Somerset’s low-level crime shows a clear local pattern

Shoplifting, criminal damage, break-ins and car crime have remained a consistent part of the police picture across Glastonbury, Street, Shepton Mallet and Wells over the past three years.

Figures from Avon and Somerset Police show the same lower-level offences appearing again and again across all four places. The balance is different in each area, but the wider pattern is clear: the crimes people are most likely to notice in day-to-day life are also among the most persistent.

Wells and Glastonbury lead on shoplifting

Wells and Glastonbury stand out most strongly for shoplifting.

Wells recorded 433 shoplifting offences over the three-year period, while Glastonbury was close behind on 430. Street had 270 and Shepton Mallet had 210. In percentage terms, Wells had the highest shoplifting share, with the category making up 14.7 per cent of all crime types in the city. In Glastonbury it was 11.7 per cent. Street was lower at 9 per cent and Shepton Mallet lower again at 6.8 per cent.

That makes Wells the clearest shoplifting hotspot in this comparison, with Glastonbury close behind.

Why Wells stands out

Police documents give a clear indication of why Wells stands out in this category.

Avon and Somerset Police says shoplifting remains a priority in Wells city centre and identifies Wells High Street as "a particular hotspot due to the concentration of retail premises and footfall, making it more vulnerable to repeat offending". The force also says the issue is having "a negative impact on businesses, staff, and public confidence" and has led to targeted patrols and work with local businesses.

That suggests Wells' stronger shoplifting profile is linked to the character of the city centre itself: a compact retail core, busy footfall and a concentration of shops in one area. It also means the problem is being actively prioritised and monitored by local policing teams, which can bring more repeat offending into focus.

Street has the highest burglary total

Street stands out in a different way.

The village recorded 134 burglaries over the same period, the highest total of the four areas. Wells had 105, while Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet both recorded 79.

That gives Street a different local crime profile from Wells, where shoplifting is more dominant in the figures.

Shepton Mallet records the most vehicle crime

Shepton Mallet had the highest vehicle crime total, with 106 offences.

Street followed on 90, Glastonbury on 87 and Wells on 62.

Vehicle crime was not the biggest category overall anywhere in this comparison, but the figures show it was more prominent in Shepton Mallet than in the other three areas.

Glastonbury stands out for anti-social behaviour

Glastonbury's strongest pattern was in anti-social behaviour.

It recorded 654 incidents across the period, well above Street on 394, Wells on 375 and Shepton Mallet on 370. Glastonbury also had the highest public order total, with 446 offences, compared with 310 in Street, 280 in Shepton Mallet and 279 in Wells.

That means Glastonbury stood out not only for shoplifting, but also for offences linked to nuisance and disorder in public spaces.

Why Glastonbury stands out

Police documents point to a town-centre concentration in Glastonbury's anti-social behaviour pattern.

Avon and Somerset Police says Glastonbury town centre continues to experience periodic anti-social behaviour, particularly around the High Street, Market Place, St Dunstan's Car Park and the Abbey gateway. The force also says increased footfall linked to warmer weather and tourism creates a need for early action, with patrols focused on peak periods including after school, early evenings and weekends.

A Glastonbury Town Council crime reduction committee document adds wider context. It records an inspector saying the rate of reported anti-social behaviour in Glastonbury is high, and that officers spend "a disproportionate amount of time" dealing with safeguarding and crime incidents linked to around 200 temporary accommodations around the town, including the Zig Zag site. The same report says police patrol the surrounding area on every shift unless a serious incident elsewhere prevents it.

The same document says Glastonbury had the highest harm score of any town or village in East Somerset in that analysis, and records the inspector saying street crime and anti-social behaviour in the town centre had previously been "almost out of control" before a problem-solving plan reduced crime and disorder there by 25 per cent over 18 months, though rates remained high.

Taken together, those documents suggest Glastonbury's anti-social behaviour pattern is being driven by a mix of town-centre hotspot locations, visitor footfall and wider safeguarding pressures involving vulnerable people. Police have said they are working with the community, businesses and the church "to build a clearer picture of ASB across Glastonbury".

Criminal damage is a common thread

Criminal damage and arson was one of the clearest common threads across all four areas.

Glastonbury recorded 236 offences, Wells 209, Shepton Mallet 207 and Street 192.

Those totals show that vandalism and property damage are not concentrated in one place. They appear consistently across the patch.

The biggest category overall in every area was violence and sexual offences. But the lower-level categories still stand out because they are the offences that repeatedly appear in city streets, town centres, village locations, car parks and residential areas.

Outcomes show a similar pattern

The outcomes data shows another strong pattern across all four places.

In Wells, the two largest outcome categories were "status update unavailable" at 39.3 per cent and "unable to prosecute suspect" at 28.6 per cent. In Glastonbury, the same two categories stood at 34.1 per cent and 28.6 per cent. In Street they were 34.1 per cent and 31.6 per cent. In Shepton Mallet they reached 36.9 per cent and 32.9 per cent.

That means those two categories alone accounted for 67.9 per cent of outcomes in Wells, 62.7 per cent in Glastonbury, 65.7 per cent in Street and 69.8 per cent in Shepton Mallet.

Other outcomes were much smaller by comparison. Local resolution ranged from 0.7 per cent in Glastonbury to 1.6 per cent in Street. Cases listed as under investigation were between 1.7 per cent in Wells and 2.4 per cent in Street and Shepton Mallet. Awaiting court outcome was 1.1 per cent or lower in all four areas.

Police comment

Avon and Somerset Police says anti-social behaviour can have "a negative impact on businesses, staff, and public confidence" in Wells, and in Glastonbury says officers are working to ensure the town centre remains "a safe and welcoming environment for residents, businesses, and visitors".

The wider picture

Taken together, the figures show each area has its own pattern.

Wells has the strongest shoplifting profile, and police have linked that to the concentration of shops and footfall in the city centre. Street has the highest burglary total. Shepton Mallet records the most vehicle crime. Glastonbury stands out for anti-social behaviour and public order, with police and council documents pointing to hotspot locations, visitor pressure and wider safeguarding issues as part of the picture.

The wider story is shared. Across all four areas, the lower-level offences that may not always make the biggest standalone headline keep turning up in the data.

That is what gives this set of figures its significance: not one sudden spike in one place, but the same kinds of offences appearing repeatedly across this part of Somerset.

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Somerset’s low-level crime shows a clear local pattern