Photo: Nigel Homer · CC BY-SA 2.0Netherton (Wakefield) has less burglary, vehicle crime and damage per resident than 68% of UK towns
Measured against the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, 47% of them record more crime per resident. Scored on crimes police recorded inside Netherton (Wakefield)’s built-up area across September 2023 to August 2026, the town lands on B+ for safety. What’s more, violent crime was down 16% in a year. Year on year, 18.5 violent and sexual offences and 7.3 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage occur per 1,000 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Netherton (Wakefield)
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 16% less violent crime per resident in Netherton (Wakefield) than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
About the middle for a village its size
Of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Netherton (Wakefield) has the 227th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Wolston, Hardwick and Wing, higher than Comberton, Great Leighs and Great Barford. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Netherton (Wakefield)’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 180 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Netherton (Wakefield) against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
How crime in Netherton (Wakefield) has moved
“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 -16% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -52% (towns its size +0%).
Crime in Netherton (Wakefield) 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 2 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Netherton (Wakefield) is 227th of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 88 | Shelley West Yorkshire | 2,696 | 12.7 | 5.7 | 3.1 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 99 | Shepley West Yorkshire | 2,515 | 11.7 | 7.3 | 1.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 161 | Scholes (Leeds) West Yorkshire | 2,270 | 13.5 | 9 | 2.6 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 165 | Collingham West Yorkshire | 2,362 | 15.1 | 7.5 | 5.2 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 224 | Comberton Cambridgeshire | 2,255 | 15.7 | 10.1 | 5.5 | B+ |
| 225 | Great Leighs Essex | 2,968 | 19.5 | 6.2 | 2 | B+ |
| 226 | Great Barford Bedfordshire | 2,254 | 15.5 | 10.2 | 3.4 | B+ |
| 227 | Netherton (Wakefield) West Yorkshire | 2,331 | 18.5 | 7.3 | 1.3 | B+ |
| 228 | Watlington Norfolk | 2,593 | 18.1 | 7.6 | 2.6 | B+ |
| 229 | Aston Clwyd | 2,847 | 18.2 | 7.6 | 3.3 | B+ |
| 230 | Stretham Cambridgeshire | 2,070 | 13.7 | 12.1 | 2.3 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 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 Netherton (Wakefield), and others in West Yorkshire.
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 | 44 | 18.9 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 6 | 2.6 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 5 | 2.1 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 5 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Other theft | not graded | 4 | 1.7 | 2.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 3 | 1.3 | 2.4 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 0.9 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.4 | 1.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 1 | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 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 Netherton (Wakefield)’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 5 collisions with injuries inside Netherton (Wakefield) in five years. 2 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, and Netherton (Wakefield) is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Netherton (Wakefield)’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; Netherton (Wakefield) had 2.
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 Netherton (Wakefield)’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Netherton (Wakefield)
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherton (Wakefield) | 2,331 | 18.5 | 7.3 | B+ |
| Middlestown and Overton | 2,409 | 27.1 | 9.1 | C+ |
| Horbury | 9,868 | 47.3 | 15.3 | D |
| Crigglestone and Durkar | 6,672 | 31.4 | 10.6 | C |
| Flockton | 1,732 | 27.7 | 6 | B− |
| Ossett | 21,854 | 33.8 | 13.6 | C |
| Hall Green | 2,307 | 39.2 | 11.6 | C− |
| Emley | 1,433 | 18.4 | 6.5 | B+ |
Netherton (Wakefield) records more graded crime per resident than 1 of its 7 neighbours. Emley, 2.9 miles away, records 18.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Netherton (Wakefield)’s 18.5.
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 Netherton (Wakefield) 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 Netherton (Wakefield)
Is Netherton (Wakefield) safe?
Police recorded 18.5 violent and sexual offences and 7.3 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Netherton (Wakefield)’s built-up area). That earns a B+ for safety: less crime per resident than 67% of UK towns. Among 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Netherton (Wakefield) is 227th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Netherton (Wakefield)?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 16%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 52%, shoplifting and theft rose 33% and anti-social behaviour fell 14%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Netherton (Wakefield)?
Violence & sexual offences: 44 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (5) and burglary (5), with 6 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Netherton (Wakefield) compare with Wakefield?
Wakefield records 69.2 violent and sexual offences and 22.9 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Netherton (Wakefield)’s 18.5 and 7.3, 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.