Total Crime Rate

165.6 per 1,000 9/10 · Very High

All offences · May 2025 - Apr 2026

Violent Crime Rate

100.7 per 1,000 10/10 · Very High

May 2025 - Apr 2026
Latest update: 06.06.2026 Crime figures are sourced from data.police.uk and are typically published with a 3-month delay.
Crime rate per 1000 residents
  • All crimes 165.6 9/10
  • Violent crimes 100.7 10/10
  • Violence and sexual offences 77.9 9/10
  • Anti-social behaviour 22.7 8/10
  • Public order 16.2 9/10
  • Other crime 9.7 9/10
  • Vehicle crime 9.7 8/10
  • Burglary 6.5 7/10
  • Criminal damage and arson 6.5 5/10
  • Drugs 3.3 3/10
  • Possession of weapons 3.3 4/10
  • Robbery 3.3 4/10
  • Shoplifting 3.3 2/10
  • Theft from the person 3.3 4/10
  • Bicycle theft 0.0 1/10
  • Other theft 0.0 1/10
Values shown per 1,000 residents · May 2025 - Apr 2026 · Rating compares this oa to UK peers of the same type.
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Crime overview

Owls Retreat area has the 23rd highest crime rate of 80 local areas in Greenstead , and the 82nd highest crime rate of 619 local areas in Colchester .

Crime levels at this postcode are much higher than in the adjoining streets, suggesting that most neighbouring areas are relatively safer than this one.

The overall crime rate in the area around Owls Retreat (CO4 3FE) in the last 12 months was 165.6 per 1,000 residents and was 4.1% higher than the Greenstead average (159.1 per 1,000 residents). In the last 12 months, this area’s most reported crimes were Violence and sexual offences with 24 offences recorded. The least common crime was Drugs with 1 case , unchanged from 2025. The fastest-growing crime category was Theft from the person ( 100.0% YoY). The sharpest decline was Robbery ( -50.0% YoY).

Violent crimes totalled 31 (≈ 100.6 per 1,000 residents). Year-over-year these were falling ( -8.8% ). Over the last decade, overall crime has flat ( -1.5% comparing early vs recent averages) .

In the area around Owls Retreat (CO4 3FE), the main crime hotspot is near Merlin End. Police recorded 26 crimes here, including 19 violent or public-order offences. All these locations are within roughly 0.3 miles.

View Crime In Colchester

Crime Over Time in Owls Retreat area

Showing crimes within 0.3 miles (9/9)
Month:
MonthCrimeLocation*Last Outcome
Apr 2026Other theft Sheerwater Mews Under investigation
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Merlin End Awaiting court outcome
Apr 2026Public order Sheerwater Mews Under investigation
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Sheerwater Mews Investigation complete; no suspect identified
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Sheerwater Mews Unable to prosecute suspect
Apr 2026Public order Sheerwater Mews Under investigation
Apr 2026Other crime Merlin End Unable to prosecute suspect
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Merlin End Unable to prosecute suspect
Apr 2026Anti-social behaviour Merlin End —
* on or near this location Page 1 • Showing 9 of 9

Data Sources

StreetScan crime figures are based on official UK open data:

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right.

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