Messingham War Memorial · Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0Compared with UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Messingham has less crime per resident than 90% of them
Each year brought 13.4 violent and sexual offences and 6.1 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage for every 1,000 residents. Violent crime here is lower than in 83% of UK towns; burglary, vehicle crime and damage, lower than in 78%.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Messingham
Less crime than most places its size
Of 1,089 UK towns of 2,000 to 5,000 people, Messingham has the 181st lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Ashurst, Milford on Sea and Harbury, higher than Westwoodside, Hightown and Disley. 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. 37% of Messingham’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.
Messingham’s Safety Grade is A−
A fairly firm grade. Built on 198 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Messingham against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
A third of Messingham residents live in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
78% 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.
Messingham’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
Violence & sexual offences sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 28 | 8.3 | 22.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 8 | 2.4 | 3.2 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 7 | 2.1 | 4.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 7 | 2.1 | 3.6 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 5 | 1.5 | 1.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 5 | 1.5 | 1.9 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 4 | 1.2 | 2 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 4 | 1.2 | 8.8 |
| Other crime | not graded | 2 | 0.6 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Towns its size: Messingham comes 181st of 1,089
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Cranwell Lincolnshire | 2,583 | 8.4 | 1 | 1.4 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Langtoft Lincolnshire | 2,010 | 4.3 | 5.3 | 1.3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Goxhill Lincolnshire | 2,324 | 7.9 | 3.9 | 4.2 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 88 | Long Bennington Lincolnshire | 2,149 | 9 | 7.6 | 2.5 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 178 | Westwoodside Lincolnshire | 2,033 | 14.8 | 4.8 | 1.6 | A− |
| 179 | Hightown Merseyside | 2,018 | 10.3 | 9.3 | 2 | A− |
| 180 | Disley Cheshire | 3,891 | 13.3 | 6.3 | 3.9 | A− |
| 181 | Messingham Lincolnshire | 3,375 | 13.4 | 6.1 | 4.7 | A− |
| 182 | Needingworth Cambridgeshire | 2,059 | 14.3 | 5.3 | 2.9 | A− |
| 183 | Batheaston Somerset | 3,878 | 13.2 | 6.5 | 2.7 | A− |
| 184 | Prestbury Cheshire | 2,629 | 13.6 | 6.1 | 2.9 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 1089 | 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 Messingham, and others in Lincolnshire.
Crime in Messingham 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 5 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.
28 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 52 the year before
“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 -46% (towns its size +1%).
One person died in collisions on Messingham’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 5 collisions with injuries inside Messingham in five years, in which one person died. 2 people were killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 0 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; Messingham’s one death is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Messingham’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; Messingham had 2.
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 Messingham’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Messingham
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messingham | 3,375 | 13.4 | 6.1 | A− |
| Scotter | 2,946 | 12.1 | 7.2 | A− |
| Scunthorpe | 81,286 | 58 | 24.6 | D− |
| Kirton in Lindsey | 3,066 | 22.4 | 9.4 | B− |
| Scawby | 1,606 | 6.4 | 8.1 | A |
| Broughton | 4,499 | 19.6 | 7.8 | B |
| Hibaldstow | 2,022 | 21.8 | 7.4 | B |
| Keadby | 1,446 | 34.1 | 14.8 | C− |
Messingham records more graded crime per resident than 2 of its 7 neighbours. Scotter, 2.3 miles away, records 12.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Messingham’s 13.4.
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 Messingham 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 Messingham
Is Messingham safe?
Police recorded 13.4 violent and sexual offences and 6.1 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Messingham’s built-up area). That earns an A− for safety: less crime per resident than 84% of UK towns. Among 1,089 UK towns of 2,000 to 5,000 people, Messingham is 181st from the least crime. 37% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Messingham?
Police recorded 28 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 52 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Messingham?
Violence & sexual offences: 28 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came other theft (8) and criminal damage & arson (7), with 4 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Messingham compare with Scunthorpe?
Scunthorpe records 58 violent and sexual offences and 24.6 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Messingham’s 13.4 and 6.1, 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.