Crime in Saffron Walden
Recorded crime in Saffron Walden is 0.8 times the Uttlesford average and 0.6 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 31%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Saffron Walden: about 14,965 residents in 9 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 7/10Low crime
- Living
- 6.7/10Good
- 5-year change
- −31%fewer crimes
- vs the council
- 0.8×the Uttlesford average
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Saffron Walden.
Crime over 5 years
Down 31% in 5 years Recorded crimes within 1.5 km of Saffron Walden, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 0.8× the Uttlesford average (0.6× the England and Wales average). 45 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 64% of the harm here
- Burglary: 18% of the harm here
- Other theft: 5% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 64% of the harm here. It is a broad police category: most of these crimes are assaults without injury, harassment and threats, often indoors between people who know each other, and only a small part are sexual or serious violent offences. Police data does not say which, so each one is weighted at the England and Wales average for the category, which can overstate a quiet residential area.
Anti-social behaviour: 10 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crimes recorded in Uttlesford (the whole council area)
April 2025 to March 2026, for the whole Uttlesford council area, not only Saffron Walden. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 143 | 1.5 | Down 26% |
| Cars broken into | 159 | 1.7 | Down 31% |
| Vandalism (homes, other buildings and vehicles) | 297 | 3.1 | Up 14% |
| Burglary of homes | 99 | 1.0 | About the same |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 0 | - | - |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare.
How often crimes lead to a charge in CB10
In CB10, the postcode district at the centre of Saffron Walden, 5% 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) | 277 | 5% | 13% | 57% | 20% | 5% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 74 | 0% | 8% | 19% | 70% | 3% |
| Other theft | 59 | 0% | 2% | 15% | 81% | 2% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 4% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Uttlesford, 2023 to 2025: 171 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 54 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 10 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.8 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 32% of them killed or seriously injured someone (Great Britain 26%).
Collisions on public roads that the police recorded where someone was hurt, counted where they happened, so busy through roads and town centres with few residents come out high. Serious and slight use the Department for Transport's adjusted severity, comparable between police forces. Source: Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
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 | 0.2 |
| Burglary | 3.2 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 18.5 |
| Drugs | 1.4 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.3 |
| Other crime | 0.9 |
| Other theft | 4.1 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.7 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 2.6 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 5.2 |
| Public order | 3.9 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.3 |
| Shoplifting | 4.0 |
Postcode districts in Saffron Walden
Nearby towns
Council: Uttlesford
Questions about crime in Saffron Walden
- Is Saffron Walden a safe place to live?
- Saffron Walden scores 7 out of 10 for safety (low crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 0.8 times the Uttlesford average.
- Is crime going up or down in Saffron Walden?
- Down 31% over 5 years, from 838 recorded crimes a year to 579.
- What is the most common crime in Saffron Walden?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 19 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How does crime in Saffron Walden compare with Uttlesford?
- Crime severity in Saffron Walden is 0.8 times the Uttlesford average.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Saffron Walden?
- In CB10, the postcode district at the centre of Saffron Walden, 5% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 44% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Saffron Walden?
- In Uttlesford, the council area Saffron Walden is in, the police recorded 143 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.5 per 1,000 residents, down 26% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Saffron Walden?
- 297 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in Uttlesford, the council area Saffron Walden is in, 3.1 per 1,000 residents, 0.6 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Saffron Walden last year?
- No homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in 2025/26, in Uttlesford, the council area Saffron Walden is in, against 2 the year before.