Photo: Motacilla · CC BY-SA 4.0Drayton has less burglary, vehicle crime and damage per resident than 86% of UK towns
In sum, crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put Drayton at B+ (#13 of 38 in Oxfordshire): less crime per resident than 66% of UK towns. Violence recorded locally climbed 12% in a year. Recorded violent and sexual offences ran at 21.4 per 1,000 residents a year, and burglary, vehicle crime and damage at 5.0.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Drayton
About the middle for a town its size
Of 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Drayton has the 358th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Crich, Meppershall and Petworth, higher than Somersham, Alresford and Willaston (Cheshire East). Towns its size ↓
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 12% more violent crime per resident in Drayton than in the year before; across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Drayton’s B+ for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 247 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Drayton against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
How Drayton’s neighbourhoods rank in England
49% 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.
Drayton’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.
How crime in Drayton 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 +12% (towns its size +1%).
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Drayton runs highest on public order (4.8 per 1,000 against 3.6). Criminal damage & arson and anti-social behaviour sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 74 | 23.8 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 18 | 5.8 | 8.8 |
| Public order | not graded | 15 | 4.8 | 3.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 11 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 9 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 4 | 1.3 | 2 |
| Drugs | not graded | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 2 | 0.6 | 1.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 2 | 0.6 | 1.9 |
| Other crime | not graded | 2 | 0.6 | 1.5 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 1 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
“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.
Crime in Drayton 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.
Among 856 towns its size, Drayton ranks 358th for the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 56 | Goring Oxfordshire | 3,434 | 8.6 | 6.4 | 4 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 64 | Adderbury and Twyford Oxfordshire | 3,318 | 12.5 | 3.1 | 3.3 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 125 | Long Hanborough Oxfordshire | 3,034 | 14.1 | 4.4 | 5.1 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 129 | Radley Oxfordshire | 2,079 | 14 | 4.7 | 5.5 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 355 | Somersham Cambridgeshire | 3,349 | 19.6 | 6.8 | 4.3 | B+ |
| 356 | Alresford Essex | 2,462 | 18.7 | 7.7 | 4.5 | B+ |
| 357 | Willaston (Cheshire East) Cheshire | 3,653 | 21.2 | 5.3 | 2.2 | B+ |
| 358 | Drayton Oxfordshire | 3,110 | 21.4 | 5 | 3.1 | B+ |
| 359 | Kintbury Berkshire | 2,054 | 20.5 | 6 | 3.5 | B+ |
| 360 | Galgate Lancashire | 2,085 | 18.2 | 8.3 | 4.3 | B+ |
| 361 | Usk Gwent | 2,310 | 18.5 | 8.1 | 11.3 | 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 Drayton, and others in Oxfordshire.
No one died in a collision on Drayton’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 3 collisions with injuries inside Drayton in five years. 0 people were killed or seriously injured.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Drayton is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Drayton’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; Drayton 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 Drayton’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Drayton
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drayton | 3,110 | 21.4 | 5 | B+ |
| Steventon | 2,211 | 17.5 | 5.1 | A− |
| Sutton Courtenay | 3,055 | 17.1 | 6.8 | B+ |
| Marcham | 2,030 | 15.9 | 5.6 | A− |
| Abingdon-on-Thames | 33,179 | 30 | 9.1 | C+ |
| Shippon | 1,894 | 19.7 | 6 | B+ |
| Harwell | 3,067 | 24 | 7.7 | B− |
| East Hendred | 1,367 | 11.7 | 4.2 | A |
Drayton records more graded crime per resident than 5 of its 7 neighbours; only Abingdon-on-Thames and Harwell record more. Steventon, 1.6 miles away, records 17.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Drayton’s 21.4.
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 Drayton 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 Drayton
Is Drayton safe?
Police recorded 21.4 violent and sexual offences and 5 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Drayton’s built-up area). That earns a B+ for safety: less crime per resident than 66% of UK towns. Among 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Drayton is 358th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Drayton?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 12%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage held steady, shoplifting and theft rose 20% and anti-social behaviour rose 38%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Drayton?
Violence & sexual offences: 74 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (15) and criminal damage & arson (11), with 18 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Drayton compare with Didcot?
Didcot records 30.6 violent and sexual offences and 8.5 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Drayton’s 21.4 and 5, 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.