Total Crime Rate

70.5 per 1,000 6/10 · Average

All offences · May 2025 - Apr 2026

Violent Crime Rate

50.3 per 1,000 8/10 · 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 70.5 6/10
  • Violent crimes 50.3 8/10
  • Violence and sexual offences 43.6 8/10
  • Criminal damage and arson 13.4 8/10
  • Drugs 3.4 3/10
  • Public order 3.4 3/10
  • Robbery 3.4 4/10
  • Vehicle crime 3.4 3/10
  • Anti-social behaviour 0.0 1/10
  • Bicycle theft 0.0 1/10
  • Burglary 0.0 1/10
  • Other crime 0.0 1/10
  • Other theft 0.0 1/10
  • Possession of weapons 0.0 1/10
  • Shoplifting 0.0 1/10
  • Theft from the person 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

Sowden Lane area has the 19th lowest crime rate of 40 local areas in Barnstaple Central , and the 85th highest crime rate of 315 local areas in North Devon .

This postcode forms a relatively safe pocket compared with the surrounding streets. Neighbouring areas record much higher crime levels, even though this postcode itself remains comparatively low-crime.

The overall crime rate in the area around Sowden Lane (EX32 8BU) in the last 12 months was 70.5 per 1,000 residents and was 83.2% lower than the Barnstaple Central average (419.7 per 1,000 residents). In the last 12 months, this area’s most reported crimes were Violence and sexual offences with 13 offences recorded. The least common crime was Drugs with 1 case , unchanged from 2025. The fastest-growing crime category was Vehicle crime ( 100.0% YoY). The sharpest decline was Public order ( -66.7% YoY).

Violent crimes totalled 15 (≈ 50.3 per 1,000 residents). Year-over-year these were rising ( 15.4% ). Over the last decade, overall crime has falling ( -59.1% comparing early vs recent averages) .

In the area around Sowden Lane (EX32 8BU), the main crime hotspot is near Bevan Road. Police recorded 37 crimes here, including 26 violent or public-order offences. All these locations are within roughly 0.3 miles.

Crime Over Time in Sowden Lane area

Showing crimes within 0.3 miles (7/7)
Month:
MonthCrimeLocation*Last Outcome
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Bevan Road Unable to prosecute suspect
Apr 2026Possession of weapons Bevan Road Unable to prosecute suspect
Apr 2026Other theft Petrol Station Investigation complete; no suspect identified
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Sunny Bank Under investigation
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Parking Area Under investigation
Apr 2026Anti-social behaviour Parking Area —
Apr 2026Violence and sexual offences Hayne Park Unable to prosecute suspect
* on or near this location Page 1 • Showing 7 of 7

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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