Photo: steven ruffles · CC BY-SA 2.0Norton stands out for anti-social behaviour: 2.8 times the rate of a typical town its size
In sum, crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put Norton at B: less crime per resident than 62% of UK towns. Of all the kinds of crime, anti-social behaviour is where Norton departs most from towns its size: 14.8 per 1,000 against 5.3. About one violent or sexual offence a year is recorded for every 66 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Norton
About the middle for a village its size
Of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Norton has the 267th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Denby Dale, Gilwern and Charlbury, higher than Little Clacton, Cleobury Mortimer and Hambleton. Towns its size ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
25% of Norton’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 0% in the lowest-crime 30%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind Norton’s B
A fairly firm grade. Built on 192 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Norton 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, Norton runs highest on anti-social behaviour (14.8 per 1,000 against 5.3). Violence & sexual offences sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 34 | 14.8 | 5.3 |
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 23 | 10 | 16.6 |
| Public order | not graded | 7 | 3 | 2.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 6 | 2.6 | 3.2 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 6 | 2.6 | 1.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 3 | 1.3 | 2.5 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 0 | 0 | 1.6 |
| Drugs | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 0 | 0 | 1.1 |
| 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.
Crime in Norton 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 1 shoplifting and theft report, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Among 550 towns its size, Norton ranks 267th 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 158 | South Anston South Yorkshire | 2,526 | 11.7 | 10.7 | 4.4 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 264 | Little Clacton Essex | 2,458 | 21 | 6.5 | 4.5 | B |
| 265 | Cleobury Mortimer Shropshire | 2,963 | 19.5 | 8.1 | 4.8 | B |
| 266 | Hambleton Lancashire | 2,428 | 21.6 | 6.2 | 4.3 | B |
| 267 | Norton South Yorkshire | 2,304 | 15.2 | 12.6 | 1.4 | B |
| 268 | Longford Gloucestershire | 2,536 | 21.7 | 6.2 | 14.5 | B |
| 269 | Rayne Essex | 2,169 | 18.9 | 9.1 | 4.3 | B |
| 270 | Boverton South Glamorgan | 2,740 | 21.8 | 6.2 | 2.7 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 410 | Brierley South Yorkshire | 2,714 | 22.1 | 15.6 | 1.7 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 516 | Great Houghton South Yorkshire | 2,489 | 33.9 | 23.8 | 11.7 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 534 | Carlton South Yorkshire | 2,125 | 45.3 | 27.9 | 39.5 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 550 | Avonmouth Bristol | 2,643 | 82.9 | 54.6 | 60.4 | 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 Norton, and others in South Yorkshire.
25 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 42 the year before
“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 -40% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -63% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on Norton’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 4 collisions with injuries inside Norton in five years. 1 person was 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, and Norton is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Norton’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; Norton had 1.
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 Norton’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Norton
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norton | 2,304 | 15.2 | 12.6 | B |
| Campsall | 1,879 | 33 | 20.6 | C− |
| Askern | 5,439 | 63.6 | 31.8 | D− |
| Adwick le Street | 18,326 | 54.9 | 34.5 | D− |
| Upton | 6,332 | 40.7 | 17.4 | D |
| Toll Bar | 1,213 | 79.1 | 35.7 | D− |
| Darrington | 1,194 | 25.4 | 26 | C− |
| Eggborough | 2,440 | 22.4 | 11.8 | B− |
Norton records less graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table.
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 Norton 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 Norton
Is Norton safe?
Police recorded 15.2 violent and sexual offences and 12.6 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Norton’s built-up area). That earns a B for safety: less crime per resident than 62% of UK towns. Among 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Norton is 267th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Norton?
Police recorded 25 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 42 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Norton?
Violence & sexual offences: 23 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (7) and criminal damage & arson (6), with 34 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Norton compare with Pontefract?
Pontefract records 57.2 violent and sexual offences and 17.8 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Norton’s 15.2 and 12.6, 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.