Dorset Crime Statistics
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
The overall crime rate in Dorset as of April 2026 is 48 crimes per 1,000 people, and the most common crimes are violence and sexual offences, with reports coming from roughly every 21 out of 1,000 daytime population.
Comparing Dorset's larger towns and cities, and using Crime Risk Scores - which are calculated by taking severity of each crime type into account - Weymouth is the most dangerous. The next most dangerous is Bournemouth, and Poole comes in as third most dangerous. There are safer parts of Dorset, identified using the same Crime Risk measurement, starting with Christchurch which ranks as the safest area in Dorset.
Dorset Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Dorset represent the time frame between January 2016 and April 2026. Each point on the map represents an area where crimes have been recorded locally.
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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.
Introduction to Dorset's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Dorset up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Dorset's 36,284 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.
Crime Risk Scores
Dorset • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Dorset has a crime risk score of 377. This is based on analysis of 36,284 nearby areas within Dorset, 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 Dorset's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Dorset, crime risk scores are typically around 377, while in South West they are average 510.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 392 (506 for South West), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 390 (South West 503).
Trends in Crime Risk
Dorset
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 15% in Dorset'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 Dorset's crime risk score is down by 9%. 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, Dorset's crime risk score has shown a downward trend of approximately 7%, indicating that the risk profile is going down. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Dorset
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
Dorset • 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.
Vehicle Crime offences have a crime rate of 3.26 reports per 1,000 people in Dorset, which is 0.76 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 2,837 crime reports logged by Dorset Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Dorset Police recorded 2,032 reports of Burglary in Dorset, resulting in a crime rate of 2.34 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 0.75.
The crime rate for Shoplifting is 0.74 times the national average at 5.28 reports per 1,000. This is from 4,576 crime reports reported to Dorset Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Dorset
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.
Drugs offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.52 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 0.29 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 79% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Dorset
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.71 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 0.77 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 8% over this timeframe.
Burglary offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.75 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Burglary CrimeRate Index was 0.73 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 2.7% over this timeframe.
Shoplifting offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.73 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 0.76 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 3.9% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Dorset • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Dorset | South West | Dorset Police | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 14,095 | 16.23 | 1.15 | 82,030 | 12.62 | 0.89 | 14,107 | 16.21 | 1.15 |
