Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0Settle has less crime per resident than 80% of UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people
It has less violent crime than 75% of UK towns, and less burglary, vehicle crime and damage than 62%. Out of every 1,000 residents, 15.8 violent and sexual offences and 8.0 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage are reported annually.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Settle
Less crime than many places its size
Of 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Settle has the 266th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Sutton Courtenay, Aslockton and Bishop's Itchington, higher than Farndon, Costessey and Isleham. 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 Settle’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.
How Settle comes out at B+
A fairly firm grade. Built on 191 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Settle 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 Settle residents live in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
100% 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.
Settle’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.
Set against 856 towns its size, Settle is 266th
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 3 | Dunnington North Yorkshire | 3,256 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 3.2 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | Upper Poppleton North Yorkshire | 3,520 | 7.1 | 3.7 | 6.6 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Copmanthorpe North Yorkshire | 3,671 | 8.4 | 3 | 4.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 32 | Pannal North Yorkshire | 2,530 | 9.1 | 4.1 | 5.1 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 263 | Farndon Nottinghamshire | 2,472 | 14.2 | 9.4 | 4 | B+ |
| 264 | Costessey Norfolk | 2,608 | 16.6 | 7 | 3.2 | B+ |
| 265 | Isleham Cambridgeshire | 2,287 | 16.5 | 7.3 | 4.5 | B+ |
| 266 | Settle North Yorkshire | 2,710 | 15.8 | 8 | 5 | B+ |
| 267 | Puckeridge and Standon Hertfordshire | 3,861 | 13 | 10.8 | 3.3 | B+ |
| 268 | Bar Hill Cambridgeshire | 3,899 | 13.6 | 10.3 | 18.3 | B+ |
| 269 | Clophill Bedfordshire | 2,515 | 14.6 | 9.3 | 3.7 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 856 | 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 Settle, and others in North Yorkshire.
Crime in Settle 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 3 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 6 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
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 | 49 | 18.1 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 22 | 8.1 | 8.8 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 9 | 3.3 | 1.8 |
| Public order | not graded | 9 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
| Other theft | not graded | 7 | 2.6 | 3.2 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 6 | 2.2 | 4.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 2 | 0.7 | 1.9 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.4 | 2 |
| Drugs | not graded | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Other crime | not graded | 0 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 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.
49 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 34 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 +44% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -71% (towns its size -1%), anti-social behaviour -37% (towns its size +0%).
Where in Settle police recorded crime
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Shopping areas | 24 | 58% violent |
| Supermarkets | 24 | 42% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 20 | 40% 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 Settle. 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 Settle’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 14 collisions with injuries inside Settle in five years. 6 people were killed or seriously injured: 5 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, and Settle is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Settle’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 2 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Settle had 6.
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 Settle’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Settle
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Settle | 2,710 | 15.8 | 8 | B+ |
| Giggleswick | 1,075 | 14.9 | 4 | A |
| Hellifield | 1,478 | 10.2 | 4.7 | A |
| Gargrave | 1,502 | 12.9 | 5.3 | A |
| Ingleton | 1,751 | 16.2 | 7 | A− |
| High Bentham | 1,701 | 14.3 | 3.5 | A |
| Barnoldswick | 10,915 | 22.6 | 9.4 | B− |
| Grassington | 1,107 | 10.8 | 3 | A+ |
Settle records more graded crime per resident than 6 of its 7 neighbours; only Barnoldswick records more. Giggleswick, 0.5 miles away, records 14.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Settle’s 15.8.
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 Settle 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 Settle
Is Settle safe?
Police recorded 15.8 violent and sexual offences and 8 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Settle’s built-up area). That earns a B+ for safety: less crime per resident than 73% of UK towns. Among 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Settle is 266th from the least crime. 37% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Settle?
Police recorded 49 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 34 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Settle?
Violence & sexual offences: 49 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (9) and public order (9), with 22 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.