Photo: David Martin · CC BY-SA 2.0Downton sees less violence than most UK towns, but more burglary, vehicle crime and damage
Downton’s overall Safety Grade is B (#11 of 30 in Wiltshire): less crime per resident than 61% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, 66% record more crime per resident. The yearly rates were 13.6 violent and sexual offences and 14.6 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage 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 Downton
About the middle for a town its size
Of 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Downton has the 401st lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Alvechurch, Hunmanby and Jacksdale and Westwood, higher than Bilton, Gilwern and Charlbury. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
The grade: B for Downton
A fairly firm grade. Built on 249 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Downton 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 Downton’s neighbourhoods rank in England
52% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 0% 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.
Downton’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, Downton runs highest on criminal damage & arson (9.1 per 1,000 against 4.5) and vehicle crime (3.4 per 1,000 against 2). Violence & sexual offences sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 32 | 10.8 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 28 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 27 | 9.1 | 4.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 10 | 3.4 | 2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 8 | 2.7 | 3.2 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 5 | 1.7 | 1.8 |
| Public order | not graded | 5 | 1.7 | 3.6 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 4 | 1.4 | 1.9 |
| Other crime | not graded | 2 | 0.7 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Crime in Downton 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 14 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 4 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Of 856 towns its size, Downton is 401st from the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Colerne Wiltshire | 2,415 | 6.9 | 2.6 | 1.4 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 69 | Redlynch and Woodfalls Wiltshire | 2,446 | 8.7 | 7.1 | 1.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 120 | Whaddon Wiltshire | 2,283 | 11.8 | 6.4 | 3.7 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 164 | Rudloe Wiltshire | 2,863 | 13.4 | 6.4 | 2.1 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 398 | Bilton East Riding of Yorkshire | 3,657 | 14.2 | 13.9 | 18 | B |
| 399 | Gilwern Gwent | 2,184 | 20.2 | 7.9 | 4.3 | B |
| 400 | Charlbury Oxfordshire | 2,810 | 19.5 | 8.7 | 2.9 | B |
| 401 | Downton Wiltshire | 2,952 | 13.6 | 14.6 | 7.3 | B |
| 402 | Indian Queens, Fraddon and St Columb Road Cornwall | 3,888 | 21.9 | 6.3 | 32.5 | B |
| 403 | Dinnington Tyne and Wear | 2,366 | 20.1 | 8.1 | 2.5 | B |
| 404 | Steeple Claydon Buckinghamshire | 2,530 | 21.3 | 6.9 | 5.1 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 856 | Eastchurch Kent | 3,381 | 132 | 13.9 | 3.5 | 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 Downton, and others in Wiltshire.
33 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 42 the year before
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 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 -21% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -7% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft -43% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour +27% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on Downton’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 16 collisions with injuries inside Downton in five years. 2 people were killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Downton is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Downton’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 2 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Downton 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 Downton’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Downton
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downton | 2,952 | 13.6 | 14.6 | B |
| Redlynch and Woodfalls | 2,446 | 8.7 | 7.1 | A |
| Whaddon | 2,283 | 11.8 | 6.4 | A |
| Fordingbridge | 4,947 | 30.1 | 15.3 | C |
| Sandleheath | 1,546 | 8.8 | 8.4 | A |
| Salisbury | 47,690 | 34.3 | 15.1 | C− |
| Alderholt | 2,868 | 9.9 | 10.3 | A− |
| West Wellow | 1,584 | 17.7 | 9.1 | B+ |
Downton records more graded crime per resident than 5 of its 7 neighbours; only Fordingbridge and Salisbury record more. Redlynch and Woodfalls, 1.4 miles away, records 8.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Downton’s 13.6.
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 Downton 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 Downton
Is Downton safe?
Police recorded 13.6 violent and sexual offences and 14.6 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Downton’s built-up area). That earns a B for safety: less crime per resident than 61% of UK towns. Among 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Downton is 401st from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Downton?
Police recorded 33 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 42 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Downton?
Violence & sexual offences: 32 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (27) and vehicle crime (10), with 28 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Downton compare with Salisbury?
Salisbury records 34.3 violent and sexual offences and 15.1 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Downton’s 13.6 and 14.6, 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.