Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0Bishop's Castle stands out for criminal damage & arson: 2.5 times the rate of a typical town its size
For its size, it sits below 23% of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people on crime per resident. All told, Bishop's Castle grades C+ for safety: close to the middle of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Its police logs show 25.6 violent and sexual offences and 10.8 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents a year. Violent crime barely moved 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 Bishop's Castle
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Bishop's Castle has the 956th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Tockwith, Blaengarw and Overton, higher than North Leigh, Marazion and Bradninch. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Bishop's Castle: C+ for safety, and why
A fairly firm grade. Built on 202 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Bishop's Castle 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, Bishop's Castle runs highest on criminal damage & arson (8.1 per 1,000 against 3.2), other theft (6 per 1,000 against 2.5) and violence & sexual offences (28.7 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 53 | 28.7 | 16.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 15 | 8.1 | 3.2 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 12 | 6.5 | 5.3 |
| Other theft | not graded | 11 | 6 | 2.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 8 | 4.3 | 2.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 7 | 3.8 | 0 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 5 | 2.7 | 1.6 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 3 | 1.6 | 0 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 2 | 1.1 | 1.5 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 1.1 | 0 |
| Other crime | not graded | 1 | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| Robbery | Violent | 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 1,000 to 2,500 people.
956th of 1,214: Bishop's Castle among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 257 | Edgmond Shropshire | 1,560 | 10.7 | 6 | 1.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 295 | Pant Shropshire | 1,173 | 13.2 | 4.4 | 5.8 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 298 | Prees Higher Heath Shropshire | 1,226 | 14.4 | 3.3 | 1.6 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 472 | Morda Shropshire | 1,976 | 17.1 | 4.1 | 1.2 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 953 | North Leigh Oxfordshire | 1,733 | 27.7 | 8.7 | 4 | C+ |
| 954 | Marazion Cornwall | 1,350 | 25.1 | 11.3 | 5.1 | C+ |
| 955 | Bradninch Devon | 1,827 | 30.3 | 6.2 | 3.8 | C+ |
| 956 | Bishop's Castle Shropshire | 1,847 | 25.6 | 10.8 | 7.4 | C+ |
| 957 | St Athan South Glamorgan | 1,594 | 27.2 | 9.4 | 6.3 | C+ |
| 958 | Pontyberem Dyfed | 1,484 | 27 | 9.6 | 2.3 | C+ |
| 959 | Stock Essex | 1,573 | 22.7 | 14 | 5.7 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 1214 | Ingoldmells Lincolnshire | 1,928 | 259 | 64.7 | 57.2 | 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 Bishop's Castle, and others in Shropshire.
Violent crime held steady over the year
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 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 -4% (towns its size +3%).
Crime in Bishop's Castle 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 12 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.
No one died in a collision on Bishop's Castle’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 1 collision with injuries inside Bishop's Castle in five years. 0 people were killed or seriously injured.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Bishop's Castle is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Bishop's Castle’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Bishop's Castle 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 Bishop's Castle’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Bishop's Castle
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop's Castle | 1,847 | 25.6 | 10.8 | C+ |
| Craven Arms | 2,563 | 42.4 | 8.3 | C− |
| Church Stretton | 3,576 | 18.1 | 7.1 | B+ |
| Knighton | 2,911 | 31.4 | 13.9 | C |
| Minsterley | 1,719 | 27 | 8.7 | C+ |
| Pontesbury | 1,968 | 25.4 | 5.4 | B− |
Bishop's Castle records more graded crime per resident than 3 of its 5 neighbours; only Craven Arms and Knighton record more. Church Stretton, 8.8 miles away, records 18.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Bishop's Castle’s 25.6.
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 Bishop's Castle 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 Bishop's Castle
Is Bishop's Castle safe?
Police recorded 25.6 violent and sexual offences and 10.8 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Bishop's Castle’s built-up area). That earns a C+ for safety: less crime per resident than 42% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Bishop's Castle is 956th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Bishop's Castle?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 69%, shoplifting and theft rose 47% and anti-social behaviour fell 14%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Bishop's Castle?
Violence & sexual offences: 53 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (15) and other theft (11), with 12 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Bishop's Castle compare with Shrewsbury?
Shrewsbury records 37.4 violent and sexual offences and 12.6 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Bishop's Castle’s 25.6 and 10.8, 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.