Southwater Crime Rate

Southwater Crime Overview

Southwater is a highly secure urban settlement, boasting an excellent safety score of 92/100. The area's overall crime rate is just 35.3 per 1,000 residents, which is significantly lower than the UK national average of 91.6. Data from the period of Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 shows a slight upward trend of 5.8% in total recorded offences. However, this increase is from an exceptionally low baseline, and Southwater remains one of the safest locations within the Horsham district. This profile makes it an ideal residential choice for those prioritising safety and community peace. The following analysis explores the specific crime types and time patterns that define this area's safety landscape.

Crime Breakdown in Southwater

Southwater is a high-safety residential area where violence and sexual offences are the most frequently reported crime type, accounting for 40.2% of all incidents. This is followed by anti-social behaviour (18.8%) and criminal damage and arson (11.2%). While these social and personal offences dominate the statistics, property-related crime is a persistent consideration for the local community.

The overall property crime rate in Southwater is 10.4 per 1,000 residents. This includes vehicle crime (6.2% of total crime), other theft (6.5%), and burglary (2.0%). For homeowners, the burglary rate of 0.7 per 1,000 is exceptionally low, but the combined figures for vehicle crime and other theft suggest that opportunistic outdoor offences are the primary threat. Residents should be aware that while the area is very safe, vehicle security and perimeter maintenance are key to deterring low-level crime and vandalism.

Crime Trends in Southwater

Southwater is currently experiencing a slight upward trend in crime, with a year-over-year increase of 5.8%. Analysis of the monthly data for 2025 reveals a fluctuating but generally low-volume pattern. The year began with a rate of 2.2 in both January and February.

Activity peaked significantly in the autumn, reaching a high of 3.9 in March and 3.6 in October. Another smaller peak occurred in the summer with 3.4 in July. These fluctuations are typical for smaller settlements where a handful of incidents can significantly impact monthly percentages. Despite the year-over-year increase, the overall crime rate remains well below national averages, confirming that Southwater continues to be a very safe community. The recent spikes suggest a need for continued community vigilance and improved security measures.

How To Keep Safe in Southwater

The most frequent crime type in Southwater is violence and sexual offences. To maintain personal safety, we recommend remaining aware of your surroundings when walking alone, particularly during the evening hours. Although the community is very safe, using well-lit paths and letting someone know your expected arrival time are always sensible precautions.

Given that criminal damage and theft are the next most common offences, property owners should focus on perimeter security. Ensure that gates are locked and that there are no easy hiding spots near entry points. For those with vehicles, the 47% concentration of vehicle crime during the night suggests that parking in a well-lit driveway or a locked garage is a highly effective deterrent. Finally, because anti-social behaviour is also present, engaging with local community groups and reporting any unusual activity to the police helps maintain the area's high safety score of 92/100. Community vigilance is a powerful tool in a settlement of this size.

Southwater Time Patterns

Crime in Southwater follows a distinct temporal pattern, with activity being lowest in the early morning and peaking during the afternoon and evening hours. The night period (12am-6am) is the quietest overall, though it sees the highest concentration of vehicle crime, which accounts for 47% of offences during these hours. Morning and afternoon periods are dominated by theft, making up over 39% of incidents as the village and surrounding commercial areas are more active.

As the day transitions into the evening (6pm-12am), the nature of crime shifts toward "other" categories, including anti-social behaviour and public order issues, representing 57% of evening reports. This suggests that while property crime is a daytime and late-night concern, social and behavioural issues are more prevalent in the evening. Understanding these shifts allows residents to better tailor their security habits, such as ensuring all entry points and vehicles are secured before dusk and during the afternoon workday.

Nearby Area Comparison

In the regional context, Southwater (35.3 per 1,000) is a high-safety leader. It is notably safer than nearby Barns Green, which recorded a rate of 47.8 per 1,000. While some adjacent rural areas like Tower Hill, Brooks Green, and Itchingfield all recorded a crime rate of 0.0 per 1,000 in this data period, Southwater remains one of the most secure settlements of its size in the Horsham area, providing a major safety advantage over larger regional hubs.

Professional Security in Southwater

Southwater's property crime rate of 10.4 per 1,000 residents is very low, but the prevalence of criminal damage (11.2% of total crime) and vehicle crime (6.2%) highlights that opportunistic offences are the primary threat. In such a high-safety area, traditional reactive security like basic CCTV often only provides footage after a rare event has occurred. For true peace of mind, residents should focus on prevention.

The scOS AI-powered security system is designed for proactive protection. In Southwater, where burglary is extremely rare, scOS provides a powerful deterrent by monitoring property boundaries. Its multi-camera intelligence can distinguish between routine movement and a potential threat, activating autonomous responses like lights or audio alerts before a crime is committed. By shifting from a system that simply "records" to one that "intervenes," scOS ensures that your property remains a hard target, preserving the high safety standards that Southwater residents enjoy.