POLICE and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez has called into question the accuracy of statistics following reports in the national media that Teignmouth has the ‘most crime-ridden beach’ in the country.

According to a national newspaper, the popular seaside town has been given the label based on statistics ‘uncovered’ by its own data team.

In separate news, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) prompted headlines in the media that ‘just half’ of people in Devon and Cornwall think local police are doing a good or excellent job.

The survey saw the region score above the national average of 49 per cent, giving it a ranking of 22 out of 43 forces for ratings in this area.

Commissioner Alison Hernandez has warned that such stories are not always a true reflection of crime rates or public feeling because of the way the data is collected and then presented.

Following the publication of the story that has shone an unfavourable spotlight on Teignmouth, its neighbourhood policing team took to social media to ‘set the record straight’, stating it believed the article was ‘misleading and an inaccurate representation’.

Similarly, the Commissioner has questioned the reliability of the ONS survey on perceptions of the police and criminal justice system because it differs with an independent survey recently commissioned by Devon & Cornwall Police to gauge public confidence in policing.

She conceded that although the ONS stats are correct in that 50 per cent of survey respondents from Devon and Cornwall stated their local police do an excellent or good job, the data only uses a small sample of 512 people.

In comparison, the police commissioned survey was based on around 2,000 respondents - demographically representative of Devon and Cornwall’s population – with 78 per cent agreeing they had confidence in the force for the year ending May 2025.

Commissioner Hernandez said: ‘Had that been turned into a news story, the headline instead would have been more than three quarters of people have confidence in the police in our area which is a statistic the force can rightly be proud of.

‘Even more important to note is the ONS themselves have admitted that ‘being based on small sample sizes, police force area estimates from the CSEW are less robust than national level estimates and should be treated with extreme caution’.

‘Public confidence is at the heart of policing and it is essential that we continue to ask the public for their thoughts and opinions – but those responses must be presented in context.’

The Commissioner has also criticised ‘sensationalist’ headlines reported by a national newspaper based on statistics from its data team.

It stated 261 crimes were reported per square kilometre on Spratt Sands, Teignmouth – a rate higher than any other beach in the UK from July 2024 to June 2025.

Teignmouth and Dawlish Police were quick to react to ‘set the record straight’ stating the figures related to a ‘very small, specific location’, and were ‘skewed’.

Force statistics state that over a 12-month period, 46 crimes were recorded on Spratt Sands, which is less than four a month.

For context, 74 other coastal locations in the UK have a higher crime rate than Teignmouth.

The issue appeared to be crimes reported in the wider area were logged to a single spot on its systems.

Prior to the media reports, Commissioner Hernandez had already planned to visit the town this week after being asked to listen to concerns over issues including anti-social behaviour and drug use.

She said: ‘Sensationalist media headlines such as ‘Britain’s most crime-ridden beach’ clearly put a worrying spotlight on locations and, unfortunately, it is Teignmouth that has been branded with the unwanted accolade.

‘It is not a true reflection of daily life within the community which is a wonderful place to both live and visit.

‘I have been requesting that we are recognised by the government as the number one tourist destination in the country in the way it distributes police funding and the level we require, especially during the summer months.

‘It is clear that Teignmouth – like so many other seaside towns – does have anti-social behaviour and crime issues that do need to be tackled.

‘It is why I am meeting Teignmouth Town Councillor Keith Underhill this week for a walk around problematic areas of the town after he recently made me aware of some concerning issues.

‘I will also be meeting with the Teignmouth Neighbourhood Policing Team to hear what they are doing to resolve those issues to keep residents and businesses safe.’