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Crime rates in Norcot

Norcot recorded 1,802 crimes in the 12 months to July 2026. That is 93.6 crimes per 1,000 residents, 3% above the England and Wales average of 91.2. Recorded crime is down 5.7% on the previous 12 months.

93.6 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents, year to July 2026
1,802 offences recorded in the same 12 months
-5.7% change on the previous 12 months
+3% above the England and Wales average

Of the 929 areas in England and Wales with a full year of data, Norcot has the 407th highest recorded crime rate. That is higher than 56% of them. Within Reading it has the highest rate of the 3.

England & Wales average, 91Norcot, 94
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents. The colours are used throughout this page: the further right, the further above the England and Wales average.

The safest and worst parts of Norcot

Neighbourhoods inside Norcot, by recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to July 2026, shaded against the England and Wales average. Names are the House of Commons Library's, which are chosen to be the ones local people use.

Neighbourhoods in Norcot by recorded crime rate
Neighbourhood Per 1,000 vs England & Wales Offences Year on year
Norcot North 100.6 about average 896 -5.1%
Norcot South 87.7 about average 906 -6.2%

Neighbourhoods here are Middle Layer Super Output Areas of around 7,000 residents. Each figure is an average over the whole neighbourhood, and the ones holding a town centre run high wherever daily visitors outnumber residents. How the figures work explains why these areas are used rather than electoral wards.

Shared by people who know it

What locals say about Norcot

Nobody has answered for Norcot yet, so these are the views of Berkshire as a whole, from 2 people in the last two years.

Feeling safe

  • How safe does Berkshire feel, from 1 to 5?2 people rate it 5.0 out of 5 on average.

Live, work or spend time in Norcot?

Answer a few quick questions about what it is really like. About a minute, anonymous, and you can skip any question.

Answers are anonymous, one per person per question, and count for two years. They describe how a place feels to the people who answered, are never mixed into the crime figures, and update on this page within a day. How local views work.

By type of offence

Recorded offences in the 12 months to July 2026, with the change on the 12 months before.

Recorded crime in Norcot by offence type
Offence Offences Per 1,000 Share Year on year
Violence and sexual offences 752 39.1 41.7% +5.5%
Anti-social behaviour 208 10.8 11.5% -20.0%
Criminal damage and arson 143 7.4 7.9% +10.9%
Public order 142 7.4 7.9% +27.9%
Other theft 139 7.2 7.7% +4.5%
Shoplifting 119 6.2 6.6% -20.1%
Vehicle crime 91 4.7 5.1% -27.2%
Drugs 48 2.5 2.7% -40.0%
Burglary 46 2.4 2.6% -40.3%
Other crime 38 2.0 2.1% +31.0%
Robbery 26 1.4 1.4% -13.3%
Theft from the person 19 1.0 1.1% -9.5%
Bicycle theft 18 0.9 1.0% -35.7%
Possession of weapons 13 0.7 0.7% -48.0%
All recorded crime 1,802 93.6 100% -5.7%

Home Office recorded crime, data.police.uk. Rates use ONS mid-2024 population estimates (19,243 residents). Categories are the Home Office crime types as published; they are not comparable with court or conviction figures.

What happened to those crimes

Police recorded 1,594 offences other than anti-social behaviour in Norcot in the year to July 2026. By the time this data was published, about 36% had been closed with no suspect identified and 36% closed because a prosecution was not possible or not pursued. Around 11% had led to a charge, caution or other formal action, and 17% were still open.

The widest shortfall against the national picture is for public order: 8.5% of cases here ended in a charge or other formal action, against 12.2% across England and Wales.

Police outcomes in Norcot, latest 12 months
Outcome Share Offences
Closed: no suspect identified 572
Closed: prosecution not possible or not pursued 581
Charge, caution or other formal action 168
Still open or no outcome published yet 273

Outcomes describe where each investigation stood when the data was published, so recent offences are naturally still open and the closed shares will edge up as cases conclude. Anti-social behaviour is left out entirely: police record no outcomes for it, and counting it would quietly flatter every percentage here. "Formal action" spans charges, summonses, cautions, penalty notices and community resolutions.

