Photo: Mtaylor848 · CC BY-SA 3.0Per resident, Batley records more crime than 92% of UK towns
The grade is D, built on crimes police recorded inside Batley’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026: #67 of 91 in West Yorkshire. At 5.7 per 1,000 residents, vehicle crime locally runs well past the 2.8 of a typical town its size (253 recorded in the 12 months to August 2026). Per 1,000 residents a year, 48.3 violent and sexual offences and 19.3 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage were recorded.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Batley
More crime than many places its size
Of 157 UK towns of 31,000 to 60,000 people, Batley has the 123rd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Wallsend, Chichester and Barrow-in-Furness, higher than Hatfield, Folkestone and Morley. Towns its size ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
43% of Batley’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 2% 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.
The grade: D for Batley
A firm grade. Built on 9,031 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Batley against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
43% of Batley residents live in one of England’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
2% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 43% in the highest-crime 20%. The crime domain scores the risk of violence, burglary, theft and criminal damage where people live, so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
Batley’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) in the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (crime domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of England’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Batley runs highest on other crime (4 per 1,000 against 1.8), vehicle crime (5.7 per 1,000 against 2.8) and burglary (4.3 per 1,000 against 2.4).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 1,985 | 44.6 | 30.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 722 | 16.2 | 12.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 391 | 8.8 | 6.1 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 383 | 8.6 | 6.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 370 | 8.3 | 5.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 261 | 5.9 | 4.4 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 253 | 5.7 | 2.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 192 | 4.3 | 2.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 177 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Drugs | not graded | 154 | 3.5 | 1.9 |
| Robbery | Violent | 41 | 0.9 | 0.5 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 40 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 24 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 12 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
“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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Among 157 towns its size, Batley ranks 123rd for the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metropolitan Castlereagh Lisburn and Castlereagh | 58,763 | 14.8 | 6.6 | 7.1 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 89 | Pudsey West Yorkshire | 34,853 | 34.8 | 20.3 | 21.2 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 111 | Brighouse West Yorkshire | 33,159 | 46.3 | 16.2 | 14.9 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 120 | Hatfield Hertfordshire | 41,561 | 47.2 | 19.4 | 20.7 | D |
| 121 | Folkestone Kent | 51,987 | 49.7 | 17.2 | 22 | D |
| 122 | Morley West Yorkshire | 32,562 | 46.9 | 20.3 | 20.8 | D |
| 123 | Batley West Yorkshire | 44,494 | 48.3 | 19.3 | 15.1 | D |
| 124 | Wellingborough Northamptonshire | 54,421 | 48.9 | 19.1 | 21.7 | D |
| 125 | Gravesend Kent | 58,105 | 45.1 | 23.1 | 17.7 | D |
| 126 | Boston Lincolnshire | 45,347 | 50.7 | 17.6 | 26.7 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 140 | Pontefract West Yorkshire | 32,982 | 57.2 | 17.8 | 19.4 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 155 | Castleford West Yorkshire | 45,363 | 61.7 | 27.1 | 30.3 | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 157 | Bridgwater Somerset | 47,846 | 76.8 | 18.9 | 29.3 | 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 Batley, and others in West Yorkshire.
Crime in Batley 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 19 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 15 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Lowest recorded crime in Batley West, Dewsbury East and Batley East
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batley West | 17,085 | 41.3 | 16.1 | |
| Dewsbury East | 835 | 38.7 | 19.6 | |
| Batley East | 17,059 | 50.2 | 20.3 | |
| Birstall and Birkenshaw | 8,564 | 56.7 | 22.6 | |
| Heckmondwike | 951 | 62.4 | 22.4 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1,098 | 52% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 414 | 33% violent |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 214 | 53% violent |
| Petrol stations | 148 | 64% shoplifting & theft |
| Nightclubs | 72 | 42% violent |
| Bus and coach stations | 34 | 47% violent |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at an anonymous map point; some are named for the kind of place (a supermarket, a car park), and each row adds up every place of that kind in Batley. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Batley’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Police name a suspect about as often as across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 68% of Batley’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 17% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (65% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 6% of violent and 6% of household crimes reached court.
The latest outcome police.uk shows for each crime recorded in the first of the three years (September 2023 to August 2024), so most cases have closed. 3,272 crimes.
Violent crime held steady over the year
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling six-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 -1% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +6% (towns its size -2%), shoplifting and theft +11% (towns its size +1%), anti-social behaviour +55% (towns its size -4%).
Four people died in collisions on Batley’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 348 collisions with injuries inside Batley in five years, in which four people died (2 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist). 111 people were killed or seriously injured: 36 on foot and 4 on a bicycle.
That is about what is typical for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: at their median rate (0.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Batley’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Batley’s own rate (1.8) is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, Batley had 49.8 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people (23.8). 32% of them were on foot, against 30% across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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 Batley’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Batley
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batley | 44,494 | 48.3 | 19.3 | D |
| Heckmondwike | 13,368 | 54.8 | 21.4 | D |
| Dewsbury | 63,730 | 63.4 | 22 | D− |
| Liversedge | 17,519 | 41.6 | 16.8 | D |
| Drighlington | 5,280 | 35.2 | 17.6 | C− |
| Morley | 32,562 | 46.9 | 20.3 | D |
| Gomersal and Birkenshaw | 13,948 | 26 | 17.2 | C |
| Gildersome | 6,278 | 29.4 | 16.7 | C |
Batley records more graded crime per resident than 5 of its 7 neighbours; only Heckmondwike and Dewsbury record more. Liversedge, 2.5 miles away, records 41.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Batley’s 48.3.
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 Batley 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 Batley
Is Batley safe?
Police recorded 48.3 violent and sexual offences and 19.3 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Batley’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 8% of UK towns. Among 157 UK towns of 31,000 to 60,000 people, Batley is 123rd from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Batley?
By council ward, Batley West, Dewsbury East and Batley East record the least violent and household crime per resident: 41.3, 38.7 and 50.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 62.4 in Heckmondwike.
Is crime going up in Batley?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 6%, shoplifting and theft rose 11% and anti-social behaviour rose 55%. Across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, violent crime held steady.
Is Batley town centre safe at night?
police.uk placed 72 crimes and reports at or near nightclubs in three years, 42% of them violent, and Heckmondwike ward records 62.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 of its residents a year. Over the last two years, violent crime peaked in May and was lowest in February.
What is the most common crime in Batley?
Violence & sexual offences: 1,985 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (391) and criminal damage & arson (383), with 722 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Batley compare with Dewsbury?
Dewsbury records 63.4 violent and sexual offences and 22 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Batley’s 48.3 and 19.3, 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.