Crime rates across Devon are detailed, showing areas with highest and lowest crime per resident. National trends also show increases.
Devon and Cornwall Police recorded 118,665 crimes. Police areas divide into smaller safety areas, which usually match local towns.
Crime rates, showing crimes per 1,000 residents, allow fair comparison between areas with differing population sizes. Torbay has Devon and Cornwall’s highest crime rate, showing 97 crimes for every 1,000 people, meaning about one crime per ten individuals.
Plymouth follows with 95 crimes per 1,000 people. Exeter is next, reporting 94 crimes. An interactive map shows local comparisons.
National crime data reveals some trends. Homicides decreased by four percent overall, while knife offenses increased by four percent. Firearm offenses rose by nineteen percent, and robbery increased by four percent. Shoplifting showed a big rise of twenty-three percent.
The Crime Survey of England and Wales, published annually, uses face-to-face interviews to gauges crime’s quantity and its impact.
The survey estimated 9.5 million “headline” crimes, which include theft and robbery, plus other crimes. Criminal damage, fraud, and computer misuse appear too, as does violence with or without injury. This data covers the year ending September 2024.
This is a million more crimes than reported last year, with the increase driven by a nineteen percent rise in fraud. The survey also found millions experienced harassment in some form. Roughly 4.4 million people cited harassment, while domestic abuse affected approximately 2.2 million, and about 1.6 million people faced stalking. Sexual assault impacted one million individuals.