Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0Walsham le Willows sees less crime per resident than 90% of UK towns
Its letter for safety is A, worked out from crimes police recorded inside Walsham le Willows’s built-up area over September 2023 to August 2026. Measured against the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, 80% of them record more crime per resident. For every 1,000 residents, 10.9 violent and sexual offences and 6.1 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage were logged a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Walsham le Willows
Less crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Walsham le Willows has the 268th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Hordle, Abbots Bromley and Bradwell, higher than Lyminge, Burton on the Wolds and Sonning. 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 Walsham le Willows’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.
What’s behind Walsham le Willows’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 64 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Walsham le Willows against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Of 1,214 towns its size, Walsham le Willows is 268th from the least graded crime
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 265 | Lyminge Kent | 1,918 | 11.6 | 5.2 | 2.8 | A |
| 266 | Burton on the Wolds Leicestershire | 1,260 | 10.9 | 6.1 | 2.9 | A |
| 267 | Sonning Berkshire | 1,615 | 9.3 | 7.6 | 2.3 | A |
| 268 | Walsham le Willows Suffolk | 1,258 | 10.9 | 6.1 | 2.1 | A |
| 269 | Kelly Bray Cornwall | 1,137 | 14.4 | 2.6 | 3.5 | A |
| 270 | Haverigg Cumbria | 1,551 | 15.5 | 1.5 | 1.3 | A |
| 271 | School Aycliffe County Durham | 1,590 | 13 | 4 | 1.3 | 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 Walsham le Willows, and others in Suffolk.
Crime in Walsham le Willows 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 6 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 3 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
9 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 16 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).
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 9 | 7.2 | 16.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 5 | 4 | 1.5 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 5 | 4 | 5.3 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 2 | 1.6 | 0 |
| Other theft | not graded | 2 | 1.6 | 2.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 2 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Public order | not graded | 1 | 0.8 | 2.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 1 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 0 | 0 | 3.2 |
| 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.
No one died in a collision on Walsham le Willows’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 3 collisions with injuries inside Walsham le Willows 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 Walsham le Willows is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Walsham le Willows’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; Walsham le Willows 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 Walsham le Willows’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Walsham le Willows
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walsham le Willows | 1,258 | 10.9 | 6.1 | A |
| Stanton | 2,316 | 13.4 | 3.5 | A |
| Rickinghall and Botesdale | 1,842 | 10 | 6.2 | A |
| Bacton and Cotton | 1,567 | 13.2 | 4.9 | A |
| Gislingham | 1,172 | 12.8 | 3.4 | A |
| Elmswell | 4,446 | 23.7 | 5.3 | B |
| Ixworth | 2,296 | 24.4 | 4.8 | B |
| Woolpit | 1,838 | 22.5 | 13.2 | C+ |
Walsham le Willows records more graded crime per resident than 3 of its 7 neighbours. Stanton, 3 miles away, records 13.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Walsham le Willows’s 10.9.
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 Walsham le Willows 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 Walsham le Willows
Is Walsham le Willows safe?
Police recorded 10.9 violent and sexual offences and 6.1 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Walsham le Willows’s built-up area). That earns an A for safety: less crime per resident than 90% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Walsham le Willows is 268th from the least crime. 100% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Walsham le Willows?
Police recorded 9 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 16 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Walsham le Willows?
Violence & sexual offences: 9 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came vehicle crime (5) and shoplifting (2), with 5 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Walsham le Willows 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 Walsham le Willows’s 10.9 and 6.1, 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.