Crime in Somerset

[DutchMark]

Dear all,

Me and my wife are thinking about moving to Somerset with our four-year-old daughter. We currently live in the Netherlands. Looking into the safety of the county, for ourselves and our daughter (now and in the future), what would be the safest area? It is very easy to collect all the crime data available but very hard to get actual real life experiences from people who live in Somerset. Towns, cities and areas get recommended in all kinds of lists but some of those recommendations seem pretty unsafe (Frome, Taunton etc).
As we do not live there yet, I hope some of you wonderful members can offer some insight and advice.

Thanks in advance! And all the best wishes.

Somerset on the whole is one of the safest counties in the UK. Many of the small towns around Bristol like Portishead and Nailsea have very low crime. Yeovil, Bridgwater, Taunton, and Weston-Super-Mare are the 4 towns with the highest crime rates, so perhaps avoid them if safety is a priority.

Somerset generally is pretty low-crime. It's a 'sleepy' county. Frome and Taunton are not the Bronx. Perhaps I'd avoid Keynsham though? 😀

Hi, I live in a village in Somerset. We have had petty crime like unlocked cars having stuff stolen from inside and some burglary of outbuildings for bikes etc.

I would say like most places there's a difference in what you'll perceive depending on what part of town/countryside you live in. Somerset is a big county with a lot of market towns and villages. To save you some time I'd avoid Bridgewater, Weston Super Mare, Yeovil and Chard. Not really from a crime perspective just they aren't really the best the county has to offer.

If you include North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset you get the City of Bath and the outskirts of Bristol which have more of a city vibe. Any idea where in particular you're looking at?

I've been living in West Somerset for several years and crime there is very low. It's very beautiful, but quite remote though, with poor transport links and employment is limited.

Moved back home to North Somerset recently and again, low crime but much better transport links and all the benefits of Bristol and Bath on the doorstep. It's easy to have a very good quality of life here.

Somerset has a rural, creative alternative vibe in general and even the worst rating crime areas are still pretty safe. It's the mild, mild West.

Thank you all so far. It is difficult to ascertain the safety (or lack thereof) from afar. Your contributions are very helpful.
We have not decided on a particular area, it somewhat depends on your answers. And the shools, obviously. We need an area with good schools, that is safe and offers job opportunities. It feels like a big ask but not impossible. We will travel to the UK this summer to get a feel of Somerset, the heart needs to feel like it belongs in a place just as much as the mind.

I live in n Somerset. It's pretty low crime. Yes you get occasional burglaries, car crimes etc but they tend to be out of town groups that come in at night to different towns I'm told.

Antisocial behaviour is lower than average which is what you expect for an area with higher than average income. Rather than crime i would consider what other factors are important to you eg near fast transport networks? Airport? The sea? Big city? I've basically got all of this and the advantages of a smaller town

For job opportunities the towns south and sw of Bristol are probably your best option as it's a major city. Portishead (fingers crossed) has a new railway line being built too. Always available for a coffee and chat in real life if you visit!

As mentioned it's a low crime area, but actually of the crime that does happen, how much would affect you? A proportion of that will be things like livestock and farm machinery theft due to the rural nature, plus other things that just wouldn't affect you day to day

What made you think of Somerset in the first place?

I hope you have a lovely holiday here in Somerset.

It's such a varied place with cities, moors, coast and the glorious Somerset levels, I'm sure you will find at least one area that touches your heart.

I live in a small village near Cheddar. It's a lovely area, with good schools and commutable to Bristol. Feel free to message me if I can help.