Babergh Hall · Photo: Sandy Gerrard · CC BY-SA 2.0Acton records less burglary, vehicle crime and damage per head than nine in ten UK towns
Set against the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, it has less crime per resident than 72% of them. In a usual year, 15 violent and sexual offences and 4 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage are logged per 1,000 inhabitants.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Acton
Less crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Acton has the 369th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Ewhurst, Hauxton and Scarcroft, higher than Little Downham, Chesterton and Dishforth. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Acton’s Safety Grade is A
A fairly firm grade. Built on 95 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Acton against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Crime in Acton 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 3 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.
369th of 1,214: Acton among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | Great Bricett Suffolk | 1,518 | 5.7 | 2 | 1.1 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 47 | Elmsett Suffolk | 1,001 | 7 | 3 | 0.3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 50 | Sutton Common Suffolk | 1,262 | 9 | 1.3 | 2.4 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 85 | Laxfield Suffolk | 1,004 | 9.3 | 3 | 2 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 366 | Little Downham Cambridgeshire | 1,234 | 13.5 | 5.4 | 2.2 | A |
| 367 | Chesterton Oxfordshire | 1,179 | 11.9 | 7.1 | 2.3 | A |
| 368 | Dishforth North Yorkshire | 1,266 | 16.6 | 2.4 | 1.1 | A |
| 369 | Acton Suffolk | 1,666 | 15 | 4 | 1.4 | A |
| 370 | Newborough Cambridgeshire | 1,469 | 12.5 | 6.6 | 3 | A |
| 371 | West Horsley Surrey | 1,378 | 10.6 | 8.5 | 3.1 | A |
| 372 | Weeting Norfolk | 1,883 | 13.1 | 6 | 2.7 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 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 Acton, and others in Suffolk.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Violence & sexual offences sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 20 | 12 | 16.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 5 | 3 | 1.1 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 4 | 2.4 | 5.3 |
| Public order | not graded | 3 | 1.8 | 2.4 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 3 | 1.8 | 1.5 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 2 | 1.2 | 3.2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 2 | 1.2 | 2.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 0 | 0 | 1.6 |
| Drugs | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 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.
20 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 31 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 -35% (towns its size +3%).
One person died in collisions on Acton’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 3 collisions with injuries inside Acton in five years, in which one person died. 3 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; Acton’s one death is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Acton’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; Acton had 3.
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 Acton’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Acton
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acton | 1,666 | 15 | 4 | A |
| Great Waldingfield | 1,377 | 20.1 | 3.6 | B+ |
| Long Melford | 3,895 | 15.2 | 7.9 | A− |
| Sudbury | 23,922 | 37.9 | 11.8 | C− |
| Lavenham | 1,224 | 22.9 | 8.4 | B− |
| Glemsford | 3,693 | 18.8 | 4.5 | B+ |
| Bures | 1,183 | 19.4 | 14.1 | B− |
| Bildeston | 1,096 | 15.5 | 4.9 | A− |
Acton 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 Acton 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 Acton
Is Acton safe?
Police recorded 15 violent and sexual offences and 4 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Acton’s built-up area). That earns an A for safety: less crime per resident than 85% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Acton is 369th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Acton?
Police recorded 20 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 31 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Acton?
Violence & sexual offences: 20 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came other crime (5) and public order (3), with 4 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Acton compare with Sudbury?
Sudbury records 37.9 violent and sexual offences and 11.8 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Acton’s 15 and 4, 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.