Outcomes by offence in Norcot

The share of cases ending in a charge, caution or other formal action, against the same figure for England and Wales. Offences with fewer than 30 recorded cases here are left out: a percentage of twelve cases moves several points on one decision.

Formal action rate by offence in Norcot, against England and Wales
Offence Cases Charged or dealt with England & Wales Difference
Violence and sexual offences 752 10.0% 10.7% -0.7 pts
Criminal damage and arson 143 6.3% 8.3% -2.0 pts
Public order 142 8.5% 12.2% -3.7 pts
Other theft 139 0.7% 2.5% -1.8 pts
Shoplifting 119 26.1% 25.9% +0.2 pts
Vehicle crime 91 3.3% 2.8% +0.5 pts
Drugs 48 22.9% 55.8% -32.9 pts
Burglary 46 10.9% 5.9% +5.0 pts
Other crime 38 18.4% 17.0% +1.4 pts

"Charged or dealt with" counts every outcome that is a formal action: charged, summonsed, cautioned, penalty notice, community resolution. Anti-social behaviour is excluded from both columns because it carries no outcome by design. A low rate is not necessarily a failing of the force here: some offences are far harder to detect anywhere, which is why every row is shown against the national figure for the same offence rather than against the other rows.

Over time

Recorded crime in Norcot fell to a low of 1,244 offences in 2013, climbed to a peak of 2,397 in 2021, and the latest 12 months, at 1,802, sit about 25% below that peak. That works out at roughly 5 a day.

12-month average Each month
601201802400Covid lockdown150ConCon2011201320152017201920212023Jul 2026
Offences recorded each month in Norcot, Dec 2010 to Jul 2026. The coloured strip is the party holding the office that oversees the force; each break in it is an election.
Monthly figures (188 months)
Monthly recorded crime in Norcot
MonthRecorded crimes
Jul 2026 169
Jun 2026 164
May 2026 159
Apr 2026 135
Mar 2026 134
Feb 2026 124
Jan 2026 154
Dec 2025 124
Nov 2025 139
Oct 2025 171
Sep 2025 153
Aug 2025 176
Jul 2025 157
Jun 2025 173
May 2025 176
Apr 2025 149
Mar 2025 160
Feb 2025 118
Jan 2025 149
Dec 2024 143
Nov 2024 149
Oct 2024 208
Sep 2024 159
Aug 2024 169
Jul 2024 178
Jun 2024 167
May 2024 175
Apr 2024 169
Mar 2024 134
Feb 2024 142
Jan 2024 135
Dec 2023 137
Nov 2023 125
Oct 2023 126
Sep 2023 147
Aug 2023 179
Jul 2023 122
Jun 2023 157
May 2023 183
Apr 2023 132
Mar 2023 151
Feb 2023 161
Jan 2023 162
Dec 2022 98
Nov 2022 166
Oct 2022 230
Sep 2022 175
Aug 2022 213
Jul 2022 196
Jun 2022 194
May 2022 189
Apr 2022 182
Mar 2022 171
Feb 2022 141
Jan 2022 165
Dec 2021 161
Nov 2021 209
Oct 2021 216
Sep 2021 180
Aug 2021 190
Jul 2021 197
Jun 2021 205
May 2021 197
Apr 2021 213
Mar 2021 235
Feb 2021 226
Jan 2021 168
Dec 2020 171
Nov 2020 180
Oct 2020 186
Sep 2020 214
Aug 2020 195
Jul 2020 196
Jun 2020 161
May 2020 147
Apr 2020 152
Mar 2020 150
Feb 2020 162
Jan 2020 138
Dec 2019 130
Nov 2019 149
Oct 2019 149
Sep 2019 139
Aug 2019 168
Jul 2019 195
Jun 2019 224
May 2019 164
Apr 2019 144
Mar 2019 112
Feb 2019 125
Jan 2019 146
Dec 2018 123
Nov 2018 144
Oct 2018 157
Sep 2018 135
Aug 2018 146
Jul 2018 161
Jun 2018 181
May 2018 185
Apr 2018 153
Mar 2018 178
Feb 2018 122
Jan 2018 198
Dec 2017 131
Nov 2017 119
Oct 2017 174
Sep 2017 130
Aug 2017 169
Jul 2017 162
Jun 2017 240
May 2017 163
Apr 2017 157
Mar 2017 163
Feb 2017 137
Jan 2017 111
Dec 2016 121
Nov 2016 135
Oct 2016 135
Sep 2016 188
Aug 2016 148
Jul 2016 155
Jun 2016 125
May 2016 153
Apr 2016 149
Mar 2016 115
Feb 2016 82
Jan 2016 86
Dec 2015 115
Nov 2015 113
Oct 2015 144
Sep 2015 150
Aug 2015 129
Jul 2015 128
Jun 2015 156
May 2015 143
Apr 2015 124
Mar 2015 101
Feb 2015 101
Jan 2015 91
Dec 2014 104
Nov 2014 107
Oct 2014 123
Sep 2014 100
Aug 2014 98
Jul 2014 123
Jun 2014 109
May 2014 123
Apr 2014 117
Mar 2014 79
Feb 2014 97
Jan 2014 105
Dec 2013 84
Nov 2013 88
Oct 2013 96
Sep 2013 131
Aug 2013 105
Jul 2013 123
Jun 2013 122
May 2013 103
Apr 2013 104
Mar 2013 89
Feb 2013 96
Jan 2013 103
Dec 2012 101
Nov 2012 139
Oct 2012 174
Sep 2012 130
Aug 2012 171
Jul 2012 147
Jun 2012 143
May 2012 174
Apr 2012 160
Mar 2012 161
Feb 2012 136
Jan 2012 144
Dec 2011 153
Nov 2011 170
Oct 2011 194
Sep 2011 173
Aug 2011 172
Jul 2011 189
Jun 2011 169
May 2011 206
Apr 2011 209
Mar 2011 190
Feb 2011 192
Jan 2011 156
Dec 2010 176

