An analysis of Police.uk data for the four urban policing neighbourhoods – North Yarmouth, South Yarmouth, Cobholm and Southtown, and Gorleston – shows 7,647 crimes were recorded across 2025.

Violent crime accounted for just over 41pc of the total, ahead of anti‑social behaviour, criminal damage and arson, and shoplifting. July was the busiest month, with 718 offences compared with 536 in December.

Theatre Plain, in the town centre, was the street‑level location with the most recorded crime, with 261 incidents – almost 22 a month.

Police on Theatre Plain in Great Yarmouth. (Image: Supplied)

Violent crimes and shoplifting were logged 69 times, making up nearly half of all offences recorded “on or near” Theatre Plain, beside the Market Place and Market Gates shopping centre.

Other offences included anti‑social behaviour, public order, criminal damage and arson, drugs, theft, possession of weapons and burglary.

The high rate of crime - which peaked in July - is likely linked to the concentration of retail, hospitality and night‑time economy venues in the area.

After Theatre Plain, the streets with the highest numbers of recorded offences were Alexandra Road, Thamesfield Way and Orford Close.

Seafront shopping artery Regent Road and residential streets Harbord Crescent and Saxon Road also appear in the top 10, along with Paget Road, Brittania Road and historic town‑centre thoroughfare King Street.

Regent Road in Great Yarmouth was among the sreets recording the most crime in 2025. (Image: Denise Bradley)

Alexandra Road, which links Market Gates with St George's Park, saw 113 crimes over the year – more than half recorded as violent offences.

Thamesfield Way, serving the Pasteur Retail Park at Southtown, recorded 112 crimes, with high levels of criminal damage and drugs offences alongside violence and shoplifting.

The drugs total there was the highest of any street in the top 10.

Several of the streets in the table sit in or next to neighbourhoods ranked among the most deprived in England.

Orford Close - one of only two streets in the list where social housing predominates - recorded 98 crimes.

Orford Close in Great Yarmouth. (Image: Google Maps)

On the seafront side, Regent Road recorded 74 offences in 2025. Violent incidents again dominated, but other thefts and shoplifting were also prominent.

Harbord Crescent, with 71 crimes, Saxon Road with 64, Paget Road and Brittania Road, both with 62, and King Street with 59 recorded crimes, completed the list of the 10 locations with the most crime.

Other location types such as supermarkets, shopping areas, petrol stations, police stations, parking areas, sports and recreation areas, nightclubs and conference or exhibition centres were excluded from the rankings despite their high crime numbers.

This is because these locations are categorised based on function rather than street names.

Police also urge caution when interpreting the data. Crime locations on Police.uk are approximate, snapped to the nearest pre‑defined map point, so an offence recorded as “on or near Theatre Plain” may have occurred anywhere within the catchment area of that snap point, not necessarily on Theatre Plain itself.

High‑footfall spots - from shopping streets and seafront attractions to pub clusters and car parks - will tend to look like hotspots simply because more people pass through them.

Compared with the rest of the county, Great Yarmouth continues to record a higher rate of crime, particularly violence, anti‑social behaviour and shoplifting, than many inland market towns.

For the latest full‑year figures, the town is running at about 115 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents, using Police.uk data for August 2024 to July 2025.

The rate is significantly higher than the Norfolk average of around 64 crimes per 1,000 people over a similar period, and above the England rate of about 86 per 1,000.

© Eastern Daily Press