21 robberies were recorded within a mile of central Watford in August, against 4 a year before. Shoplifting and burglary rose too; violence fell by a fifth.
Police recorded 21 robberies within a mile of central Watford in August. That is the highest monthly figure in the 13 months of published data, and more than five times the 4 recorded in August 2025. The previous high was 13, in May.
The figures come from the latest police.uk street-level crime data, which Hertfordshire Constabulary supplies to the Home Office. August 2026 is the newest month published.
Where the robberies were mapped
Police.uk does not give exact addresses. It moves each crime to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points. Of the 21 August robberies:
- 7 were mapped to the point police.uk labels “Shopping Area”
- 4 to “Parking Area”
- 2 to Lower Derby Road
- 2 to “Theatre/concert Hall”
- 6 to six other points, one each
Nineteen of the 21 were still under investigation when the data was published. In the other two, the investigation was complete and no suspect had been identified.
Robbery is theft using force or the threat of force. The police.uk category covers robberies of people and of businesses together, and it does not separate them.
What else changed in August
Across all crime types, police.uk logs 694 crimes within a mile of the centre in August. That is up from 678 a year earlier, and down from 717 in July, the highest month in the series.
| Category | August 2025 | July 2026 | August 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All crime | 678 | 717 | 694 |
| Violence and sexual offences | 241 | 204 | 188 |
| Anti-social behaviour | 116 | 163 | 159 |
| Shoplifting | 69 | 98 | 93 |
| Vehicle crime | 35 | 14 | 36 |
| Burglary | 18 | 10 | 23 |
| Robbery | 4 | 12 | 21 |
| Bicycle theft | 11 | 16 | 20 |
The main movements on a year earlier:
- Violence and sexual offences fell by 22%, from 241 to 188. It is still the largest category.
- Anti-social behaviour rose by 37%, from 116 to 159.
- Shoplifting rose by 35%, from 69 to 93. Only July, at 98, was higher.
- Burglary rose from 18 to 23. The 13-month high is still January, with 28.
Shoplifting has been climbing since the spring. It was 47 in April. We reported in September that the Watford Central policing team has kept retail crime at the top of its priorities, and these figures do not yet show the effect of that.
What it means for you
- Report a robbery straight away on 999 if it is happening or has just happened, or if someone is hurt.
- For anything after the event, use 101 or Hertfordshire Constabulary’s online reporting. The figures only exist because people report, and they shape where the neighbourhood team patrols.
- You can see crimes mapped near your own street on police.uk.
About these figures
These are our own counts from the police.uk API, using a one-mile radius of Watford town centre. That covers the High Street, Atria Watford, the ring road and the streets just outside it. It is a different boundary from the Watford Central neighbourhood area in our September story, so the two sets of numbers do not match.
Monthly counts this small move around a lot. A single month at 21 does not show a lasting trend, and the September figures, due from police.uk later this month, will show whether it holds. Police.uk shows crimes as recorded, not convictions.
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