Photo: Steve Daniels · CC BY-SA 2.0Skipton records more burglary, vehicle crime and damage per head than 73% of UK towns
On crimes police recorded inside Skipton’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026, it grades C for safety: #36 of 54 in North Yorkshire. At 20.8 per 1,000 residents, anti-social behaviour in the town runs well past the 12.4 of a typical town its size (313 recorded in the 12 months to August 2026). Recorded violence rose 5% in a year. Each year brought 31.3 violent and sexual offences and 13.1 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage for every 1,000 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Skipton
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 5% more violent crime per resident in Skipton than in the year before; across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage fell 31% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
About the middle for a town its size
Of 321 UK towns of 11,000 to 20,000 people, Skipton has the 174th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Eastwood, Whittlesey and Buckhurst Hill, higher than Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Wantage and Cleveleys. 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. 21% of Skipton’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.
The grade: C for Skipton
A firm grade. Built on 1,996 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Skipton against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
1 in 5 Skipton residents lives in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
44% 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.
Skipton’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, Skipton runs highest on anti-social behaviour (20.8 per 1,000 against 12.4) and shoplifting (7.8 per 1,000 against 6.1). Public order and vehicle crime sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 465 | 30.9 | 30.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 313 | 20.8 | 12.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 118 | 7.8 | 6.1 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 79 | 5.2 | 6.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 65 | 4.3 | 5.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 55 | 3.7 | 4.4 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 36 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 29 | 1.9 | 2.8 |
| Drugs | not graded | 26 | 1.7 | 1.9 |
| Other crime | not graded | 12 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 10 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 8 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Robbery | Violent | 6 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 5 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
“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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Crime in Skipton 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 10 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 12 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
How crime in Skipton has moved
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling six-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 +5% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -31% (towns its size -2%), shoplifting and theft +3% (towns its size +1%), anti-social behaviour -10% (towns its size -4%).
Police name a suspect about as often as across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 66% of Skipton’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 7% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (67% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 12% of violent and 6% 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. 704 crimes.
Lowest recorded crime in Skipton East & South, Skipton North & Embsay-with-Eastby and Skipton West & West Craven; highest in Skipton West & West Craven
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skipton East & South | 6,950 | 23.6 | 9.9 | |
| Skipton North & Embsay-with-Eastby | 3,736 | 30 | 12.9 | |
| Skipton West & West Craven | 4,364 | 42.9 | 16.4 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 200 | 56% shoplifting & theft |
| Bus and coach stations | 176 | 44% violent |
| Shopping areas | 166 | 70% shoplifting & theft |
| Nightclubs | 122 | 48% violent |
| Car parks | 79 | 35% violent |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 62 | 42% anti-social behaviour |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so Skipton West & West Craven records 1.7× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Skipton. 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 Skipton. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Skipton’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Among 321 towns its size, Skipton ranks 174th for the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kesgrave Suffolk | 14,947 | 13 | 3.3 | 2.7 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 64 | Huntington North Yorkshire | 12,420 | 23.1 | 8.6 | 19.3 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 69 | Ripon North Yorkshire | 16,593 | 23.9 | 8.1 | 9.5 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 79 | Catterick Garrison North Yorkshire | 14,212 | 26.9 | 6.1 | 7.9 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 89 | Knaresborough North Yorkshire | 15,781 | 23.6 | 10.2 | 7 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 171 | Ashby-de-la-Zouch Leicestershire | 15,121 | 28.4 | 15.7 | 9.4 | C |
| 172 | Wantage Oxfordshire | 13,100 | 33.2 | 10.9 | 10.8 | C |
| 173 | Cleveleys Lancashire | 11,121 | 32.5 | 11.9 | 11.1 | C |
| 174 | Skipton North Yorkshire | 15,050 | 31.3 | 13.1 | 13 | C |
| 175 | Middlewich Cheshire | 14,428 | 35.5 | 9 | 7.8 | C |
| 176 | Cirencester Gloucestershire | 17,715 | 34.1 | 10.5 | 20 | C |
| 177 | Berwick-upon-Tweed Northumberland | 13,181 | 32.2 | 12.4 | 12.8 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 321 | Haverfordwest Dyfed | 12,088 | 91.4 | 28.6 | 32.3 | 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 Skipton, and others in North Yorkshire.
Three people died in collisions on Skipton’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 80 collisions with injuries inside Skipton in five years, in which three people died (2 were pedestrians). 28 people were killed or seriously injured: 18 on foot and 3 on a bicycle.
That is about what is typical for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: at their median rate (0.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Skipton’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Skipton’s own rate (4.0) is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, Skipton had 36.9 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people (23.8).
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 Skipton’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Skipton
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skipton | 15,050 | 31.3 | 13.1 | C |
| Embsay | 1,723 | 6.6 | 2.5 | A+ |
| Carleton-in-Craven | 1,060 | 12.3 | 3.8 | A |
| Low Bradley | 1,203 | 6.7 | 3.1 | A+ |
| Gargrave | 1,502 | 12.9 | 5.3 | A |
| Cross Hills | 4,809 | 20.2 | 9.4 | B |
| Silsden | 8,392 | 30.1 | 11.6 | C |
| Sutton-in-Craven | 2,719 | 21.8 | 9.8 | B− |
Skipton records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Embsay, 1.6 miles away, records 6.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Skipton’s 31.3.
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 Skipton 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 Skipton
Is Skipton safe?
Police recorded 31.3 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 Skipton’s built-up area). That earns a C for safety: less crime per resident than 28% of UK towns. Among 321 UK towns of 11,000 to 20,000 people, Skipton is 174th from the least crime. 21% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
What are the safest areas of Skipton?
By council ward, Skipton East & South, Skipton North & Embsay-with-Eastby and Skipton West & West Craven record the least violent and household crime per resident: 23.6, 30 and 42.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 42.9 in Skipton West & West Craven.
Is crime going up in Skipton?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 5%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 31%, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour fell 10%. Across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, violent crime held steady.
Is Skipton town centre safe at night?
police.uk placed 122 crimes and reports at or near nightclubs in three years, 48% of them violent, and Skipton West & West Craven ward records 42.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 of its residents a year. Over the last two years, violent crime peaked in December and was lowest in June.
What is the most common crime in Skipton?
Violence & sexual offences: 465 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (118) and criminal damage & arson (79), with 313 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Skipton compare with Keighley?
Keighley records 70.7 violent and sexual offences and 24.3 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Skipton’s 31.3 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.