Exeter has a crime rate of 93.62 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #220 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Exeter'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 Exeter?

As of April 2026, Exeter has an annual crime rate of 93.62 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,251 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 Exeter rank nationally for crime?

Exeter ranks #220 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 Exeter?

The most common crime type in Exeter is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 500 incidents in April 2026 — 40.0% 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 Exeter local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Devon & Cornwall Police Police

Crime in Exeter: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Exeter recorded 1,251 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 8.46 per 1,000 residents. This places Exeter at #220 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 40.0% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 8.4% compared to the same period last year.

info Crime is above average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring93.62 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment1,251 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #220 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 8.4% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

1,251

trending_down -2.0% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

93.62per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#220of 331

Ranked by annual rate

Devon

#8rank

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 Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 43	43
On or near North Street Map	Violence and sexual offences: 14 Anti-social behaviour: 10 Criminal damage and arson: 3	14
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 24	24
On or near Longbrook Street Map	Violence and sexual offences: 21 Other crime: 2	21
On or near Bus/Coach Station Map	Shoplifting: 22	22
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 20	20
On or near Hospital Map	Violence and sexual offences: 19	19
On or near Barle Close Map	Violence and sexual offences: 12 Criminal damage and arson: 3 Drugs: 2	12
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 10 Anti-social behaviour: 6	10
On or near Little Queen Street Map	Shoplifting: 7 Drugs: 2	7

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

1,251 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

500

40.0%

Anti-social Behaviour

193

15.4%

Shoplifting

151

12.1%

Criminal Damage & Arson

7.9%

Public Order

5.8%

Other Theft

5.6%

Vehicle Crime

2.9%

Other Crime

2.8%

Drug Offences

2.6%

Burglary

1.6%

Weapons Possession

1.0%

Bicycle Theft

0.9%

Robbery

0.8%

Theft from Person

0.6%

Crime Analysis: Exeter

Exeter recorded 1,251 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 93.62 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, ranked #220 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Exeter (40.0%). Anti-social Behaviour (15.4%) and Shoplifting (12.1%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Exeter has fallen noticeably — by 8.4%. 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

13 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	St David's	279	121.0
2	Newtown and St Leonard's	163	110.1
3	St Thomas	87	97.4
4	Pinhoe	97	91.9
5	Mincinglake and Whipton	59	75.5

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Exwick	51	5.2
shield	St Loyes	72	4.1
shield	Alphington	62	4.8
shield	Pennsylvania	59	5.6
shield	Duryard and St James	104	6.2

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -2.0%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -8.4%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -2.4%

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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