Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0For its size, Overton has more crime per resident than 78% of UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people
Police recorded 29 cases of violent crime in Overton in the 12 months to August 2026, a rate of 28.5 per 1,000 against a typical 16.6. This Lancashire town grades C+ for safety overall: close to the middle of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 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 Overton
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Overton has the 962nd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Martlesham, Sutton Valence and Gorefield, higher than Stock, Tockwith and Blaengarw. 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 Overton
A fairly firm grade. Built on 112 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Overton against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Towns its size: Overton comes 962nd of 1,214
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | Waddington Lancashire | 1,005 | 4 | 4 | 1 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 29 | Bonds Lancashire | 1,237 | 5.4 | 3.2 | 1.4 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 43 | Old Langho Lancashire | 1,072 | 7.8 | 1.9 | 1.6 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 158 | Rufford Lancashire | 1,562 | 10 | 4.5 | 1.3 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 959 | Stock Essex | 1,573 | 22.7 | 14 | 5.7 | C+ |
| 960 | Tockwith North Yorkshire | 1,788 | 25.5 | 11.2 | 2.2 | C+ |
| 961 | Blaengarw Mid Glamorgan | 1,779 | 29.4 | 7.3 | 3.6 | C+ |
| 962 | Overton Lancashire | 1,016 | 23.6 | 13.1 | 3 | C+ |
| 963 | Great Bentley Essex | 1,746 | 26.2 | 10.9 | 6.9 | C+ |
| 964 | Corby Glen Lincolnshire | 1,006 | 27.8 | 9.3 | 5 | C+ |
| 965 | Talgarth Powys | 1,252 | 26.7 | 10.5 | 4.2 | 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 Overton, and others in Lancashire.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Overton runs highest on violence & sexual offences (28.5 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 29 | 28.5 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 7 | 6.9 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 5 | 4.9 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 5 | 4.9 | 1.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 3 | 3 | 1.1 |
| Public order | not graded | 2 | 2 | 2.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 2 | 2 | 2.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| 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.
Crime in Overton 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 2 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
29 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 18 the year before
“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: homes and vehicles -40% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on Overton’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 0 collisions with injuries inside Overton in five years. 0 people were killed or seriously injured.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Overton is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Overton’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; Overton had 0.
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 Overton’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Overton
Overton records more graded crime per resident than 4 of its 7 neighbours. Bailrigg, 3.1 miles away, records 4.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Overton’s 23.6.
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 Overton 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 Overton
Is Overton safe?
Police recorded 23.6 violent and sexual offences and 13.1 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Overton’s built-up area). That earns a C+ for safety: less crime per resident than 41% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Overton is 962nd from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Overton?
Police recorded 29 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 18 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Overton?
Violence & sexual offences: 29 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (5) and burglary (5), with 7 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Overton compare with Lancaster?
Lancaster records 39.3 violent and sexual offences and 22.6 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Overton’s 23.6 and 13.1, 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.