Crime in Swindon: statistics, rates and trends
19,935 crimes were recorded in Swindon in the 12 months to August 2026, 81.7 per 1,000 residents. That is lower than the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and almost unchanged on the year before.
Table of Contents
- Crime map
- Crime in Swindon at a glance
- Crime trends in Swindon
- Types of crime in Swindon
- Home Office recorded crime in Swindon
- Swindon compared with nearby districts
- Areas within Swindon
- Streets with the most crime in Swindon
- What happened after crimes were reported in Swindon
- Demographics of Swindon
- Fly-tipping in Swindon
- Questions about crime in Swindon
- About this data
Crime map
Violence and sexual offences (7,570), anti-social behaviour (3,909) and shoplifting (1,651) made up 66% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 171st of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lower half.
| Measure | Swindon | South West | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crimes, the 12 months to August 2026 | 19,935 | 437,109 | 5,618,064 |
| Crimes per 1,000 residents | 81.7 | 83.7 | 96.7 |
| Change on previous 12 months | 0% | +2% | -1% |
| Population | 243,875 | 5,220,315 | 58,127,638 |
The year to August 2026 had the least recorded crime in Swindon of any year here (19,935 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 22%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.
| Period | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year to August 2026 | 19,935 | 81.7 | 96.7 |
| Year to August 2025 | 20,032 | 82.1 | 97.2 |
| Year to August 2024 | 20,002 | 82.0 | 97.9 |
| Year to August 2023 | 21,268 | 87.2 | n/a |
| Year to August 2022 | 20,865 | 85.6 | 102.0 |
| Year to August 2021 | 20,406 | 83.7 | 101.4 |
| Year to August 2020 | 21,897 | 89.8 | 102.7 |
| Year to August 2019 | 24,296 | 99.6 | 101.7 |
| Year to August 2018 | 25,633 | 105.1 | 100.8 |
Month by month
| Month | Crimes |
|---|---|
| August 2026 | 1,771 |
| July 2026 | 1,806 |
| June 2026 | 1,510 |
| May 2026 | 1,600 |
| April 2026 | 1,752 |
| March 2026 | 1,785 |
| February 2026 | 1,555 |
| January 2026 | 1,601 |
| December 2025 | 1,540 |
| November 2025 | 1,633 |
| October 2025 | 1,727 |
| September 2025 | 1,655 |
No category with at least 20 crimes was notably above the England and Wales rate, and theft from the person (70% below) and robbery (54% below) were well below it. On the year before, bicycle theft fell from 248 to 202 and drugs fell from 620 to 520.
| Crime type | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 | Change on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 7,570 | 31.0 | 34.2 | +1% |
| Anti-social behaviour | 3,909 | 16.0 | 15.4 | +5% |
| Shoplifting | 1,651 | 6.8 | 8.5 | -11% |
| Public order | 1,648 | 6.8 | 6.7 | +2% |
| Criminal damage and arson | 1,373 | 5.6 | 6.7 | -4% |
| Other theft | 959 | 3.9 | 6.4 | +1% |
| Vehicle crime | 765 | 3.1 | 5.0 | +12% |
| Drugs | 520 | 2.1 | 3.3 | -16% |
| Burglary | 445 | 1.8 | 3.6 | -7% |
| Other crime | 409 | 1.7 | 2.1 | -7% |
| Possession of weapons | 205 | 0.8 | 1.0 | -4% |
| Bicycle theft | 202 | 0.8 | 0.8 | -19% |
| Robbery | 154 | 0.6 | 1.4 | +8% |
| Theft from the person | 125 | 0.5 | 1.7 | -9% |
What each category covers: crime categories.
16,965 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Swindon in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 69.6 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was up 8% on the year ending March 2025 (15,682), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Swindon had the 119th lowest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 302 districts with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).
Offences recorded in Swindon, the year ending March 2026
The largest category was violence without injury, with 3,114 offences (18% of the total). No category with at least 20 offences had a rate a quarter or more above the England and Wales rate. Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.26 times), non-residential burglary (0.50 times) and residential burglary (0.55 times).
The largest rises on the year were in robbery of personal property (+49%) and arson (+42%). The largest falls were in non-residential burglary (−15%) and trafficking of drugs (−10%). Robbery of business property and shoplifting are not compared with the year ending March 2025: from April 2025 the Home Office Counting Rules were clarified so that a theft from a shop in which violence is used or threatened against staff or anyone else is recorded as robbery of business property rather than shoplifting (ONS).
