Crime and Safety in Lawley and Overdale
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Lawley and Overdale is among the top 5 most dangerous small towns in Shropshire, and is among the top 10 most dangerous overall out of Shropshire's 215 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Lawley and Overdale in 2026 is 98 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Shropshire's overall crime rate, coming in 76% higher than the Shropshire rate of 55 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Lawley and Overdale is the 77th most dangerous small town, and the 616th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In August 2025, Lawley and Overdale had the worst crime rate in Shropshire for robbery, with 4 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.21 per 1,000 daytime population. August 2025 was also a bad month for Lawley and Overdale residents, when it was Shropshire's most dangerous area for shoplifting, recording 42 crimes at a rate of 2.2 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Lawley and Overdale are violence and sexual offences, with 765 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 40. This is 4.8% higher than 2025's figure of 730 offences and a difference of 1.78 from 2025's crime rate of 38. Lawley and Overdale's least common crime is theft from the person, with 4 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 20% from 2025's figure of 5 crimes.
Lawley and Overdale 2026 Crime Scorecard
Top 5 Most Dangerous
Small Towns, Shropshire
29% higher, regional crime rate
West Midlands
35% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Lawley and Overdale is 29% higher than the West Midlands and 35% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Lawley and Overdale Crime Rate Over Time
| Lawley and Overdale | |
| West Midlands | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Lawley and Overdale Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Lawley and Overdale represent the time frame between January 2016 and April 2026. Each point on the map represents an area where crimes have been recorded locally.
Use Crime Map
Hover over a point to see a breakdown of crime types recorded at that location. You can also filter by individual crime types, or use a combinations of offences to visualise the data you need.
See How Lawley and Overdale Compares
You can compare Lawley and Overdale's crime statistics against any other town, village, or city from across the country. Search for a location's name below to see how they stack up.
Introduction to Lawley and Overdale's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Lawley and Overdale up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Lawley and Overdale's 344 postcodes using three area sizes for comparison:
- Within a Five-Minute Walk
- Within a Ten-Minute Walk
- Within a Fifteen-Minute Walk
Individual crime risk scores and index figures are for the 12-month period ending April 2026 unless otherwise stated.
CrimeRate Insights
Looking into a specific address in Lawley and Overdale? CrimeRate Insights reports convert raw numbers into practical insight for any location, from single addresses and postcodes, up to major towns and cities.
Crime rates don’t happen by themselves; they follow people and patterns. Where crowds gather - near pubs and late-night venues, around the station, by supermarkets and forecourts - incidents naturally concentrate.
That doesn’t mean an area is "bad"; it usually means footfall is higher.
Your report explores these factors in a calm, non-judgemental way, putting the numbers in context and helping you spot what’s typical for places like this.
Crime Risk Scores
Lawley and Overdale • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Lawley and Overdale has a crime risk score of 569. This is based on analysis of 344 nearby areas within Lawley and Overdale, with "most" referring to roughly two thirds of the nearby locations.
Crime risk scores are on a scale of 1 to 1,000 and consider the severity of the crimes involved, as determined by sentencing guidelines. A score of 1 represents the lowest risk, and 1,000 the highest risk. This approach ensures that - unlike overall crime rate figures - bicycle theft is not given the same importance in Lawley and Overdale's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Lawley and Overdale, crime risk scores are typically around 569, while in Shropshire they are average 559.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 662 (556 for Shropshire), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 752 (Shropshire 546).
Trends in Crime Risk
Lawley and Overdale
Calculated via Seasonal and Trend decomposition using Loess, the Seasonality Adjusted line represents the original data with seasonality subtracted, and the Trend line has been plotted unadjusted. Overall trend direction has been identified using the Mann-Kendall trend test, and rate calculated from the slope of the best-fit line identified from linear regression.
The 10-year trend indicates a decrease of 4.5% in Lawley and Overdale's crime risk score. This is potentially a strong signal of how the crime risk is evolving. Cross-referencing with major cultural events and Covid's impact during this time is advised.
Looking at the previous five years, the trend in Lawley and Overdale's crime risk score is down by 10%. While potentially a good indicator of the overall risk trend, analysis may offer further insight when combined with the checks mentioned above.
Over the last year, Lawley and Overdale's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 18%, indicating that the risk profile is going up. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Lawley and Overdale
The CrimeRate Index shows how crime rates compare against the national average.
1.0 equals the average
2.0 is double
3.0 triple
0.5 is half and
0.25 a quarter.
Highest Crime Rates
Lawley and Overdale • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Excluding other crime and other theft because their geographic location is often not relevant, anti-social behaviour as its definition is too wide, and bicycle theft for its specificity.
Shoplifting offences have a crime rate of 26 reports per 1,000 people in Lawley and Overdale, which is 3.64 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 494 crime reports logged by West Mercia Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, West Mercia Police recorded 22 reports of Possession of Weapons in Lawley and Overdale, resulting in a crime rate of 1.17 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.50.
