East Devon has a crime rate of 45.56 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, placing it among the higher-crime areas in the UK at #19 of 331 local authorities. Crime levels vary significantly across East Devon's wards; some neighbourhoods are considerably safer than the city average. See the ward breakdown and hotspot map on this page for a detailed local picture.

What is the crime rate in East Devon?

As of April 2026, East Devon has an annual crime rate of 45.56 per 1,000 residents, based on 596 recorded offences in the latest reporting period. This figure is sourced from Police.uk open data and normalised using ONS Census 2021 population estimates to allow accurate comparisons between areas.

How does East Devon rank nationally for crime?

East Devon ranks #19 out of 331 local authorities in England and Wales by annual crime rate per 1,000 residents. A rank of #1 indicates the highest crime rate nationally. Rankings are recalculated each month as new Police.uk data becomes available, covering all recorded crimes across the area.

What is the most common crime in East Devon?

The most common crime type in East Devon is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 301 incidents in April 2026 — 50.5% of all recorded crime in the area. Data is sourced from Police.uk and covers all crimes recorded by the responsible police force across the East Devon local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Devon & Cornwall Police Police

Crime in East Devon: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

East Devon is one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, recording 596 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 3.95 per 1,000 residents. This places East Devon at #19 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 50.5% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 9.3% compared to the same period last year.

shield Crime is significantly below the UK average — one of the safer areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring45.56 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment596 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #19 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 9.3% year-on-year

Data Sources:Police.ukONS Census 2021HM Land Registry Period: April 2026 • Updated monthly

Total Crimes

596

trending_down -15.1% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

45.56per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#19of 331

Top 6% Safest UK

Devon

#3rank

Ranked by annual rate

12-Month Crime Trend

Monthly Totals

Interactive Crime Map

District View

Live Points

Crime Incident

Area Boundary

Incident Distribution

Top Locations

Location Reference	Crime Breakdown	Primary Count
On or near Sports/Recreation Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9 Vehicle crime: 1	9
On or near Meadow Crescent Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9 Burglary: 1	9
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9	9
On or near Market Street Map	Shoplifting: 6	6
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 6	6
On or near New North Road Map	Violence and sexual offences: 4	4
On or near Whitmore Way Map	Shoplifting: 4	4
On or near Parking Area Map	Criminal damage and arson: 4	4
On or near Ship Lane Map	Violence and sexual offences: 4	4
On or near Parking Area Map	Other theft: 4	4

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

596 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

301

50.5%

Criminal Damage & Arson

10.7%

Anti-social Behaviour

10.1%

Other Theft

6.9%

Public Order

5.5%

Shoplifting

4.4%

Vehicle Crime

3.4%

Drug Offences

2.2%

Burglary

2.2%

Other Crime

1.3%

Weapons Possession

1.3%

Bicycle Theft

0.7%

Theft from Person

0.5%

Robbery

0.3%

Crime Analysis: East Devon

East Devon recorded 596 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 45.56 per 1,000 residents — among the lower-crime areas in England and Wales, ranked #19 of 331 by crime rate.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in East Devon (50.5%). Criminal Damage & Arson (10.7%) and Anti-social Behaviour (10.1%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in East Devon has fallen noticeably — by 9.3%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Devon & Cornwall Police through the Police.uk open data platform and cross-referenced with ONS 2021 Census population estimates to produce the per-resident rates above. Data typically appears 1–2 months after the end of the recording period.

Stop & Search

April 2026

473

Total Stops

19.2%

Arrest Rate

213

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

286

Offensive weapons

Article for use in theft

Stolen goods

Articles for use in criminal damage

Firearms

Outcome

A no further action disposal304

Arrest91

Community resolution37

Not recorded34

Summons / charged by post5

Caution (simple or conditional)1

Khat or Cannabis warning1

Gender

Male379

Female76

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

93.5%

White

3.0%

Black

2.8%

Asian

0.7%

Other

Stop & search data published by Devon & Cornwall Police under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: police.uk.

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

30 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Exmouth Town	78	104.1
2	Honiton St Paul's	30	66.4
3	Axminster	35	66.2
4	Exmouth Littleham	49	60.8
5	Cranbrook	35	58.5

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Tale Vale	3	1.2
shield	West Hill & Aylesbeare	2	0.7
shield	Exe Valley	1	0.2
shield	Dunkeswell & Otterhead	10	1.7
shield	Yarty	2	0.8

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -15.1%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -9.3%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -1.8%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 331 local authorities in England & Wales.

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Devon & Cornwall Police

213 policing neighbourhoods

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