| Offence | Offences | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 | Index (E&W = 1.00) | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence without injury | 3,114 | 12.8 | 13.2 | 0.97 | +10% |
| Violence with injury | 2,205 | 9.0 | 8.1 | 1.11 | +3% |
| Shoplifting | 1,857 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 0.94 | – |
| Public order offences | 1,717 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 1.01 | +21% |
| Stalking and harassment | 1,716 | 7.0 | 10.1 | 0.70 | +11% |
| Criminal damage | 1,407 | 5.8 | 6.8 | 0.84 | +3% |
| Other theft offences | 961 | 3.9 | 6.5 | 0.60 | +3% |
| Vehicle offences | 762 | 3.1 | 5.0 | 0.62 | −8% |
| Other sexual offences | 585 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 1.05 | +7% |
| Miscellaneous crimes against society | 448 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 0.88 | +30% |
| Possession of drugs | 423 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 0.69 | +6% |
| Residential burglary | 332 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 0.55 | +2% |
| Rape | 304 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.03 | +14% |
| Bicycle theft | 254 | 1.0 | 0.85 | 1.22 | +4% |
| Possession of weapons | 225 | 0.92 | 1.00 | 0.93 | +22% |
| Trafficking of drugs | 176 | 0.72 | 1.2 | 0.61 | −10% |
| Robbery of personal property | 145 | 0.59 | 0.91 | 0.65 | +49% |
| Non-residential burglary | 136 | 0.56 | 1.1 | 0.50 | −15% |
| Theft from the person | 112 | 0.46 | 1.8 | 0.26 | +5% |
| Arson | 64 | 0.26 | 0.38 | 0.69 | +42% |
| Robbery of business property | 18 | 0.07 | 0.47 | 0.16 | – |
| Death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving | 2 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.24 | +100% |
| Homicide | 2 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 1.02 | +100% |
Recorded crime in Swindon since the year ending March 2013
The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2013 to 2026. Swindon's rate was above the England and Wales rate in 3 of those 14 years and below it in 11. Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).
| Year ending March | Offences | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 16,965 | 69.6 | 83.2 |
| 2025 | 15,682 | 64.3 | 84.5 |
| 2024 | 16,448 | 67.4 | 86.2 |
| 2023 | 17,245 | 70.7 | 89.2 |
| 2022 | 15,762 | 64.6 | 85.4 |
| 2021 | 14,129 | 57.9 | 74.1 |
| 2020 | 17,234 | 70.7 | 84.7 |
| 2019 | 17,359 | 71.2 | 84.1 |
| 2018 | 18,729 | 76.8 | 78.2 |
| 2017 | 20,105 | 82.4 | 69.1 |
| 2016 | 18,057 | 74.0 | 62.3 |
| 2015 | 14,929 | 61.2 | 57.1 |
| 2014 | 13,316 | 54.6 | 55.9 |
| 2013 | 13,314 | 54.6 | 56.7 |
Districts in the Wiltshire Police area, the year ending March 2026
Of the 2 districts in the Wiltshire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Swindon had the highest rate.
Source: Home Office police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables (released 23 July 2026), gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. Financial years, excluding fraud; how they differ from the street-level figures: methodology.
2 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Swindon; the highest is Oxford district (107.0 per 1,000) and the lowest South Oxfordshire (47.5).
| District | Crimes | Per 1,000 | Rate vs Swindon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vale of White Horse | 7,947 | 53.2 | -35% |
| Wiltshire | 31,724 | 60.6 | -26% |
| West Oxfordshire | 5,924 | 49.0 | -40% |
| West Berkshire | 10,756 | 65.1 | -20% |
| Oxford | 17,767 | 107.0 | +31% |
| South Oxfordshire | 7,440 | 47.5 | -42% |
| South Gloucestershire | 23,911 | 78.1 | -5% |
| Bath and North East Somerset | 18,013 | 90.1 | +10% |
Of the 27 areas within Swindon, Central had the highest crime rate (212.5 per 1,000) and Haydon Wick the lowest (31.2), 7 times apart.
| Area | Type | Population | Crimes | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | Neighbourhood | 17,403 | 3,698 | 212.5 |
| Wanborough | Town | 2,003 | 308 | 153.8 |
| Eastcott | Neighbourhood | 11,911 | 1,687 | 141.6 |
| Walcot and Park North | Neighbourhood | 12,147 | 1,336 | 110.0 |
| Ridgeway | Neighbourhood | 3,582 | 351 | 98.0 |
| Mannington and Western | Neighbourhood | 12,552 | 1,124 | 89.5 |
| Swindon (Swindon) | Town | 190,862 | 16,632 | 87.1 |
| Rodbourne Cheney | Neighbourhood | 13,371 | 1,151 | 86.1 |
| Old Town | Neighbourhood | 11,595 | 984 | 84.9 |
| Liden, Eldene and Park South | Neighbourhood | 13,992 | 1,181 | 84.4 |
| Penhill and Upper Stratton | Neighbourhood | 14,765 | 1,230 | 83.3 |
| Gorse Hill and Pinehurst | Neighbourhood | 12,933 | 1,050 | 81.2 |
| Lydiard and Freshbrook | Neighbourhood | 11,137 | 820 | 73.6 |
| Stratton St Margaret | Town | 20,522 | 1,280 | 62.4 |
| Blunsdon and Highworth | Neighbourhood | 12,068 | 751 | 62.2 |
| St Margaret and South Marston | Neighbourhood | 10,981 | 683 | 62.2 |
| Wroughton | Town | 9,589 | 510 | 53.2 |
| Wroughton and Wichelstowe | Neighbourhood | 9,589 | 510 | 53.2 |
| St Andrews | Neighbourhood | 22,060 | 1,085 | 49.2 |
| Priory Vale | Neighbourhood | 14,271 | 677 | 47.4 |
| Highworth | Town | 8,447 | 400 | 47.4 |
| Broad Blunsdon | Town | 7,637 | 358 | 46.9 |
| Covingham and Dorcan | Neighbourhood | 10,131 | 454 | 44.8 |
| Shaw | Neighbourhood | 10,728 | 474 | 44.2 |
| Chiseldon and Lawn | Neighbourhood | 8,724 | 379 | 43.4 |
| Chiseldon | Town | 1,756 | 71 | 40.4 |
| Haydon Wick | Neighbourhood | 9,935 | 310 | 31.2 |
The 10 locations below account for 20% of the crime recorded in Swindon over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (952).