The crime rate for Public Order is 1.41 times the national average at 8.20 reports per 1,000. This is from 156 crime reports reported to West Mercia Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Lawley and Overdale
Excluding other crime and other theft, anti-social behaviour, and bicycle theft, and calculated with the same STL method described in Trends in Crime Risk, using CrimeRate Index figures to identify crime types that are trending above or below the national average, and the analysis timeframe limited to the last three years.
Possession of Weapons offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 2.29 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Possession of Weapons CrimeRate Index was 1.57 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 46% over this timeframe.
Robbery offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.00 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Robbery CrimeRate Index was 1.89 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 47% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.42 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 1.09 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 30% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Lawley and Overdale
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Shoplifting offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 3.26 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 5.48 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 41% over this timeframe.
Theft From the Person offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of - for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Theft From the Person CrimeRate Index was 0.85 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a near-complete decrease over this timeframe.
Public Order offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.77 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 1.39 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 45% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Lawley and Overdale • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Lawley and Overdale | Shropshire | West Midlands | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 254 | 13.33 | 1.03 | 5,722 | 9.99 | 0.71 | 59,827 | 8.79 | 0.62 |
| Bicycle Theft | 24 | 1.26 | 2.63 | 274 | 0.48 | 0.66 | 3,572 | 0.53 | 0.73 |
| Burglary | 22 | 1.15 | 0.44 | 1,274 | 2.22 | 0.71 | 24,188 | 3.54 | 1.13 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 110 | 5.78 | 0.92 | 2,819 | 4.94 | 0.79 | 43,744 | 6.42 | 1.02 |
| Drugs | 69 | 3.62 | 1.17 | 1,123 | 1.97 | 0.64 | 16,314 | 2.38 | 0.77 |
| Other Crime | 38 | 2.00 | 1.18 | 946 | 1.66 | 0.90 | 12,162 | 1.79 | 0.97 |
| Other Theft | 99 | 5.19 | 0.91 | 2,258 | 3.95 | 0.69 | 34,029 | 5.00 | 0.88 |
| Possession of Weapons | 22 | 1.17 | 1.50 | 428 | 0.75 | 0.88 | 9,710 | 1.44 | 1.69 |
| Public Order | 156 | 8.20 | 1.41 | 2,345 | 4.09 | 0.71 | 36,155 | 5.32 | 0.92 |
| Robbery | 30 | 1.58 | 1.34 | 302 | 0.53 | 0.45 | 9,171 | 1.35 | 1.14 |
| Shoplifting | 494 | 25.95 | 3.64 | 3,081 | 5.40 | 0.76 | 51,348 | 7.55 | 1.06 |
| Theft From the Person | 4 | 0.20 | 0.37 | 112 | 0.20 | 0.13 | 3,487 | 0.49 | 0.32 |
| Vehicle Crime | 24 | 1.25 | 0.35 | 950 | 1.67 | 0.39 | 38,628 | 5.68 | 1.32 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 765 | 40.16 | 1.32 | 15,780 | 27.58 | 0.91 | 231,901 | 34.05 | 1.12 |
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Total Crime by Year
Lawley and Overdale | Shropshire | West Midlands | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 1,857 | 97.51 | 1.41 | 31,692 | 55.44 | 0.77 | 514,409 | 75.54 | 1.05 |
| 2025 | 1,852 | 99.59 | 1.37 | 31,757 | 55.86 | 0.75 | 516,162 | 76.32 | 1.03 |
| 2024 | 1,941 | 107.71 | 1.45 | 34,312 | 60.90 | 0.81 | 539,253 | 80.45 | 1.07 |
| 2023 | 1,989 | 114.32 | 1.49 | 36,711 | 65.97 | 0.83 | 598,904 | 90.62 | 1.15 |
| 2022 | 1,712 | 100.93 | 1.36 | 34,685 | 63.11 | 0.82 | 564,120 | 86.38 | 1.12 |
| 2021 | 1,230 | 74.18 | 1.12 | 28,627 | 52.82 | 0.77 | 463,870 | 71.46 | 1.04 |
| 2020 | 1,571 | 97.18 | 1.35 | 32,796 | 61.19 | 0.83 | 450,576 | 69.72 | 0.94 |
| 2019 | 1,704 | 107.58 | 1.43 | 32,913 | 61.83 | 0.81 | 460,715 | 71.52 | 0.94 |
| 2018 | 1,509 | 97.75 | 1.43 | 31,344 | 59.34 | 0.83 | 430,050 | 67.10 | 0.94 |
| 2017 | 1,164 | 78.73 | 1.29 | 29,700 | 56.84 | 0.89 | 395,755 | 62.08 | 0.97 |
| 2016 | 371 | 25.50 | 1.40 | 8,920 | 17.12 | 0.90 | 117,881 | 18.57 | 0.97 |
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Lawley and Overdale Compared to Nearby Small Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Small Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stirchley and Brookside | 1,276 | 114.84 | 18% more dangerous |
| Great Dawley | 1,416 | 103.78 | 6% more dangerous |
| Madeley | 2,064 | 102.53 | 5% more dangerous |
| Lawley and Overdale | 1,857 | 97.51 | - |
| Wellington | 1,897 | 74.75 | 23% safer |
| Ludlow | 710 | 66.85 | 31% safer |
| Oswestry | 1,315 | 66.80 | 31% safer |
| Lilleshall | 39 | 27.64 | 72% safer |
| Market Drayton | 801 | 60.38 | 38% safer |
| Oakengates | 738 | 64.07 | 34% safer |
| Whitchurch Urban | 605 | 56.80 | 42% safer |
| Bridgnorth | 724 | 58.05 | 40% safer |
| St Georges and Priorslee | 869 | 58.45 | 40% safer |
| Hadley & Leegomery | 917 | 50.09 | 49% safer |
| Shifnal | 495 | 44.67 | 54% safer |
Comparing Lawley and Overdale to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 18% safer |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 15% safer |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 14% safer |
| Lawley and Overdale | 97.51 | - |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 0.37% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 7% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 8% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 9% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 10% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 10% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 28% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
To download charts and tables, you must subscribed to CrimeRate Pro
You can find out more, or get a CrimeRate Insights report that includes further analysis.
