Rural Arun Crime Rate February 2025 | Monthly Statistics

For every 1,000 residents in Rural Arun, 7.4 crimes were reported in February 2025 — a rate 10.4% higher than the UK average of 6.7. This built-up rural area, while generally less densely populated than major urban centres, exhibits a crime profile shaped by its unique characteristics. Violence and sexual offences accounted for nearly 30% of all crimes, reflecting patterns often seen in areas with mixed residential and commercial land use. Property crimes, including burglary and criminal damage, made up over half of the total, with burglary alone surging to 8 incidents — a stark contrast to the UK average of 0.3 per 1,000. These figures align with seasonal patterns typical of February: a winter month marked by reduced outdoor activity and pre-spring lulls that may influence both offender behaviour and community vigilance. While violent crime rates in Rural Arun (2.2 per 1,000) are 6% below the UK average for this category, property crime rates are high, with criminal damage and arson at 1.0 per 1,000 — 108% above the UK average. This discrepancy may be partly explained by the area’s limited infrastructure for securing property, combined with the seasonal tendency for more isolated incidents in rural settings. The overall crime rate, though elevated relative to the UK, remains significantly lower than the levels seen in densely populated urban areas, suggesting that the built-up nature of the area, rather than its rural classification, drives the higher-than-average property crime rates.

February 2025 saw dramatic month-on-month increases in burglary (700% rise from 1 to 8 incidents) and criminal damage and arson (175% increase from 4 to 11). These spikes are strikingly atypical for a rural area and may reflect a combination of seasonal factors — such as reduced visibility during winter — and unmet demand for property crime in a region with limited law enforcement resources. While anti-social behaviour fell by 30.8% (from 13 to 9 incidents), this decline contrasts sharply with the surge in other categories. The area’s burglary rate (0.7 per 1,000) is 159% above the UK average, a figure that would be particularly concerning for residents living in older, less secure housing stock. Bicycle theft, at 0.3 per 1,000, is 500% above the UK average — a statistic that may prompt local authorities to reconsider investment in cycle parking infrastructure. The violence and sexual offences category. of all crimes, remains 6% below the UK average, a divergence that could be linked to the area’s lower population density and reduced opportunities for certain types of interpersonal crime. These patterns highlight the need for targeted interventions that address both the specific vulnerabilities of the built-up rural environment and the broader seasonal dynamics influencing crime trends.

The crime rate in Rural Arun rose sharply from 4.8 per 1,000 in January to 7.4 per 1,000 in February — a 55.6% increase that underscores a significant shift in local crime dynamics. Translating this into daily terms, the area experienced an average of 3 crimes per day in February, a figure that, while seemingly low, represents a 700% increase in specific categories like burglary. Over the course of the month, one reported crime occurred for roughly every 135 residents — a monthly exposure rate that, while lower than the average for major urban centres, is higher than the UK average for rural areas. With a population of 11,324, the 84 total crimes reported mean that each resident faced a 0.7% chance of being directly affected by crime in February. This statistic, when considered alongside the 700% spike in burglary, suggests that property crime has become a more pressing concern for local residents than in previous months. The population-scaled perspective also reveals that the area’s crime rate, though above the UK average, remains within a range typical for built-up rural regions — a context that may help residents contextualise the risks without overestimating their likelihood of encountering crime.