| Location | Crimes |
|---|---|
| On or near Parking Area | 952 |
| On or near Supermarket | 864 |
| On or near Shopping Area | 795 |
| On or near Petrol Station | 432 |
| On or near Hospital | 171 |
| On or near Regent Circus | 165 |
| On or near Queen Street | 164 |
| On or near Nightclub | 146 |
| On or near High Street | 143 |
| On or near College Street | 138 |
Of the 16,026 crimes in Swindon with a recorded outcome, 29% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 5.4% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 3,909 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.
| Outcome | Crimes | Share | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unable to prosecute suspect | 4,947 | 30.9% | 34.5% |
| Investigation complete; no suspect identified | 4,579 | 28.6% | 35.3% |
| Under investigation | 2,855 | 17.8% | 11.5% |
| Status update unavailable | 1,024 | 6.4% | 4.7% |
| Awaiting court outcome | 865 | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Local resolution | 505 | 3.2% | 3.1% |
| Action to be taken by another organisation | 454 | 2.8% | 1.3% |
| Court result unavailable | 444 | 2.8% | 2.5% |
| Further investigation is not in the public interest | 195 | 1.2% | 0.5% |
| Offender given a caution | 76 | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| Further action is not in the public interest | 39 | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Formal action is not in the public interest | 23 | 0.1% | 0.3% |
Swindon has an estimated population of 243,875 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer students (5.3%, against 7.9%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Swindon average decile 6.3 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.
| Measure | Swindon | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 0 to 15 | 19.8% | 18.3% |
| Aged 65 and over | 16.3% | 18.9% |
| Residents 16+ in work | 63.0% | 57.2% |
| Residents 16+ unemployed | 3.2% | 3.4% |
| Residents 16+ retired | 19.2% | 21.6% |
| Residents 16+ who are students | 5.3% | 7.9% |
| Residents 16+ with Level 4 qualifications or above (degree, HND and similar) | 27.9% | 33.8% |
| Residents 16+ with no qualifications | 17.3% | 18.2% |
| Households with no car or van | 19.3% | 23.3% |
| Homes owned outright or with a mortgage | 64.9% | 62.5% |
| Social rented homes | 15.6% | 17.1% |
| Private rented homes | 19.3% | 20.3% |
| Average deprivation decile (1 = most deprived, 10 = least) | 6.3 | 5.5 (England) |
| Residents in the most deprived 10% of areas | 7.1% | 10.1% (England) |
3,759 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Swindon in 2024/25 (15.4 per 1,000 residents, against 21.1 across the councils in England that count all incidents), according to the council's return to Defra. Fly-tipping is not in the police figures on this page: fly-tipping in Swindon has the council's figures by place, type of waste and size, and its enforcement actions and fines.
Is Swindon a safe place to live?
Swindon recorded 81.7 crimes per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to August 2026, lower than the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and ranks 171st of the 302 districts on this site by crime rate (1 = highest).
What is the most common crime in Swindon?
Violence and sexual offences was the most common category, with 7,570 reports in the 12 months to August 2026, followed by anti-social behaviour (3,909).
Is crime in Swindon going up or down?
Recorded crime in Swindon was almost unchanged on the year before: 19,935 crimes in the 12 months to August 2026 against 20,032 in the previous 12 months.
What is the population of Swindon?
About 243,875 people (ONS mid-2024 estimate), 16% of them aged 65 or over (England and Wales: 19%).
Which police force covers Swindon?
Swindon is policed by Wiltshire.
How many crimes did the police record in Swindon in the year ending March 2026?
16,965 crimes, excluding fraud, in the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics: 69.6 per 1,000 residents, against 83.2 across England and Wales. In the year ending March 2025 the figure was 15,682.
Which offences are more common in Swindon than across England and Wales?
None: no category with at least 20 offences had a rate a quarter or more above the England and Wales rate in the year ending March 2026. The largest category was violence without injury (3,114).
Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.