Crime and Safety in Hedge End

Last updated: 07 Jun 2026

Page highlights:

Hedge End is among the top 10 most dangerous small towns in Hampshire, and is the 62nd most dangerous overall out of Hampshire's 268 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Hedge End in 2026 is 50 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares favourably to Hampshire's overall crime rate, coming in 21% lower than the Hampshire rate of 63 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Hedge End is the 321st safest small town, and the 3,320th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.

In February 2026, Hedge End had the worst crime rate in Hampshire for shoplifting, with 28 crimes reported and a crime rate of 1.2 per 1,000 daytime population. February 2026 was also a bad month for Hedge End residents, when it was Hampshire's most dangerous area for theft from the person, recording 2 crimes at a rate of 0.08 per 1,000 daytime population. Hedge End recorded 27 reports of shoplifting during June 2025, making its crime rate of 1.1 the worst for shoplifting in Hampshire that month.

The most common crimes in Hedge End are violence and sexual offences, with 530 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 22. This is 3.5% higher than 2025's figure of 512 offences and a difference of 0.75 from 2025's crime rate of 21. Hedge End's least common crime is bicycle theft, with 8 offences recorded in 2026, an increase of 60% from 2025's figure of 5 crimes.

Hedge End 2026 Crime Scorecard

Top 10 Most Dangerous

Small Towns, Hampshire

19% lower, regional crime rate

South East

31% lower, national crime rate

England, Wales & NI

Local Crime in Context

As of April 2026, the crime rate in Hedge End is 19% lower than the South East and 31% lower than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.

Hedge End Crime Rate Over Time

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Hedge End
South East
England, Wales & NI

Hedge End Crime Map

Incidents mapped in Hedge End represent the time frame between January 2016 and April 2026. Each point on the map represents an area where crimes have been recorded locally.

Use Crime Map

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.

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See How Hedge End Compares

You can compare Hedge End's crime statistics against any other town, village, or city from across the country. Search for a location's name below to see how they stack up.

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Introduction to Hedge End's crime statistics

 

This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Hedge End up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Hedge End's 474 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.

Overview map crime around Hedge End

CrimeRate Insights

Looking into a specific address in Hedge End? CrimeRate Insights reports convert raw numbers into practical insight for any location, from single addresses and postcodes, up to major towns and cities.

Crime rates don’t happen by themselves; they follow people and patterns. Where crowds gather - near pubs and late-night venues, around the station, by supermarkets and forecourts - incidents naturally concentrate.

That doesn’t mean an area is "bad"; it usually means footfall is higher.

Your report explores these factors in a calm, non-judgemental way, putting the numbers in context and helping you spot what’s typical for places like this.

Crime Risk Scores

Hedge End • 12 Months Ending April 2026

 

The typical five-minute walk within Hedge End has a crime risk score of 493. This is based on analysis of 474 nearby areas within Hedge End, with "most" referring to roughly two thirds of the nearby locations.

Five Mins
493 crime risk score
Ten Mins
590 crime risk score
Fifteen Mins
668 crime risk score

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 Hedge End's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.

Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Hedge End, crime risk scores are typically around 493, while in Hampshire they are average 467.

Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 590 (470 for Hampshire), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 668 (Hampshire 472).

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Trends in Crime Risk

Hedge End

 

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.

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The 10-year trend indicates a decrease of 12% in Hedge End'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.

The five-year trend may be static; no significant trend was identified in Hedge End's crime risk scores during this timeframe.

Over the last year, Hedge End's crime risk score has shown a downward trend of approximately 2.2%, 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

Hedge End

 

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

Hedge End • 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.

Shoplifting
1.61 CrimeRate Index
Possession of Weapons
1.55 CrimeRate Index
Robbery
0.87 CrimeRate Index

Shoplifting offences have a crime rate of 11 reports per 1,000 people in Hedge End, which is 1.61 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 256 crime reports logged by Hampshire Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.

For the same period, Hampshire Police recorded 30 reports of Possession of Weapons in Hedge End, resulting in a crime rate of 1.21 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.55.

The crime rate for Robbery is 0.87 times the national average at 0.52 reports per 1,000. This is from 13 crime reports reported to Hampshire Police.

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Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types

Hedge End

 

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.

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Theft From the Person offences are trending upwards, though the CrimeRate Index three years ago is too low to measure, and the trend should be reviewed with caution.

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Shoplifting offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.74 for the month of April 2026.

Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 0.90 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 93% over this timeframe.

