Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0Mere stands out for shoplifting: 4.8 times the rate of a typical town its size
Recorded violence rose 29% in a year. It has less violent crime than 66% of UK towns, but less burglary, vehicle crime and damage than only 39%. Weighing it all, Mere earns B for safety (#15 of 30 in Wiltshire), with close to the middle of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area over September 2023 to August 2026. The yearly rates were 18.2 violent and sexual offences and 11.0 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 Mere
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 29% more violent crime per resident in Mere than in the year before; across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
About the middle for a town its size
Of 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Mere has the 437th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than St Martins, Wadhurst and Seaton Sluice, higher than Crickhowell, Hibaldstow and Ixworth. 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. 36% of Mere’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 grade: B for Mere
A fairly firm grade. Built on 247 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Mere against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Mere runs highest on shoplifting (8.9 per 1,000 against 1.8), vehicle crime (5 per 1,000 against 2) and anti-social behaviour (12.1 per 1,000 against 8.8).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 61 | 21.7 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 34 | 12.1 | 8.8 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 25 | 8.9 | 1.8 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 14 | 5 | 2 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 13 | 4.6 | 4.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 8 | 2.8 | 3.6 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 8 | 2.8 | 1.9 |
| Other theft | not graded | 6 | 2.1 | 3.2 |
| Other crime | not graded | 2 | 0.7 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| 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.
How crime in Mere has moved
“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 +29% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +13% (towns its size -1%), anti-social behaviour +6% (towns its size +0%).
A third of Mere residents live in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
36% 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.
Mere’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.
Crime in Mere 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 12 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 11 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Mere is 437th of 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000
| # | 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− |
| … | ||||||
| 434 | Crickhowell Powys | 2,108 | 23.3 | 5.9 | 3.2 | B |
| 435 | Hibaldstow Lincolnshire | 2,022 | 21.8 | 7.4 | 8.1 | B |
| 436 | Ixworth Suffolk | 2,296 | 24.4 | 4.8 | 3.3 | B |
| 437 | Mere Wiltshire | 2,808 | 18.2 | 11 | 7.1 | B |
| 438 | Darley Dale Derbyshire | 3,985 | 22.2 | 7 | 8.5 | B |
| 439 | Welwyn Hertfordshire | 3,906 | 20.2 | 9.1 | 18.9 | B |
| 440 | Newport Essex | 2,945 | 20.8 | 8.5 | 3.6 | 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 Mere, and others in Wiltshire.
No one died in a collision on Mere’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 9 collisions with injuries inside Mere in five years. 2 people were killed or seriously injured: 1 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Mere is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Mere’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; Mere 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 Mere’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Mere
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mere | 2,808 | 18.2 | 11 | B |
| Gillingham | 11,009 | 20 | 9.4 | B |
| Motcombe | 1,366 | 3.2 | 2.7 | A+ |
| Shaftesbury | 9,163 | 22.3 | 14.4 | C+ |
| Wincanton | 6,744 | 37.7 | 12.6 | C− |
| Tisbury | 2,274 | 26.7 | 8.4 | C+ |
| Bruton | 2,816 | 25.9 | 12.4 | C+ |
| Warminster | 18,018 | 26.7 | 13.4 | C+ |
Mere records more graded crime per resident than 1 of its 7 neighbours. Motcombe, 4.7 miles away, records 3.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Mere’s 18.2.
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 Mere 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 Mere
Is Mere safe?
Police recorded 18.2 violent and sexual offences and 11 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Mere’s built-up area). That earns a B for safety: less crime per resident than 58% of UK towns. Among 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Mere is 437th from the least crime. 36% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Mere?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 29%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 13%, shoplifting and theft rose 82% and anti-social behaviour rose 6%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Mere?
Violence & sexual offences: 61 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (25) and vehicle crime (14), with 34 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Mere compare with Frome?
Frome records 39.8 violent and sexual offences and 12.8 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Mere’s 18.2 and 11, 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.