Photo: Robin Webster · CC BY-SA 2.0Per resident, Barrow records less crime than 86% of UK towns
For its size, it sits below 74% of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people on crime per resident. Barrow’s Safety Grade is A, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Annual rates stand at 12.6 violent and sexual offences and 5.8 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage for every thousand residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Barrow
Less crime than many places its size
Of 1,764 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Barrow has the 424th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Tansley, Stonesfield and High Halstow, higher than Oakington, Barleythorpe and Skelton (York). Towns its size ↓
Many neighbourhoods rank low for crime nationally
The government’s Indices of Deprivation 2025 rank every neighbourhood in England on recorded crime. 100% of Barrow’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 0% in one of the highest-crime 20%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
The A for Barrow, and how it is built
A fairly firm grade. Built on 108 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Barrow against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Towns its size: Barrow comes 424th of 1,764
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 54 | Elmsett Suffolk | 1,001 | 7 | 3 | 0.3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 58 | Sutton Common Suffolk | 1,262 | 9 | 1.3 | 2.4 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 104 | Laxfield Suffolk | 1,004 | 9.3 | 3 | 2 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 421 | Oakington Cambridgeshire | 1,494 | 12.1 | 6.3 | 1.8 | A |
| 422 | Barleythorpe Rutland | 1,344 | 14.9 | 3.5 | 0.8 | A |
| 423 | Skelton (York) North Yorkshire | 1,380 | 15 | 3.4 | 1.2 | A |
| 424 | Barrow Suffolk | 1,961 | 12.6 | 5.8 | 2.4 | A |
| 425 | Cold Norton Essex | 1,161 | 10.9 | 7.5 | 2.9 | A |
| 426 | Silverton Devon | 1,501 | 12.8 | 5.6 | 2.4 | A |
| 427 | Shelley West Yorkshire | 2,696 | 12.7 | 5.7 | 3.1 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 1764 | 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 Barrow, and others in Suffolk.
Crime in Barrow 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 8 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.
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 | 21 | 10.7 | 16.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 8 | 4.1 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 4 | 2 | 1.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 3 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 2 | 1 | 2.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 2 | 1 | 1.1 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Public order | not graded | 0 | 0 | 2.4 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 0 | 0 | 5.3 |
“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.
22 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 29 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 -24% (towns its size +3%).
No one died in a collision on Barrow’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 3 collisions with injuries inside Barrow in five years. 1 person was killed or seriously injured: 1 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 Barrow is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Barrow’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; Barrow 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 Barrow’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Barrow
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrow | 1,961 | 12.6 | 5.8 | A |
| Kentford | 1,124 | 21.1 | 7.1 | B |
| Bury St Edmunds | 41,279 | 39.8 | 13.3 | C− |
| Red Lodge | 5,771 | 31.8 | 9.1 | C |
| Newmarket | 18,857 | 34.6 | 13.6 | C− |
| Cock and End | 1,346 | 80.8 | 3.5 | D− |
| Mildenhall | 9,684 | 38.8 | 13.9 | C− |
| Great Barton | 1,848 | 11.2 | 3.1 | A+ |
Barrow records more graded crime per resident than 1 of its 7 neighbours. Great Barton, 8.2 miles away, records 11.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Barrow’s 12.6.
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 Barrow 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 Barrow
Is Barrow safe?
Police recorded 12.6 violent and sexual offences and 5.8 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Barrow’s built-up area). That earns an A for safety: less crime per resident than 86% of UK towns. Among 1,764 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Barrow is 424th from the least crime. 100% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Barrow?
Police recorded 22 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 29 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Barrow?
Violence & sexual offences: 21 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (8) and burglary (4), with 0 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Barrow compare with Bury St Edmunds?
Bury St Edmunds records 39.8 violent and sexual offences and 13.3 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Barrow’s 12.6 and 5.8, 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.