Photo: Mat Fascione · CC BY-SA 2.0Desford records shoplifting at 3.9 times the rate of a typical town its size
Desford’s overall Safety Grade is B− (#13 of 50 in Leicestershire): close to the middle of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Police recorded 27 cases of shoplifting in the town in the 12 months to August 2026, a rate of 7.1 per 1,000 against a typical 1.8. By contrast, recorded violence rose 7% 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 Desford
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 7% more violent crime per resident in Desford 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 539 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, Desford has the 286th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Great Denham, Handsacre and Armitage and Stoney Stanton, higher than Hartley Wintney, Barlby and Halesworth. Towns its size ↓
Many neighbourhoods rank low for crime nationally
The government’s Indices of Deprivation 2025 rank every neighbourhood in England on recorded crime. 31% of Desford’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 0% in one of the highest-crime 20%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Desford’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 368 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Desford 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, Desford runs highest on shoplifting (7.1 per 1,000 against 1.8), burglary (4.5 per 1,000 against 1.9) and anti-social behaviour (11 per 1,000 against 8.8). Criminal damage & arson sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 89 | 23.3 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 42 | 11 | 8.8 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 27 | 7.1 | 1.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 17 | 4.5 | 1.9 |
| Public order | not graded | 13 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 10 | 2.6 | 4.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 8 | 2.1 | 2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 7 | 1.8 | 3.2 |
| Other crime | not graded | 5 | 1.3 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 3 | 0.8 | 1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 1 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
“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.
A third of Desford residents live in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
45% 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.
Desford’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.
Police in Desford identify a suspect less often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 75% of Desford’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 18% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (57% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 1% of violent and 0% 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. 118 crimes.
How crime in Desford 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 +7% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -10% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft -3% (towns its size +2%).
Among 539 towns its size, Desford ranks 286th for the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 91 | Queniborough Leicestershire | 3,087 | 13.2 | 8.4 | 20.6 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 167 | Cosby Leicestershire | 3,518 | 15.3 | 10.8 | 7.8 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 170 | Great Glen Leicestershire | 4,062 | 16.3 | 10 | 6.2 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 200 | Markfield Leicestershire | 4,761 | 16.6 | 11.1 | 3.6 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 283 | Hartley Wintney Hampshire | 3,465 | 21.6 | 10.5 | 3.4 | B− |
| 284 | Barlby North Yorkshire | 3,499 | 23.2 | 9 | 2.6 | B− |
| 285 | Halesworth Suffolk | 4,924 | 23.5 | 8.6 | 6.6 | B− |
| 286 | Desford Leicestershire | 3,817 | 21.8 | 10.3 | 8.3 | B− |
| 287 | Freckleton Lancashire | 4,478 | 22 | 10.2 | 3.1 | B− |
| 288 | Telscombe Cliffs East Sussex | 4,237 | 24.5 | 8 | 5.4 | B− |
| 289 | Eglwys-Brewis South Glamorgan | 3,300 | 24.3 | 8.1 | 4.1 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 539 | 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 Desford, and others in Leicestershire.
For every 1,000 residents, about 24 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026
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 9 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 9 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
One person died in collisions on Desford’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 13 collisions with injuries inside Desford in five years, in which one person died (1 was a cyclist). 4 people were 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, so with numbers this small a single collision changes the picture; Desford’s one death is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Desford’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 3 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Desford had 4.
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 Desford’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Desford
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desford | 3,817 | 21.8 | 10.3 | B− |
| Newbold Verdon | 3,097 | 24.2 | 9.4 | B− |
| Thornton | 1,030 | 21.4 | 12.3 | B− |
| Ratby | 4,262 | 29.1 | 14.2 | C |
| Leicester Forest East and Kirby Muxloe | 13,847 | 20.6 | 13.8 | B− |
| Barlestone | 2,563 | 26.7 | 12.9 | C+ |
| Earl Shilton | 10,885 | 33.5 | 12.2 | C |
| Groby | 6,559 | 18.9 | 12.2 | B− |
Desford records more graded crime per resident than 1 of its 7 neighbours. Groby, 4 miles away, records 18.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Desford’s 21.8.
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 Desford 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 Desford
Is Desford safe?
Police recorded 21.8 violent and sexual offences and 10.3 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Desford’s built-up area). That earns a B− for safety: less crime per resident than 51% of UK towns. Among 539 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, Desford is 286th from the least crime. 31% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Desford?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 7%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 10%, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour rose 163%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Desford?
Violence & sexual offences: 89 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (27) and burglary (17), with 42 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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.