Crap Towns / Harpenden / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Harpenden?

There were 2.3 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Harpenden from April 2023 to March 2026, 60% lower than the typical town's 5.7. The most common were other outdoor fires, at 0.9. In 2025/26 it was 3.6, up from 0.7 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	0.7	5.2
2024/25	2.6	5.4
2025/26	3.6	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Other outdoor fires	0.9	1.5
Bins and rubbish set on fire	0.9	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	0.5	1.7

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Welwyn Garden City	10.8 km	6.8
Hemel Hempstead	10.7 km	5.9
Redbourn	3.9 km	5.8
St Albans	7.1 km	5.7
Luton	10.3 km	5.3
London Colney	11.4 km	4.3
Abbots Langley and Kings Langley	13.4 km	4.2
Hatfield	9.8 km	3.6
Chiswell Green	10.4 km	2.7
Radlett	14.7 km	2.4
Harpenden	–	2.3
The typical town	–	5.7