 people, Runwell has the 364th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Mablethorpe, Upton and Alnwick, higher than Radstock, Royston and Cinderford. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Runwell’s C− for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 1,340 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Runwell 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, Runwell runs highest on possession of weapons (1.4 per 1,000 against 0.4), drugs (2.3 per 1,000 against 1) and shoplifting (4.1 per 1,000 against 1.8).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 284 | 35.1 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 118 | 14.6 | 8.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 69 | 8.5 | 4.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 51 | 6.3 | 3.6 |
| Other theft | not graded | 43 | 5.3 | 3.2 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 33 | 4.1 | 1.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 29 | 3.6 | 1.9 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 26 | 3.2 | 2 |
| Drugs | not graded | 19 | 2.3 | 1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 11 | 1.4 | 0.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 7 | 0.9 | 1.5 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 2 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 2 | 0.2 | 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.
How Runwell’s neighbourhoods rank in England
20% 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.
Runwell’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.
364th of 430: Runwell among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barton on Sea Hampshire | 6,763 | 9.6 | 5 | 3.1 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | Ashingdon Essex | 6,490 | 12 | 6.7 | 2.5 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | Great Notley Essex | 7,659 | 13.8 | 6.3 | 7.8 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 44 | Kirby Cross Essex | 6,036 | 17.6 | 5.3 | 3.8 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 58 | Danbury Essex | 6,196 | 15.6 | 8.9 | 4 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 361 | Radstock Somerset | 9,983 | 42.2 | 13.9 | 12.9 | C− |
| 362 | Royston South Yorkshire | 10,755 | 37.5 | 18.8 | 14.1 | C− |
| 363 | Cinderford Gloucestershire | 8,778 | 44.7 | 11.6 | 10.5 | C− |
| 364 | Runwell Essex | 8,086 | 36.4 | 20 | 10.5 | C− |
| 365 | Walton-on-the-Naze Essex | 6,980 | 40.4 | 16 | 11.7 | C− |
| 366 | Axminster Devon | 6,094 | 44.8 | 12.4 | 12.5 | D |
| 367 | Brierfield Lancashire | 10,723 | 41.3 | 16.3 | 6.2 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 430 | 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 Runwell, and others in Essex.
Crime in Runwell 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 15 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 10 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
How crime in Runwell has moved
“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 +10% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -23% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft -1% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour +57% (towns its size +0%).
Police name a suspect about as often as across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 72% of Runwell’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 13% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (66% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 8% of violent and 3% 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. 487 crimes.
Where in Runwell police recorded crime
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitals | 195 | 71% violent |
| Petrol stations | 90 | 33% homes & vehicles |
| Supermarkets | 68 | 53% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 21 | 38% 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 Runwell. 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 Runwell’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 31 collisions with injuries inside Runwell in five years. 7 people were killed or seriously injured: 1 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 Runwell is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Runwell’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 7 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Runwell had 7.
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 Runwell’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Runwell
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runwell | 8,086 | 36.4 | 20 | C− |
| Wickford | 27,533 | 19.8 | 13 | B− |
| Ramsden Heath | 1,949 | 13.7 | 9.4 | A− |
| Crays Hill | 1,218 | 23.3 | 17 | C+ |
| North Benfleet | 1,765 | 30 | 18.5 | C− |
| Hullbridge | 5,709 | 23 | 8.4 | B− |
| South Woodham Ferrers | 16,029 | 17.9 | 6.3 | B+ |
| Basildon | 115,935 | 54.2 | 24.2 | D− |
Runwell records more graded crime per resident than 6 of its 7 neighbours; only Basildon records more. Wickford, 1 miles away, records 19.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Runwell’s 36.4.
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
- Big public sites inside the boundary. police.uk counted 195 at or near a hospital over three years. They count in Runwell’s rate, as they would for any town that has them.
- 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 Runwell 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 Runwell
Is Runwell safe?
Police recorded 36.4 violent and sexual offences and 20 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Runwell’s built-up area). That earns a C− for safety: less crime per resident than 15% of UK towns. Among 430 UK towns of 6,000 to 11,000 people, Runwell is 364th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Runwell?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 10%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 23%, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour rose 57%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Runwell?
Violence & sexual offences: 284 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (69) and public order (51), with 118 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Runwell compare with Basildon?
Basildon records 54.2 violent and sexual offences and 24.2 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Runwell’s 36.4 and 20, 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.