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Crime

Crime in Breckland by area

Every neighbourhood we cover, ranked by crimes per 1,000 residents a year, from police.uk figures for June to August 2026. Highest first. Pick a type of crime to re-rank, or tap a column to sort.

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2,409crimes recordedJune to August 2026
+14%on the 3 months beforemore crime
Great Hockhamlowest rate5.2 per 1,000 a year
29.9middle areacrimes per 1,000 a year

Darker means more crime per resident. Tap an area for its page.

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Most improved: Dereham (-5%), Watton (-2%) and Attleborough (4%), compared with the three months before.

Every area, ranked

#Most common
1ThetfordIP24 · 25,256 residents 118.9▲ 22%violence
2SwaffhamPE37 · 8,565 residents 90.1▲ 18%violence
3DerehamNR19 · 20,867 residents 86.5▼ 5%violence
4NarboroughPE32 · 2,520 residents 63.5▲ 67%violence
5East HarlingNR16 · 1,874 residents 61.9▲ 61%violence
6AttleboroughNR17 · 13,070 residents 56.6▲ 4%violence
7WattonIP25 · 12,836 residents 49.5▼ 2%violence
8Swanton MorleyNR20 · 1,608 residents 39.8▼ 27%violence
9MundfordIP26 · 2,133 residents 31.9–violence
10ShipdhamIP25 · 2,460 residents 30.9▲ 27%violence
11NectonPE37 · 2,144 residents 29.9▼ 20%violence
12Old BuckenhamNR17 · 1,791 residents 29▼ 28%violence
13BanhamNR16 · 2,201 residents 27.3▼ 46%violence
14BawdeswellNR20 · 2,468 residents 25.90%violence
15MattishallNR20 · 3,106 residents 24.5▲ 46%violence
16South GreenNR20 · 3,106 residents 18–violence
17AshillIP25 · 2,566 residents 15.6–violence
18North LophamIP22 · 2,394 residents 13.4–violence
19GooderstonePE33 · 2,101 residents 9.5–violence
20GressenhallNR20 · 1,711 residents 7–public order
21Great HockhamIP24 · 2,305 residents 5.2–drugs

Change compares the last three months with the three before. A dash means too few crimes to compare fairly.

Why busy centres look worst

Crimes are counted where they happen, but residents are counted where they live. Town centres and shopping areas have lots of shops, bars and visitors and not many residents, so their rates come out high even though most people there are just passing through.

How we work it out

Each area is a circle round its middle, the same as on its MeBabber page. We count the crimes police.uk records inside the circle over the last three months and turn that into a yearly figure, then divide by the number of people who live inside the circle, from the 2021 Census. Police locations are moved slightly on purpose to protect victims, so treat small differences between neighbouring areas with a pinch of salt.

Sources: data.police.uk and the Office for National Statistics, both under the Open Government Licence. Figures update every month.

Crime in every area

Questions people ask

Which areas of Breckland have the lowest crime?

Over June to August 2026, the areas with the fewest crimes per 1,000 residents were Great Hockham, Gressenhall, Gooderstone, North Lopham and Ashill.

Which areas of Breckland have the highest crime?

Leaving aside the big shopping and industrial areas, where visitors and workers push the figures up, the highest rates over June to August 2026 were in Thetford, Swaffham, Dereham, Narborough and East Harling.

Is crime going up or down in Breckland?

Across Breckland, 2,409 crimes were recorded over June to August 2026, 14% more than the three months before.

How is crime per 1,000 residents worked out?

We count the crimes police.uk records inside each area, turn the last three months into a yearly figure, and divide by the number of people who live there from the 2021 Census.