Is EN6 a safe place to live?

EN6 scores 5 out of 10 for safety (average crime), compared with every postcode district in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is about the Hertsmere average.

Is crime going up or down in EN6?

Up 14% over 5 years, from 2,027 recorded crimes a year to 2,320.

How does crime in EN6 compare with Hertsmere?

Crime severity in EN6 is about the Hertsmere average.

How many burglaries are solved in EN6?

Of 115 burglaries reported in EN6 between September 2024 and August 2025, 9% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 71% were closed with no suspect identified.

EN6Postcode district

EN6 crime rate and crime map

Recorded crime in EN6 is about the Hertsmere average and 0.9 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has risen 14%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.

Potters Bar, Hertsmere. 30,103 residents in 19 neighbourhoods.

Safety in the UK: 5/10Average crime
Safety in the world: 7/10Low crime
Living: 7.2/10Good
5-year change: +14%more crimes
vs the council: 1.0×the Hertsmere average

Open on the map

Safety and Living

Safety

What it measures. How serious the crime recorded here is, not how much of it there is. Each recorded crime is weighted by the typical sentence for that kind of offence (the Office for National Statistics Crime Severity Score), so a robbery counts about 76 times a shoplifting offence. The total per resident is ranked against every neighbourhood. 10 means among the safest tenth.

Data. Street-level crime from data.police.uk, September 2016 to August 2026. Weights: ONS Crime Severity Score, year ending March 2025.

Anti-social behaviour is not a crime and has no weight, so it is left out of the score. It is shown on its own line.
The weights come from sentences in 2015-2019 and one weight covers a whole police.uk category: violence includes both minor assaults and rape, and the data does not say which. A town with more serious cases than the national mix is under-scored.
Some forces have missing months (Greater Manchester published nothing after June 2019). We use the months that exist and say so on the page.
A neighbourhood's score is blended with the neighbourhoods around it, because police.uk records each crime at an approximate location, often the middle of a street that sits on a boundary. Three quarters is its own rate, one quarter the average of the neighbourhoods it touches, weighted by residents. Crimes recorded on a map point within 30 m of a neighbourhood boundary are shared equally between the neighbourhoods on each side, because the point usually sits on the boundary road itself. Where the map shows a neighbourhood's score, its own score is shown as well when it differs.
Busy city and town centres are not scored: few people live there and many visit, so crime per resident would mislead.
It counts crimes that were reported and recorded, not every crime. In Scotland there is no Safety score yet; Living covers it.
On the map you can filter by crime type. The filter changes the crime figures, the Safety score and the map colours, and compares with the national figure for the same types.
Crime Rates Map is a guide, not advice. Visit the area before you decide.

Read the full method

Crime severity: about the Hertsmere average (0.9× the England and Wales average)

Crime only, by how serious it is. Compared with every postcode district. Higher is safer.

Living

Based on schools, transport, health, supermarkets, weighted by importance. Crime is not part of it. Higher is better.

Shops, transport, schools and health

Distances are straight-line, not walking routes. Scores use fixed distance bands, so they do not depend on other districts. Higher is better.

Supermarkets

Good accessScore 7 out of 10

Typical distance to a large supermarket: 1.4 km.
Tesco Potters Bar Superstore (Tesco), 770 m from the district centre
Sainsburys Potters Bar (Sainsburys), 1.8 km from the district centre
Sainsburys New Barnet (Sainsburys), 5.5 km from the district centre

Transport

Good accessScore 7 out of 10

Typical number of bus stops within 400 m: 4.
Nearest railway station: Potters Bar Rail Station, 1.8 km from the district centre
Nearest tram or metro stop: High Barnet Underground Station, 5.7 km from the district centre

Schools

Fair schools nearbyScore 6 out of 10

Primary schools within 2 km

Ladbrooke Junior Mixed and Infant School: Good (ungraded inspection, 2022), 370 m away
The Wroxham School: Good (graded inspection, 2024), 440 m away
Cranborne Primary School: Good (ungraded inspection, 2023), 520 m away
Pope Paul Catholic Primary School: Good (ungraded inspection of the predecessor school, 2022), 580 m away
St Giles' CofE Primary School: Expected standard (report card, 2026), 670 m away

Secondary schools within 2 km

Dame Alice Owen's School: Outstanding (graded inspection, 2023), 350 m away
Gracewood Academy: Requires improvement (graded inspection of the predecessor school, 2022), 510 m away

Health

Excellent accessScore 9 out of 10

Nearest GP surgery: ANNANDALE MEDICAL CENTRE, 260 m from the district centre, CQC rating: Good, rated 2017
Nearest hospital with A&E: Potters Bar Clinic, 1.4 km from the district centre

Crime by type

Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, most serious first, not counting anti-social behaviour.

Type	Per 1,000 a year
Robbery	0.7
Burglary	5.1
Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences)	23.4
Drugs	2.4
Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons)	0.9
Other crime	1.4
Other theft	11.7
Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching)	0.7
Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into)	9.6
Criminal damage and arson (vandalism)	5.9
Public order	4.2
Bicycle theft	0.6
Shoplifting	6.7

How often crimes lead to a charge

In EN6, 7% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%).

Charged or summonsed
Caution or other action
Suspect found, not prosecuted
No suspect identified
Still open

Show as a table

Type	Crimes	Charged or summonsed	Caution or other action	Suspect found, not prosecuted	No suspect identified	Still open
Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences)	798	4%	4%	70%	16%	6%
Shoplifting	389	23%	4%	7%	66%	1%
Other theft	360	2%	1%	9%	86%	3%
Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into)	212	0%	0%	11%	83%	5%
Criminal damage and arson (vandalism)	164	3%	6%	27%	57%	6%
Public order	116	3%	3%	48%	37%	8%
Burglary	115	9%	1%	17%	71%	2%
Drugs	72	14%	58%	19%	3%	6%
Other crime	56	9%	5%	50%	20%	16%

Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 5% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.

Trend over the years

Crime severity per resident (sentence-days of the crimes recorded each year). Hatched bars are years with fewer than twelve months of data for most residents.

Last 12 months: 14.8 against a 10-year average of 13.0, 13% higher.

Questions about crime in EN6

Is EN6 a safe place to live?: EN6 scores 5 out of 10 for safety (average crime), compared with every postcode district in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is about the Hertsmere average.
Is crime going up or down in EN6?: Up 14% over 5 years, from 2,027 recorded crimes a year to 2,320.
What is the most common crime in EN6?: The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 23 per 1,000 residents a year.
How does crime in EN6 compare with Hertsmere?: Crime severity in EN6 is about the Hertsmere average.
How often does crime lead to a charge in EN6?: In EN6, 7% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 48% were closed without a suspect being identified.
How many burglaries are solved in EN6?: Of 115 burglaries reported in EN6 between September 2024 and August 2025, 9% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 71% were closed with no suspect identified.

Towns

Potters Bar

Council: Hertsmere