OpenCrime

The highest crime rates in Devon

Plymouth has the highest recorded crime rate of the 10 local authority areas in Devon with a full year of published data; Torbay and Exeter are next. Plymouth recorded 109.0 offences per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to June 2026, about 20% above the England and Wales average of 91.2. Nationally, its rate is the 75th highest of the 314 ranked areas.

10 areas ranked, every one with a full year of published data
91.2 England and Wales average, crimes per 1,000 residents
109.0 highest rate in the table, Plymouth

What this ranks. Crimes the police recorded, per 1,000 residents, in the 12 months to June 2026. It is not a measure of how much crime happened: somewhere people report more looks worse than somewhere people report less. Town centres carry the crime of everyone who visits them against the population of the few who live there, which is why compact city districts sit near the top and rural districts near the bottom. Areas whose police force has stopped filing returns are left out entirely rather than shown as safe. How the figures work sets all of it out.

Every area in Devon

Highest recorded crime rate first. Rank 1 in the England and Wales column is the highest recorded rate in the country.

# Area County Per 1,000 Per 1,000 workday Offences Year on year Rank in E&W
1 Plymouth Devon 109.0 111.8 29,665 -2.1% 75 of 314
2 Torbay Devon 108.9 111.7 15,258 -1.6% 77 of 314
3 Exeter Devon 108.5 101.6 15,019 -5.5% 78 of 314
4 North Devon Devon 70.6 70.4 7,149 -5.8% 222 of 314
5 Teignbridge Devon 59.1 63.5 8,190 -2.3% 271 of 314
6 Mid Devon Devon 58.8 63.8 4,998 -5.5% 274 of 314
7 Torridge Devon 54.4 59.4 3,802 -2.5% 286 of 314
8 South Hams Devon 47.2 47.5 4,346 +6.1% 301 of 314
9 East Devon Devon 47.1 51.2 7,452 -4.8% 302 of 314
10 West Devon Devon 45.3 48.2 2,666 +2.1% 307 of 314

Home Office recorded crime, published at data.police.uk under the Open Government Licence. The ranking uses ONS mid-year resident estimates, which is what the rest of the field publishes. The second column divides the same crimes by the Census 2021 workday population, everyone who is in the area during the working day rather than only those who sleep there. Where the two disagree sharply the place is a town centre, and the workday figure is the fairer one. Census day fell under Covid restrictions with widespread home working, so central London workday counts are lower than a normal year. Rank 1 in the England and Wales column is the highest recorded resident rate in the country.

The other end of the table

This table runs from the highest rate. For the same areas ranked the other way, see the safest places to live. To put two specific places side by side, use the comparison tool.

Highest crime rates by county

The same table cut to one county, for counties with at least three published areas.

Ranked by a single offence

The same areas over the same year, ranked one offence at a time. The order changes a great deal between them: shoplifting concentrates where the shops are, bicycle theft where the bicycles are, and neither follows the overall rate.

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