Photo: TCExplorer · CC BY-SA 2.0Much Wenlock records other theft at 11.3 times the rate of a typical town its size
Violent crime was up 12% in a year. Much Wenlock grades C+ for safety overall: more crime per resident than 63% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Of all the kinds of crime, other theft is where Much Wenlock departs most from towns its size: 28.3 per 1,000 against 2.5.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Much Wenlock
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 12% more violent crime per resident in Much Wenlock than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Much Wenlock has the 1,001st lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Stow-on-the-Wold, Wragby and East Rainton, higher than Quintrell Downs, Horam and Huncoat. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind Much Wenlock’s C+
A fairly firm grade. Built on 208 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Much Wenlock 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, Much Wenlock runs highest on other theft (28.3 per 1,000 against 2.5), burglary (7.9 per 1,000 against 1.6) and violence & sexual offences (24.9 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other theft | not graded | 50 | 28.3 | 2.5 |
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 44 | 24.9 | 16.6 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 14 | 7.9 | 1.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 12 | 6.8 | 5.3 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 9 | 5.1 | 0 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 9 | 5.1 | 3.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 6 | 3.4 | 2.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 6 | 3.4 | 1.1 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 5 | 2.8 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 3 | 1.7 | 0.6 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.6 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1 | 0.6 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 1,000 to 2,500 people.
Among 1,214 towns its size, Much Wenlock ranks 1,001st for the least graded crime
| # | 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− |
| … | ||||||
| 998 | Quintrell Downs Cornwall | 1,358 | 28.9 | 10.2 | 6.2 | C+ |
| 999 | Horam East Sussex | 1,797 | 28.4 | 10.8 | 14.3 | C+ |
| 1000 | Huncoat Lancashire | 1,258 | 28.4 | 10.9 | 4.5 | C+ |
| 1001 | Much Wenlock Shropshire | 1,766 | 24.2 | 15.1 | 25.7 | C+ |
| 1002 | Wisbech St Mary Cambridgeshire | 1,069 | 30.3 | 9 | 4.1 | C+ |
| 1003 | Handcross West Sussex | 1,399 | 28.8 | 10.5 | 2.9 | C+ |
| 1004 | Eight Ash Green Essex | 1,769 | 28.7 | 10.7 | 10.6 | 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 Much Wenlock, and others in Shropshire.
How crime in Much Wenlock has moved
“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 +12% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles +12% (towns its size +0%), shoplifting and theft +55% (towns its size +4%), anti-social behaviour -43% (towns its size -1%).
For every 1,000 residents, about 26 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026
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 16 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 33 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
One person died in collisions on Much Wenlock’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 7 collisions with injuries inside Much Wenlock in five years, in which one person died. 6 people were killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, so with numbers this small a single collision changes the picture; Much Wenlock’s one death is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Much Wenlock’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; Much Wenlock 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 Much Wenlock’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Much Wenlock
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Much Wenlock | 1,766 | 24.2 | 15.1 | C+ |
| Broseley | 5,596 | 23.7 | 9.2 | B− |
| Bridgnorth | 12,172 | 26.4 | 12.7 | C+ |
| Telford | 156,890 | 44.8 | 13 | D |
| Shifnal | 8,973 | 27.9 | 9 | C+ |
| Bayston Hill | 5,221 | 10.9 | 2.6 | A+ |
| Church Stretton | 3,576 | 18.1 | 7.1 | B+ |
| Shrewsbury | 76,013 | 37.4 | 12.6 | C− |
Much Wenlock records more graded crime per resident than 5 of its 7 neighbours; only Telford and Shrewsbury record more. Broseley, 3.5 miles away, records 23.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Much Wenlock’s 24.2.
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 Much Wenlock 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 Much Wenlock
Is Much Wenlock safe?
Police recorded 24.2 violent and sexual offences and 15.1 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Much Wenlock’s built-up area). That earns a C+ for safety: less crime per resident than 37% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Much Wenlock is 1,001st from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Much Wenlock?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 12%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 12%, shoplifting and theft rose 55% and anti-social behaviour fell 43%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Much Wenlock?
Other theft: 50 in the 12 months to August 2026. Next came violence & sexual offences (44) and burglary (14), with 12 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Much Wenlock compare with Telford?
Telford records 44.8 violent and sexual offences and 13 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Much Wenlock’s 24.2 and 15.1, 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.