Crime in Watton
Recorded crime in Watton is 0.8 times the Breckland average and 0.6 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 13%. 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 Watton: about 8,723 residents in 9 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 7/10Low crime
- Living
- 5.3/10Fair
- 5-year change
- −13%fewer crimes
- vs the council
- 0.8×the Breckland average
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Watton.
Crime over 5 years
Down 13% in 5 years Recorded crimes within 1.5 km of Watton, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 0.8× the Breckland average (0.6× the England and Wales average). 42 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 77% of the harm here
- Burglary: 10% of the harm here
- Other theft: 4% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 77% 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: 12 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crimes recorded in Breckland (the whole council area)
April 2025 to March 2026, for the whole Breckland council area, not only Watton. 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 | 104 | 0.71 | Up 8% |
| Cars broken into | 91 | 0.62 | About the same |
| Vandalism (homes, other buildings and vehicles) | 492 | 3.4 | Down 11% |
| Burglary of homes | 85 | 0.58 | Up 44% |
| 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 IP25
In IP25, the postcode district at the centre of Watton, 15% 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) | 501 | 14% | 14% | 64% | 5% | 2% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 88 | 6% | 13% | 44% | 36% | 1% |
| Other crime | 58 | 22% | 24% | 48% | 3% | 2% |
| Public order | 56 | 16% | 21% | 54% | 9% | 0% |
| Other theft | 53 | 0% | 6% | 38% | 53% | 4% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 2% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Breckland, 2023 to 2025: 252 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 79 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 21 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.7 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 31% 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 | 0.1 |
| Burglary | 1.8 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 22.4 |
| Drugs | 1.1 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.3 |
| Other crime | 1.3 |
| Other theft | 3.1 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.1 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 1.3 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 4.5 |
| Public order | 3.9 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.2 |
| Shoplifting | 1.6 |
Postcode districts in Watton
Nearby towns
Council: Breckland
Questions about crime in Watton
- Is Watton a safe place to live?
- Watton 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 Breckland average.
- Is crime going up or down in Watton?
- Down 13% over 5 years, from 415 recorded crimes a year to 362.
- What is the most common crime in Watton?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 22 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How does crime in Watton compare with Breckland?
- Crime severity in Watton is 0.8 times the Breckland average.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Watton?
- In IP25, the postcode district at the centre of Watton, 15% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 15% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Watton?
- In Breckland, the council area Watton is in, the police recorded 104 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 0.7 per 1,000 residents, up 8% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Watton?
- 492 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in Breckland, the council area Watton is in, 3.4 per 1,000 residents, 0.7 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Watton last year?
- No homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in 2025/26, in Breckland, the council area Watton is in, against 1 the year before.