Offences In and Around Lawley and Overdale's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Lawley and Overdale that are named and have had crimes recorded within their boundaries in the 12 months to Apr 2026.
| Name | ASB | Drugs | Public Order | Robbery | VSO | All Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawley Village Green | 3 | - | 3 | - | 8 | 6 |
| Cow Wood | 2 | - | 3 | - | 9 | 2 |
| Lawley and Overdale Community Garden | 2 | - | - | - | 2 | 4 |
| Old Park | 15 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 18 | 105 |
| Newdale | 3 | - | 1 | - | 6 | 9 |
Recent Crimes in Lawley and Overdale
The 20 most recent crime reports in Lawley and Overdale.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Telford Bus Station | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Hollinsgate | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Telford Bus Station | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Telford Bus Station | |
| April 2026 | Robbery | On or near Shopping Area | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Shopping Area | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Telford Bus Station | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Telford Bus Station | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Telford Bus Station | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Telford Bus Station | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Telford Bus Station | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Shopping Area | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Telford Bus Station | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Shopping Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Telford Bus Station | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Telford Bus Station | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Telford Bus Station | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Well Croft | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Linnel Grove | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Linnel Grove |
Methodology & Data Sources
Lawley and Overdale Crime Report
Data Sources & Processing
Every month, CrimeRate processes crime reports from data.police.uk, the UK's official provider of open crime report data. Each crime report includes anonymised coordinates, most often "snapped" to the middle of the nearest street, or to the nearest major landmark. The reports also include the month and year the crime was reported, as well as the type of crime.
Data releases on data.police.uk happen once a month, with a two-month delay. This means that, for example, crimes reported in Lawley and Overdale during June 2026 will typically become available in August 2026. The latest release is for Apr 2026 and was released in Jun 2026. To provide current and historical crime statistics, CrimeRate processed 61,669,232 crime reports for the latest release.
Lawley and Overdale Data Points
For Lawley and Overdale, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2023 release of their Parishes and Non Civil Parished Areas dataset, using the PARNCP23CD column value E04000934.
Due to the 2021 Census being conducted during a UK-wide Coronavirus lockdown, the daytime population figures released so far cannot be relied on for purposes such as comparing crime rates. Instead, CrimeRate uses Lawley and Overdale's daytime - or "workday" - population of 14,247 from the ONS 2011 Census for calculations throughout the site.
All geographic boundaries use the full resolution - extent of the realm versions where provided to avoid missing crime reports near coastlines and rivers - the banks of the Thames in particular - that would otherwise not be included when using the clipped to the coastline datasets.
Calculating Crime Rates
CrimeRate locates the UK region, county, and town/city/village locality for each crime report, and calculates the crime rate by taking the sum of all crime reports, dividing it by the locality's daytime / "workday" population, and multiplying the result by 1,000 to get the crime rate per 1,000.
Crime Risk Score Calculations
CrimeRate calculates crime counts for local, nearby, and wider areas for every postcode in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The postcodes locations are deduplicated by a process that ensures distinct points are approximately 50 metres apart. This process removes the bias that would otherwise come from counting the same crimes several times in heavily populated areas.
Using a custom algorithm developed in-house, CrimeRate applies a crime severity weighting to each area's crime counts, based on the type of crime reported. This increases or decreases the crime count, or zeroes it out entirely, depending on the crime type. A separate crime severity rate is then calculated, standardised, and scaled to fit the crime risk score range of 1 to 1,000, with 1 being the lowest score, and 1,000 the highest.
Crime risk scores undergo further analysis per town, city, and village plus other areas including police forces and neighbourhoods. CrimeRate uses percentiles to work out the most common range of crime risk scores in each locality. This includes identifying the high and low bounds where approximately 68% of scores fall, and finding the median (50th percentile) for easy reference.
The crime types with a weight of zero are: Anti-Social Behaviour; Bicycle Theft; Other Crime; Other Theft; and Shoplifting. The highest weights to are assigned to Violence & Sexual Offences, and the lowest to Vehicle Crime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crime in Lawley and Overdale