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Possession of Weapons offences are trending upwards, though the CrimeRate Index three years ago is too low to measure, and the trend should be reviewed with caution.

Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types

Hedge End

 

Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.

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Vehicle Crime offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.40 for the month of April 2026.

Three years ago, the monthly Vehicle Crime CrimeRate Index was 0.66 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 112% over this timeframe.

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Burglary offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of - for the month of April 2026.

Three years ago, the monthly Burglary CrimeRate Index was 0.13 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a near-complete decrease over this timeframe.

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Drugs offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.17 for the month of April 2026.

Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 0.19 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 11% over this timeframe.

Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map

Hedge End • 12 Months Ending April 2026

 

Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.

 
Hedge End
Hampshire
South East
Crime TypeCountRateIndexCountRateIndexCountRateIndex
Anti-Social Behaviour1546.330.4516,7677.840.55115,50010.870.77
Bicycle Theft80.320.911,4340.690.957,3150.680.93
Burglary341.390.585,0092.350.7523,5352.230.71
Criminal Damage and Arson743.030.5310,1724.750.7658,5015.500.88
Drugs140.560.244,6792.180.7125,2032.370.77
Other Crime311.261.022,7891.300.7017,1511.610.87
Other Theft682.800.548,8714.140.7351,3364.840.85
Possession of Weapons301.211.552,4211.121.328,7360.810.95
Public Order1004.100.7111,7725.490.9554,7455.150.89
Robbery130.520.871,4910.700.597,5880.720.61
Shoplifting25610.531.6112,8565.990.8472,9836.880.96
Theft From the Person80.320.417660.360.234,6680.450.29
Vehicle Crime491.990.516,4243.000.7034,0993.220.75
Violence and Sexual Offences53021.780.7266,15730.901.02286,81526.980.89
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Total Crime by Year

 
Hedge End
Hampshire
South East
YearCountRateIndexCountRateIndexCountRateIndex
20261,21549.810.75134,84162.970.87652,67561.440.85
20251,16347.920.68142,15466.710.90670,27463.350.86
20241,18248.540.68143,20667.710.90690,90365.860.87
20231,25651.360.68159,62776.110.96713,54768.830.87
20221,25551.700.70159,50576.751.00704,44468.580.89
20211,10245.570.69132,11163.970.93625,48461.360.89
20201,07944.920.64141,72368.790.93669,21965.970.89
20191,16048.230.66142,61969.410.91666,50565.820.86
20181,36357.190.84146,26471.071.00644,14263.850.90
201786136.170.60120,20058.550.92552,69655.040.86
20162289.540.5733,27816.230.85160,27315.990.84
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Hedge End Compared to Nearby Small Towns

12 Months Ending Apr 2026

 

Small TownTotal CrimesCrime RateRate Difference
Hound40657.8616% more dangerous
West End76458.9718% more dangerous
Whitehill97355.6712% more dangerous
Fawley69848.592.4% safer
Hythe and Dibden1,07651.423.2% more dangerous
Ringwood87550.391.2% more dangerous
Hedge End1,21549.81-
Petersfield88548.013.6% safer
Romsey1,08746.237% safer
Lymington and Pennington78545.748% safer
Alton1,04144.5711% safer
Bramshott and Liphook41437.1225% safer
Fleet1,19839.9020% safer
Bishopstoke34633.2033% safer
Tadley40132.6734% safer
Yateley71334.2231% safer
Hook38932.1635% safer
Chandler's Ford93133.0734% safer
Fair Oak and Horton Heath41930.9238% safer
Horndean44631.3837% safer
Church Crookham29726.8246% safer
Denmead18924.7950% safer

Comparing Hedge End to the UK's Major Cities

12 Months Ending Apr 2026

 

City NameCrime RateRate Difference
Hedge End49.81-
Cardiff79.5560% more dangerous
Newcastle upon Tyne82.6966% more dangerous
Sheffield84.0969% more dangerous
Leicester97.8796% more dangerous
Bristol104.64110% more dangerous
Birmingham105.05111% more dangerous
Liverpool106.48114% more dangerous
Leeds107.10115% more dangerous
Nottingham107.74116% more dangerous
Westminster125.00151% more dangerous

Offences In and Around Hedge End's Parks & Leisure Spaces

 

Limited to spaces in Hedge End that are named and have had crimes recorded within their boundaries in the 12 months to Apr 2026.

NameASBDrugsPublic OrderRobberyVSOAll Others
Goodall's Meadow121--5
River Hamble Country Park411-123
Dowds Farm Park2113-2621
Wildern Leisure Centre--1-12
Greta Park6-7-1016
Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Activity Centre3-1-21
Bursledon Common1---32

Recent Crimes in Hedge End

The 20 most recent crime reports in Hedge End.

