Crime in North Norfolk: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (2,351), anti-social behaviour (901) and criminal damage and arson (487) made up 70% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 284th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lowest tenth.

Recorded crime in North Norfolk peaked in the year to August 2022 (6,334 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2025 (4,780). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 5%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

No category with at least 20 crimes was notably above the England and Wales rate, and vehicle crime (87% below) and robbery (83% below) were well below it. On the year before, possession of weapons rose from 44 to 64 and drugs rose from 82 to 118, while burglary fell from 194 to 110.

What each category covers: crime categories.

4,331 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in North Norfolk in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 42.0 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was up 2% on the year ending March 2025 (4,262), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, North Norfolk had the 9th lowest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 302 districts with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).

Of the crimes recorded in the Norfolk Police area in the year ending March 2026, 1.1% were not assigned to a district. Those crimes are counted in the force and England and Wales totals but in no district, so the figure for North Norfolk is a slight undercount.

Offences recorded in North Norfolk, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 855 offences (20% of the total). No category with at least 20 offences had a rate a quarter or more above the England and Wales rate. Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.11 times), vehicle offences (0.14 times) and residential burglary (0.24 times).

The largest rises on the year were in possession of weapons (+27%) and rape (+27%). The largest falls were in residential burglary (from 142 to 62) and public order offences (−14%). Robbery of business property and shoplifting are not compared with the year ending March 2025: from April 2025 the Home Office Counting Rules were clarified so that a theft from a shop in which violence is used or threatened against staff or anyone else is recorded as robbery of business property rather than shoplifting (ONS).

Recorded crime in North Norfolk since the year ending March 2013

The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2013 to 2026. North Norfolk's rate was below the England and Wales rate in every one of those 14 years. Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).

Districts in the Norfolk Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 7 districts in the Norfolk Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, North Norfolk had the 3rd lowest rate.

Source: Home Office police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables (released 23 July 2026), gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. Financial years, excluding fraud; how they differ from the street-level figures: methodology.

5 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than North Norfolk; the highest is Norwich district (124.7 per 1,000) and the lowest Broadland (39.8).

Of the 48 areas within North Norfolk, Sheringham North had the highest crime rate (119.9 per 1,000) and Hickling (North Norfolk) the lowest (17.6), 7 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 17% of the crime recorded in North Norfolk over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (258).

Of the 4,430 crimes in North Norfolk with a recorded outcome, 19% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 4.5% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 901 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

North Norfolk has an estimated population of 103,217 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has an older population (35%, against 19%), more retired residents (37%, against 22%) and fewer students (3.5%, against 7.9%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up North Norfolk average decile 4.8 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.

Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.