Crime in WD17: Watford
data.police.uk recorded 645 street-level crimes at the representative point for WD17 (Watford) in Aug 2026. The most common category was violence and sexual offences (173 reports, 26.8% of the total). The monthly total rose versus the month before. That is about 11% busier than the recent 6-month average for this area.
Watford, a busy Hertfordshire town and retail centre.
Crime by category in WD17
Every street-level crime recorded near the WD17 representative point in Aug 2026, by Home Office category, most common first:
| Category | Crimes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 173 | 26.8% |
| Anti-social behaviour | 161 | 25% |
| Shoplifting | 80 | 12.4% |
| Public order | 36 | 5.6% |
| Other theft | 32 | 5% |
| Criminal damage and arson | 30 | 4.7% |
| Vehicle crime | 30 | 4.7% |
| Drugs | 29 | 4.5% |
| Burglary | 24 | 3.7% |
| Bicycle theft | 19 | 2.9% |
| Robbery | 14 | 2.2% |
| Theft from the person | 7 | 1.1% |
| Other crime | 7 | 1.1% |
| Possession of weapons | 3 | 0.5% |
645 crimes recorded in Aug 2026. data.police.uk snaps each crime to one of a fixed set of anonymised map points, so counts describe the area around the WD17 centroid, not a single street or property.
WD17 crime trend: last 6 months
The monthly recorded-crime total at the WD17 representative point. The recent monthly average is 579 crimes. A single outcode is a small sample, so read the direction rather than any single month.
Source: data.police.uk crimes-street API. The dataset publishes monthly with a ~1–2 month lag; the latest month shown is the newest the API had on the last refresh.
How safe is WD17?
In Aug 2026, WD17 was about 11% busier than the recent 6-month average for this area. Recorded crime is not the same as risk: city-centre and high-footfall outcodes record more crime simply because more people pass through them, and recorded figures reflect reporting and policing as well as offending. Use this as area context alongside the price, flood and ground-stability picture, not in isolation.
645 recorded crimes · Aug 2026 · violence and sexual offences most common
See the crime mapped to one WD17 address
This page is the area picture. To see the crimes mapped closest to one exact property (alongside its sold-price history, EPC, flood and ground risk, and a current valuation), search the address. The full breakdown is in the £24.99 Complete report.
Type the full address with its postcode to go straight to your report options. Try .
Frequently asked questions
How much crime is there in WD17?
data.police.uk recorded 645 street-level crimes in WD17 (Watford) in Aug 2026, against a recent monthly average of 579 over the last 6 months. The largest single category was violence and sexual offences, at 26.8% of reports. These are reports snapped to anonymised map points near the outcode centroid, not a per-property figure.
What are the most common crimes in WD17?
In Aug 2026 the most common recorded categories in WD17 were violence and sexual offences (173), anti-social behaviour (161), shoplifting (80). The full category breakdown is in the table above, taken straight from the Home Office crime categories on data.police.uk.
Is WD17 getting safer or more dangerous?
Over the last 6 months of data.police.uk data, the monthly recorded-crime total for WD17 rose most recently and averaged 579 crimes a month. A single outcode is a small sample and recorded crime reflects reporting and policing as well as underlying offending, so read the trend, not one month in isolation.
How accurate is the crime data for WD17?
It is official Home Office data published on data.police.uk under the Open Government Licence. Each crime is snapped to one of a fixed set of anonymised map points near where it happened (never the exact address), so figures describe the area around the outcode centroid, not a single property. Search an exact address on HouseCheckup to see the crimes mapped closest to it in the full report.
Crime in nearby areas
Prime central London around Westminster and St James's, a dense government and tourism district.
Prime central Chelsea, a low-density affluent residential district.
Battersea and Clapham Junction, a busy riverside district around one of the UK's busiest stations.
Wandsworth and Earlsfield, a residential commuter district inside Zone 2/3.
Wimbledon, a busy town-centre and residential family district.
South-bank Southwark and Bermondsey, a high-footfall riverside and nightlife district.
Sources
- Street-level crime data, data.police.uk (Home Office)
- Outcode geocoding, postcodes.io
Contains public sector information from data.police.uk licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Street-level crimes are snapped to anonymised map points, not exact addresses.