MINEHEAD is among the top ten most dangerous small towns in Somerset and in April was the worst small town in the county for public order offences, according to a new survey by a specialist data analysis company.

Brighton-based CrimeRate.co.uk uses data analysis and geographic information systems to assess crime trends in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Their statement said: “We aggregate open police force data, social media signals and file freedom of information requests with local police departments to build a complete catalogue of crime and safety information in a region.

“A geographic information system (GIS) is a system that creates, manages, analyses, and maps all types of data. The overall crime rate in Minehead in 2023 was 79 crimes per 1,000 people.

“This compares poorly with Somerset's overall crime rate, coming in 19% higher than the county’s rate of 66 per 1,000 daytime population.

“For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole Minehead is the 370th most dangerous small town, and the 1,849th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.

According to the CrimeRate study, in April this year Minehead was also the worst small town in Somerset for bicycle theft, with three crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.24 per 1,000 daytime population. 

April was also claimed to be bad month for residents, when it became Somerset's most dangerous small town for public order, recording 18 crimes at a rate of 1.4 per 1,000 daytime population.

The most common crimes in Minehead are claimed to be violence and sexual offences, with 449 offences during 2023, giving it a crime rate of 36. This, according to CrimeRate calculations, is 6% higher than 2022's figure of 424 offences and a difference of 2.00 from 2022's crime rate of 34.

Minehead's least common crime is robbery, with only two offences recorded in 2023, a decrease of 50% from 2022's figure of four crimes.

The Crimerate stated added, that to put the 2024 figures in context, although Minehead’s crime-rate is 20% higher than the Southwest average, it is 10% lower than the current national crime rate.