Download every month as CSV, including which months each force filed.

Streets and the crime map

The named streets with the most recorded offences in the year to July 2026, beside every mapped location in Norcot.

These are not the most dangerous streets. The police snap every offence to the nearest point on a fixed list of anonymised map points, so one point collects everything recorded around a cluster of addresses. A street with a station, a row of pubs or a shopping parade on it gathers the crime of everyone passing through. A point has no resident population, so there is no rate here, only a count.

Streets in Norcot with the most recorded crime
Street Relative scale Offences
On or near Thirlmere Avenue Norcot North 40
On or near St George's Terrace Norcot South 33
On or near Tweed Court Norcot North 32
On or near Coniston Drive Norcot North 30
On or near Winslet Place Norcot North 29
On or near Riverside Park Norcot North 27
On or near Stoneham Close Norcot South 27
On or near Shilling Close Norcot South 26
On or near Eddleston Way Norcot North 26
On or near Belmont Road Norcot South 25
On or near Craig Avenue Norcot South 25
On or near Rona Court Norcot South 23

Compared with nearby areas

Area Relative scale Per 1,000 Offences
Norcot 93.6 1,802
Newbury 92.0 4,294
Wexham 102.7 2,241
Bracknell 84.0 6,233
Langley 80.2 2,416
Cippenham 77.5 1,952
Tilehurst 72.6 1,206
Windsor 69.3 2,123
Maidenhead 61.7 4,491

Against the rest of the country

In the national table, where 1st is the highest recorded crime rate, Norcot was 250th of 706 in December 2010 and is 407th of 929 today. It has moved 157 places away from the top: recorded crime here has fallen relative to the rest of the country.

1st23246469692920102026rank
Position in the national table of every area at this level, each month. First place is the highest recorded crime rate, so the line is drawn with first at the top: a line that climbs is a place moving up the table, not down it. A place can move without changing at all, because the rank is relative to everywhere else.