 

DateCrime TypeLocationOutcome
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Minchin Acres
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Cedar Close
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Giles Close
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Jasmine Road
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Boundary Acre
April 2026Public orderOn or near Shopping Area
April 2026RobberyOn or near Wildern Court
April 2026ShopliftingOn or near Supermarket
April 2026ShopliftingOn or near Supermarket
April 2026ShopliftingOn or near Supermarket
April 2026Vehicle crimeOn or near Grange Road
April 2026Vehicle crimeOn or near Hansen Gardens
April 2026Vehicle crimeOn or near Hansen Gardens
April 2026Violence and sexual offencesOn or near Thistle Road
April 2026Violence and sexual offencesOn or near Haileybury Gardens
April 2026Violence and sexual offencesOn or near Thurmell Walk
April 2026Violence and sexual offencesOn or near Thurmell Walk
April 2026Violence and sexual offencesOn or near Tudor Gardens
April 2026Violence and sexual offencesOn or near Thurmell Walk
April 2026Violence and sexual offencesOn or near Thistle Road

Methodology & Data Sources

Hedge End Crime Report

 

Data Sources & Processing

Every month, CrimeRate processes crime reports from data.police.uk, the UK's official provider of open crime report data. Each crime report includes anonymised coordinates, most often "snapped" to the middle of the nearest street, or to the nearest major landmark. The reports also include the month and year the crime was reported, as well as the type of crime.

Data releases on data.police.uk happen once a month, with a two-month delay. This means that, for example, crimes reported in Hedge End during June 2026 will typically become available in August 2026. The latest release is for Apr 2026 and was released in Jun 2026. To provide current and historical crime statistics, CrimeRate processed 61,669,232 crime reports for the latest release.

Hedge End Data Points

For Hedge End, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2023 release of their Parishes and Non Civil Parished Areas dataset, using the PARNCP23CD column value E04012908.

Due to the 2021 Census being conducted during a UK-wide Coronavirus lockdown, the daytime population figures released so far cannot be relied on for purposes such as comparing crime rates. Instead, CrimeRate uses Hedge End's daytime - or "workday" - population of 20,336 from the ONS 2011 Census for calculations throughout the site.

All geographic boundaries use the full resolution - extent of the realm versions where provided to avoid missing crime reports near coastlines and rivers - the banks of the Thames in particular - that would otherwise not be included when using the clipped to the coastline datasets.

Hedge End geographic boundaries light outline
CrimeRate's boundaries for Hedge End

Calculating Crime Rates

CrimeRate locates the UK region, county, and town/city/village locality for each crime report, and calculates the crime rate by taking the sum of all crime reports, dividing it by the locality's daytime / "workday" population, and multiplying the result by 1,000 to get the crime rate per 1,000.

Crime Risk Score Calculations

CrimeRate calculates crime counts for local, nearby, and wider areas for every postcode in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The postcodes locations are deduplicated by a process that ensures distinct points are approximately 50 metres apart. This process removes the bias that would otherwise come from counting the same crimes several times in heavily populated areas.

Using a custom algorithm developed in-house, CrimeRate applies a crime severity weighting to each area's crime counts, based on the type of crime reported. This increases or decreases the crime count, or zeroes it out entirely, depending on the crime type. A separate crime severity rate is then calculated, standardised, and scaled to fit the crime risk score range of 1 to 1,000, with 1 being the lowest score, and 1,000 the highest.

Crime risk scores undergo further analysis per town, city, and village plus other areas including police forces and neighbourhoods. CrimeRate uses percentiles to work out the most common range of crime risk scores in each locality. This includes identifying the high and low bounds where approximately 68% of scores fall, and finding the median (50th percentile) for easy reference.

The crime types with a weight of zero are: Anti-Social Behaviour; Bicycle Theft; Other Crime; Other Theft; and Shoplifting. The highest weights to are assigned to Violence & Sexual Offences, and the lowest to Vehicle Crime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Crime in Hedge End

 

What police force serves Hedge End?
Hedge End's local territorial police force is the Hampshire Constabulary.

How dangerous is Hedge End?
Hedge End is among the top 10 most dangerous small towns in Hampshire.

What is Hedge End's most common crime?
The most common crimes in Hedge End are violence and sexual offences.

What is the least common crime in Hedge End?
Hedge End's least common crime is bicycle theft.