What is the crime rate in watford?

As of March 2026, watford has an annual crime rate of 102.93 per 1,000 residents, based on 993 recorded offences in the latest month.

How does watford rank nationally for crime?

watford ranks #162 out of 330 local authorities by total crime volume.

What is the most common crime in watford?

The most common crime type in watford is Violence & Sexual Offences with 339 incidents in March 2026, accounting for 34.1% of all crime.

March 2026 Source: Hertfordshire Constabulary Police

watford Crime Intelligence Report

watford recorded 993 crimes in March 2026, equating to a crime rate of 9.6 per 1,000 residents. This places watford at #162 of 330 local authorities nationally by total crime volume. Crime has increased by 17.1% compared to the previous month. Year-on-year, crime levels are 1.8% lower.

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

Total Crimes

993

trending_up +17.1% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

102.93per 1k

High Risk

National Safety

#249of 330

Top 20% Riskiest UK

Hertfordshire

#9rank

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 Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 29 Public order: 4 Robbery: 2	29
On or near Supermarket Map	Other theft: 19 Shoplifting: 8	19
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 24	24
On or near High Street Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9 Shoplifting: 3 Criminal damage and arson: 3	9
On or near Hospital Map	Public order: 7 Violence and sexual offences: 7 Other theft: 2	7
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 16	16
On or near St. Marys View Map	Violence and sexual offences: 12 Public order: 4	12
On or near Cassiobury Park Avenue Map	Anti-social behaviour: 15	15
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 15	15
On or near Beechen Grove Map	Robbery: 6 Other theft: 6	6

Crime Breakdown

March 2026

993 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

339

34.1%

Anti-social Behaviour

211

21.2%

Criminal Damage & Arson

7.5%

Other Theft

7.4%

Shoplifting

6.8%

Drug Offences

5.2%

Vehicle Crime

5.0%

Public Order

4.8%

Other Crime

2.1%

Bicycle Theft

1.7%

Theft from Person

1.4%

Weapons Possession

0.9%

Robbery

0.9%

Burglary

0.8%

Stop & Search

March 2026

670

Total Stops

12.7%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

365

Article for use in theft

158

Offensive weapons

Stolen goods

Articles for use in criminal damage

Firearms

Psychoactive substances

Game or poaching equipment

Outcome

A no further action disposal444

Arrest85

Community resolution79

Not recorded53

Caution (simple or conditional)5

Summons / charged by post2

Khat or Cannabis warning2

Gender

Male328

Other262

Female61

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

71.1%

White

14.8%

Black

10.9%

Asian

3.1%

Other

Stop & search data published by Hertfordshire Constabulary under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: police.uk.

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

12 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Central	341	223.2
2	Holywell	106	108.1
3	Meriden	67	102.1
4	Woodside	61	91.9
5	Callowland	62	86.3

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Tudor	50	2.5
shield	Oxhey	50	2.8
shield	Nascot	34	3.8
shield	Stanborough	38	5.0
shield	Park	46	5.2

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +17.1%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -1.8%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_up +0.9%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 330 local authorities in England & Wales.

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Police Force

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Hertfordshire Constabulary

33 policing neighbourhoods

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