| Bicycle Theft | 551 | 0.63 | 0.86 | 3,702 | 0.54 | 0.74 | 551 | 0.63 | 0.86 |
| Burglary | 2,032 | 2.34 | 0.75 | 15,750 | 2.42 | 0.77 | 2,034 | 2.32 | 0.74 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 3,993 | 4.60 | 0.73 | 36,459 | 5.64 | 0.90 | 3,999 | 4.59 | 0.73 |
| Drugs | 1,127 | 1.30 | 0.42 | 10,358 | 1.60 | 0.52 | 1,127 | 1.29 | 0.42 |
| Other Crime | 531 | 0.61 | 0.33 | 8,931 | 1.38 | 0.75 | 531 | 0.61 | 0.33 |
| Other Theft | 3,508 | 4.04 | 0.71 | 31,450 | 4.85 | 0.85 | 3,509 | 4.04 | 0.71 |
| Possession of Weapons | 331 | 0.38 | 0.45 | 3,967 | 0.62 | 0.73 | 331 | 0.38 | 0.45 |
| Public Order | 2,672 | 3.08 | 0.53 | 36,669 | 5.63 | 0.97 | 2,678 | 3.08 | 0.53 |
| Robbery | 403 | 0.46 | 0.39 | 4,567 | 0.70 | 0.59 | 403 | 0.46 | 0.39 |
| Shoplifting | 4,576 | 5.28 | 0.74 | 37,365 | 5.76 | 0.81 | 4,577 | 5.28 | 0.74 |
| Theft From the Person | 255 | 0.31 | 0.20 | 2,043 | 0.33 | 0.21 | 255 | 0.31 | 0.20 |
| Vehicle Crime | 2,837 | 3.26 | 0.76 | 16,666 | 2.56 | 0.60 | 2,838 | 3.25 | 0.76 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 18,680 | 21.48 | 0.71 | 189,257 | 29.13 | 0.96 | 18,703 | 21.46 | 0.71 |
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Total Crime by Year
Dorset | South West | Dorset Police | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 41,496 | 47.77 | 0.66 | 397,184 | 61.16 | 0.85 | 41,536 | 47.70 | 0.66 |
| 2025 | 46,124 | 53.54 | 0.72 | 402,192 | 62.40 | 0.84 | 46,165 | 53.53 | 0.72 |
| 2024 | 46,618 | 54.50 | 0.72 | 357,420 | 55.92 | 0.74 | 46,673 | 54.44 | 0.72 |
| 2023 | 47,122 | 55.37 | 0.70 | 360,086 | 56.89 | 0.72 | 47,197 | 55.38 | 0.70 |
| 2022 | 48,759 | 57.79 | 0.75 | 351,958 | 56.19 | 0.73 | 48,845 | 57.81 | 0.75 |
| 2021 | 45,886 | 54.68 | 0.80 | 311,592 | 50.21 | 0.73 | 45,949 | 54.70 | 0.80 |
| 2020 | 49,690 | 59.43 | 0.80 | 343,342 | 55.68 | 0.75 | 49,775 | 59.44 | 0.80 |
| 2019 | 52,052 | 62.33 | 0.82 | 348,574 | 56.87 | 0.75 | 52,120 | 62.35 | 0.82 |
| 2018 | 46,778 | 56.19 | 0.79 | 340,408 | 55.87 | 0.79 | 46,862 | 56.20 | 0.79 |
| 2017 | 42,348 | 51.17 | 0.80 | 312,784 | 51.72 | 0.81 | 42,459 | 51.26 | 0.80 |
| 2016 | 13,096 | 15.85 | 0.83 | 92,229 | 15.29 | 0.80 | 13,122 | 15.84 | 0.83 |
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The Dorset Streets With The Highest Crime Counts
Each police crime report that CrimeRate receives has a street name automatically assigned to it by the police data team, and this table uses the coordinates to count crimes, rather than the street name alone. That way, if Dorset has multiple identical street names - which is not unusual - they will be treated separately by CrimeRate's systems.
| Street | Crime Count | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lansdowne Crescent Bournemouth | 118 | ||||||||
| Cashmoor Close Poole | 77 | ||||||||
| The Rise Weymouth | 43 | ||||||||
| High Street Christchurch | 38 | ||||||||
| Withies Croft Portland | 32 | ||||||||
| Downes Street Bridport | 30 | ||||||||
| Theatre/Concert Hall Shaftesbury | 25 | ||||||||
| St Annes Close Cann | 23 | ||||||||
| Giddy Green Lane Wool | 20 | ||||||||
| Eden Grove Wimborne Minster | 18 | ||||||||
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Town and City Comparison
| Town / City | Crime Count | Crime Rate | CrimeRate Index | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weymouth | 3,600 | 62.12 | 0.87 | ||||||
| Bournemouth | 24,030 | 60.73 | 0.84 | ||||||
| Bridport | 532 | 58.65 | 0.91 | ||||||
| Portland | 727 | 50.77 | 0.79 | ||||||
| Shaftesbury | 501 | 50.23 | 0.77 | ||||||
| Poole | 7,440 | 47.66 | 0.66 | ||||||
| Dorchester | 1,218 | 45.28 | 0.65 | ||||||
| Christchurch | 1,480 | 44.60 | 0.64 | ||||||
| Blandford Forum | 436 | 39.06 | 0.61 | ||||||
| Sherborne | 445 | 37.00 | 0.62 | ||||||
| Swanage | 311 | 32.90 | 0.58 | ||||||
| Lytchett Minster and Upton | 298 | 32.78 | 0.60 | ||||||
| Ferndown Town | 626 | 30.90 | 0.48 | ||||||
| Gillingham | 383 | 29.26 | 0.48 | ||||||
| Verwood | 424 | 26.76 | 0.42 | ||||||
| Corfe Mullen | 253 | 23.53 | 0.41 | ||||||
| West Moors | 161 | 21.51 | 0.41 | ||||||
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