Time of year

Recorded crime here peaks in June, about 33% above its quietest month, December.

avgJFMAMJJASOND
Each calendar month against this area's own average month, across every complete year of data. Indexed rather than counted, so a long-term fall does not flatten the shape of the year underneath it.

Crime in context

What deprivation would predict

Across every English district, deprivation explains much of the difference in recorded crime rates. On that relationship alone, Norcot's level of deprivation would predict a rate of about 100 per 1,000. It records 93.6, close to what the pattern would suggest.

How tightly packed it is

6,560 people per square kilometre, across 3 km². England and Wales averages about 400 people per square kilometre. Density is the usual explanation for a high position in the national crime table: a rate divides the crime of everyone who passes through by the number who sleep there.

Officers to record it

Thames Valley Police had 5,085 full-time equivalent officers as at 31 March 2026, 1.93 per 1,000 residents, below the England and Wales figure of 2.42. That is 25% above its low point of 4,067 in 2018. Recorded crime partly measures how much policing there is to record it, so a change in officer numbers moves the figures on this page even when nothing else does.

Officer numbers are full-time equivalents from the Home Office police workforce return, counted across the whole force area. Nothing in this section causes anything on this page: a correlation is not a cause.

Who oversees policing in Norcot

Policing in Norcot is overseen by the police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley Police. Matthew Barber (Conservative) won that election in May 2024. Since that election, recorded crime here is up 3.1% (the latest 12 months of data against the 12 months up to the election).

Councils in England and Wales have no policing powers. The police force covering an area is answerable to a directly elected commissioner, or to the combined authority mayor where that office has taken the role on. The coloured strip under the trend chart shows these terms against the crime line.

The change column reports what recorded crime did across each term, because it is the first thing a reader wants from this table. It is what happened, not what the officeholder caused: recorded crime moves with reporting rules, how a force records what is reported, national policy and a pandemic, and those effects are far larger than anything one commissioner does in four years. The terms spanning 2020 and 2021 in particular contain the lockdowns, which cut recorded crime everywhere and handed the following term the rebound.

Elections to the office overseeing policing in Norcot
Election Elected Party Office Crime over the term
May 2024 Matthew Barber Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner +3.1%
May 2021 Matthew Barber Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner -25.4%
May 2016 Anthony Stansfeld Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner +54.1%
November 2012 Anthony Stansfeld Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner -17.0%

These are election results, not terms of office: commissioners resign, die and are disqualified mid-term, and by-elections between the scheduled polls are listed here only where one has been held. For who holds the office today, the force's own website is the authority. The last column compares recorded crime in the 12 months ending at the handover (or the latest data) with the 12 months ending at the election itself; where a monthly return is missing, the window slides by up to four months to the nearest complete one. A dash means the term ran under a year or no complete window exists near it.

Questions

Is Norcot safe?

In the year to July 2026, the recorded crime rate in Norcot was 93.6 per 1,000 residents. That is close to the England and Wales average. A recorded crime rate measures what the police recorded, across a whole town. It says nothing about any particular street, and areas with busy town centres, shopping areas or nightlife record more crime per resident because far more people are present than live there.

Is crime in Norcot going up or down?

In Norcot, the latest 12 months are 5.7% lower than the 12 before. Over the full series, recorded crime here peaked at 2,397 offences in 2021 and the current total is about 25% below it.

What is the most common crime in Norcot?

The most commonly recorded offence in Norcot is violence and sexual offences, with 752 offences in the 12 months to July 2026 (42% of all recorded crime). The next most common is anti-social behaviour, with 208.

Where does this come from?

Police recorded crime open data, published at data.police.uk by the Home Office under the Open Government Licence. It covers offences the police recorded, which is not the same as offences committed: crimes that are never reported never appear. Rates use ONS mid-2024 population estimates. How the figures work sets out the calculation, the reporting lag and every known gap.

Figures cover the 12 months to July 2026, the most recent month any force has published; police data arrives roughly two months in arrears.