Southwater Crime Rate May 2025 | Monthly Statistics

The crime profile of Southwater in May 2025 reveals a distinct balance between violent and non-violent offences, shaped by the area's built-up character within Horsham. With a total crime rate of 2.7 per 1,000 residents—66.7% below the UK average—the area continues to demonstrate a pattern of low overall crime, though with notable variations in specific categories. Violence and sexual offences dominate, accounting for 50% of all reported crimes, a share that remains 54% below the UK average of 2.8 per 1,000. This suggests that while violent crime is present, its frequency is significantly lower than national trends, possibly due to the area's compactness and community-oriented policing. Anti-social behaviour, the second most common category (26.7% of total crimes), also falls well below the UK average of 1.4 per 1,000.7% increase from April. This spike may be linked to the seasonal context of May, with longer evenings and increased outdoor socialising creating environments conducive to such incidents. The presence of criminal damage and arson (6.7% of total crimes) at 0.2 per 1,000—67% below the UK average—further illustrates a pattern where property-related crimes are rare but not absent. These data points collectively indicate a crime picture that is largely shaped by the area's demographic and spatial characteristics: its proximity to Horsham, the density of its built environment, and the likely influence of local social dynamics. However, the seasonal context of May, with its mix of bank holidays and extended daylight hours, may also contribute to shifts in criminal activity, as seen in the rise of anti-social behaviour. This balance between low-level and more serious offences highlights the need for targeted interventions that address both the immediate and underlying factors influencing Southwater's crime profile.

May 2025 saw sharp fluctuations in specific crime categories, despite an overall decline in Southwater's crime rate. Anti-social behaviour surged by 166.7%, rising from 3 to 8 incidents—a jump that, while statistically significant, remains well below the UK average of 1.4 per 1,000. This increase may reflect the elongated evenings and increased outdoor socialising typical of May, though the area's built-up nature likely limits the scale of such incidents. Meanwhile, violence and sexual offences fell by 21.1%, dropping from 19 to 15. This category, which constitutes 50% of all crimes, remains 54% below the UK average of 2.8 per 1,000. The simultaneous rise in anti-social behaviour and fall in violent crime suggests a shift in criminal activity from more severe to lower-level offences. Residents might note that vehicle crime and drugs offences both doubled from zero to one incident, a spike that could indicate transient factors or underreporting in these categories.

Southwater's crime rate in May 2025 stood at 2.7 per 1,000 residents, marking a 19.0% decrease from April's 3.3 per 1,000. This decline, though modest, aligns with the area's historically low crime profile. On a daily basis, the 30 reported crimes over 31 days equate to approximately one incident per day—a figure that, while small, reflects the area's built-up character within Horsham. When scaled to the population of 11,332, the monthly exposure means one reported crime occurred for roughly every 378 residents. This statistic contextualises the likelihood of encountering crime: for any given resident, the chance of being directly affected by a crime in May was about 0.27%. Such a low rate, combined with the area's compact nature, suggests that community awareness and local policing may play a role in maintaining this level of safety. However, the data also reveals variability—while overall rates are low, specific categories like anti-social behaviour saw dramatic month-on-month increases, indicating that localised factors can still influence crime patterns.