Photo: Peter Trimming · CC BY-SA 2.0Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Botley records more crime per resident than 85%
Other theft stands out: 8.1 per 1,000 residents in Botley, against 3.2 in a typical town its size, with 48 recorded in the 12 months to August 2026. Each year brought 38.9 violent and sexual offences and 13.5 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage for every 1,000 residents. Graded on crimes police recorded inside the town’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026, it scores C− for safety: #69 of 76 in Hampshire. By contrast, recorded violence fell 21% in a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Botley
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 21% less violent crime per resident in Botley 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 18% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 628 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000 people, Botley has the 526th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Drighlington, East Tilbury and Middleton St George, higher than Newbridge, Abercarn and Allerton Bywater. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Botley’s grade
A firm grade. Built on 926 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Botley 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 crime in Botley 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 -21% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -18% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft +41% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour +13% (towns its size +0%).
How Botley’s neighbourhoods rank in England
0% 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.
Botley’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.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Botley runs highest on other theft (8.1 per 1,000 against 3.2), vehicle crime (3.9 per 1,000 against 2) and public order (6.8 per 1,000 against 3.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 222 | 37.6 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 86 | 14.6 | 8.8 |
| Other theft | not graded | 48 | 8.1 | 3.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 40 | 6.8 | 3.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 34 | 5.8 | 4.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 23 | 3.9 | 2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 13 | 2.2 | 1.9 |
| Other crime | not graded | 13 | 2.2 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 7 | 1.2 | 1 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 6 | 1 | 1.8 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 2 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 2 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
“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.
526th of 628: Botley among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 11 | Barton on Sea Hampshire | 6,763 | 9.6 | 5 | 3.1 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 46 | Four Marks Hampshire | 5,613 | 13.8 | 5.5 | 5.1 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 48 | Milford on Sea Hampshire | 4,364 | 12.5 | 7.3 | 3.2 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 57 | Odiham Hampshire | 5,091 | 13.8 | 6.7 | 5.7 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 523 | Newbridge Gwent | 7,582 | 36.2 | 15.9 | 5.4 | C− |
| 524 | Abercarn Gwent | 5,123 | 35.5 | 16.7 | 4.4 | C− |
| 525 | Allerton Bywater West Yorkshire | 6,958 | 34.2 | 18 | 3.8 | C− |
| 526 | Botley Hampshire | 5,900 | 38.9 | 13.5 | 7.4 | C− |
| 527 | Market Rasen Lincolnshire | 4,959 | 41.4 | 11.1 | 21.3 | C− |
| 528 | Waverley and Catcliffe South Yorkshire | 5,342 | 32.8 | 19.9 | 13 | C− |
| 529 | Woodville Derbyshire | 7,255 | 38.4 | 14.4 | 10.1 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 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 Botley, and others in Hampshire.
Crime in Botley 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 12 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.
Police name a suspect about as often as across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 67% of Botley’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” (60% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 2% of violent and 5% 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. 260 crimes.
Where in Botley police recorded crime
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 65 | 45% violent |
| Petrol stations | 43 | 37% violent |
| Car parks | 26 | 31% 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 Botley. 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 Botley’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 26 collisions with injuries inside Botley in five years. 8 people were killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 2 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Botley is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Botley’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; Botley had 8.
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 Botley’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Botley
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botley | 5,900 | 38.9 | 13.5 | C− |
| Hedge End | 23,195 | 22.1 | 8.2 | B |
| Horton Heath | 3,047 | 12.1 | 6 | A |
| West End | 10,865 | 24.4 | 15 | C+ |
| Whiteley | 9,350 | 29.3 | 10 | C+ |
| Bursledon | 8,072 | 33.8 | 14 | C− |
| Waltham Chase | 2,830 | 16 | 4.7 | A− |
| Bishop's Waltham | 6,957 | 25.2 | 8.3 | B− |
Botley records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Hedge End, 1.3 miles away, records 22.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Botley’s 38.9.
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 Botley 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 Botley
Is Botley safe?
Police recorded 38.9 violent and sexual offences and 13.5 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Botley’s built-up area). That earns a C− for safety: less crime per resident than 19% of UK towns. Among 628 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000 people, Botley is 526th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Botley?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 21%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 18%, shoplifting and theft rose 41% and anti-social behaviour rose 13%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Botley?
Violence & sexual offences: 222 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came other theft (48) and public order (40), with 86 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Botley compare with Southampton?
Southampton records 58.3 violent and sexual offences and 22.2 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Botley’s 38.9 and 13.5, 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.