Crime in South Molton
Recorded crime in South Molton is 0.8 times the North Devon average and 0.6 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has risen 46%. 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 South Molton: about 6,226 residents in 5 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 7/10Low crime
- Living
- 5.7/10Fair
- 5-year change
- +46%more crimes
- vs the council
- 0.8×the North Devon average
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 1.5 km of the centre of South Molton.
Crime over 5 years
Up 46% in 5 years Recorded crimes within 1.5 km of South Molton, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 0.8× the North Devon average (0.6× the England and Wales average). 41 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 73% of the harm here
- Burglary: 11% of the harm here
- Other theft: 4% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 73% 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: 11 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crimes recorded in North Devon (the whole partnership area)
April 2025 to March 2026, for the whole North Devon partnership area, not only South Molton. Figures for the Northern Devon community safety partnership, which covers North Devon and Torridge. 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 | 87 | 0.51 | Up 7% |
| Cars broken into | 90 | 0.53 | Up 88% |
| Vandalism (homes, other buildings and vehicles) | 564 | 3.3 | Down 13% |
| Burglary of homes | 140 | 0.82 | Down 6% |
| 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 EX36
In EX36, the postcode district at the centre of South Molton, 4% 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) | 256 | 3% | 7% | 73% | 10% | 7% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 7% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
North Devon, 2023 to 2025: 159 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 35 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 10 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.6 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 22% 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 | 2.1 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 20.9 |
| Drugs | 1.2 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.5 |
| Other crime | 1.1 |
| Other theft | 3.2 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.1 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 1.4 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 5.4 |
| Public order | 3.0 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.2 |
| Shoplifting | 1.9 |
Postcode districts in South Molton
Nearby towns
Council: North Devon
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for South Molton.
Questions about crime in South Molton
- Is South Molton a safe place to live?
- South Molton 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 North Devon average.
- Is crime going up or down in South Molton?
- Up 46% over 5 years, from 247 recorded crimes a year to 361.
- What is the most common crime in South Molton?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 21 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How does crime in South Molton compare with North Devon?
- Crime severity in South Molton is 0.8 times the North Devon average.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in South Molton?
- In EX36, the postcode district at the centre of South Molton, 4% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 25% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many cars are stolen in South Molton?
- In 2025/26, in the Northern Devon partnership area, which includes South Molton, the police recorded 87 cars stolen (April 2025 to March 2026), 0.5 per 1,000 residents, up 7% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in South Molton?
- 564 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in the Northern Devon partnership area, which includes South Molton, 3.3 per 1,000 residents, 0.7 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in South Molton last year?
- No homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in 2025/26, in the Northern Devon partnership area, which includes South Molton, against 0 the year before.