Crime in Wiltshire: statistics, rates and trends
31,724 crimes were recorded in Wiltshire in the 12 months to August 2026, 60.6 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 Wiltshire at a glance
- Crime trends in Wiltshire
- Types of crime in Wiltshire
- Home Office recorded crime in Wiltshire
- Wiltshire compared with nearby districts
- Areas within Wiltshire
- Streets with the most crime in Wiltshire
- What happened after crimes were reported in Wiltshire
- Demographics of Wiltshire
- Fly-tipping in Wiltshire
- Questions about crime in Wiltshire
- About this data
Crime map
Violence and sexual offences (12,168), anti-social behaviour (6,213) and criminal damage and arson (2,832) made up 67% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 263rd of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lowest quarter.
| Measure | Wiltshire | South West | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crimes, the 12 months to August 2026 | 31,724 | 437,109 | 5,618,064 |
| Crimes per 1,000 residents | 60.6 | 83.7 | 96.7 |
| Change on previous 12 months | 0% | +2% | -1% |
| Population | 523,700 | 5,220,315 | 58,127,638 |
Recorded crime in Wiltshire peaked in the year to August 2019 (36,170 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2024 (30,673). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 7%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.
| Period | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year to August 2026 | 31,724 | 60.6 | 96.7 |
| Year to August 2025 | 31,620 | 60.4 | 97.2 |
| Year to August 2024 | 30,673 | 58.6 | 97.9 |
| Year to August 2023 | 32,510 | 62.1 | n/a |
| Year to August 2022 | 35,130 | 67.1 | 102.0 |
| Year to August 2021 | 32,548 | 62.2 | 101.4 |
| Year to August 2020 | 33,011 | 63.0 | 102.7 |
| Year to August 2019 | 36,170 | 69.1 | 101.7 |
| Year to August 2018 | 34,254 | 65.4 | 100.8 |
Month by month
| Month | Crimes |
|---|---|
| August 2026 | 2,786 |
| July 2026 | 3,072 |
| June 2026 | 2,745 |
| May 2026 | 2,721 |
| April 2026 | 2,761 |
| March 2026 | 2,775 |
| February 2026 | 2,396 |
| January 2026 | 2,393 |
| December 2025 | 2,466 |
| November 2025 | 2,532 |
| October 2025 | 2,625 |
| September 2025 | 2,452 |
No category with at least 20 crimes was notably above the England and Wales rate, and robbery (87% below) and theft from the person (85% below) were well below it. On the year before, other crime fell from 788 to 661.
| Crime type | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 | Change on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 12,168 | 23.2 | 34.2 | +5% |
| Anti-social behaviour | 6,213 | 11.9 | 15.4 | -2% |
| Criminal damage and arson | 2,832 | 5.4 | 6.7 | 0% |
| Public order | 2,312 | 4.4 | 6.7 | -6% |
| Shoplifting | 2,216 | 4.2 | 8.5 | +2% |
| Other theft | 1,790 | 3.4 | 6.4 | +5% |
| Burglary | 1,131 | 2.2 | 3.6 | -2% |
| Vehicle crime | 1,083 | 2.1 | 5.0 | -7% |
| Other crime | 661 | 1.3 | 2.1 | -16% |
| Drugs | 645 | 1.2 | 3.3 | -4% |
| Bicycle theft | 228 | 0.4 | 0.8 | -8% |
| Possession of weapons | 221 | 0.4 | 1.0 | -3% |
| Theft from the person | 132 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 0% |
| Robbery | 92 | 0.2 | 1.4 | -8% |
What each category covers: crime categories.
25,796 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Wiltshire in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 49.3 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was up 6% on the year ending March 2025 (24,403), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Wiltshire had the 30th 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 Wiltshire, the year ending March 2026
The largest category was violence without injury, with 4,505 offences (17% 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 robbery of business property (0.10 times), theft from the person (0.13 times) and robbery of personal property (0.19 times).
The largest rises on the year were in trafficking of drugs (+38%) and theft from the person (+30%). The largest falls were in vehicle offences (−16%). 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 | 4,505 | 8.6 | 13.2 | 0.65 | +11% |
| Violence with injury | 3,521 | 6.7 | 8.1 | 0.83 | +2% |
| Criminal damage | 2,788 | 5.3 | 6.8 | 0.78 | +6% |
| Stalking and harassment | 2,696 | 5.1 | 10.1 | 0.51 | +7% |
| Public order offences | 2,360 | 4.5 | 7.0 | 0.65 | +6% |
| Shoplifting | 2,147 | 4.1 | 8.1 | 0.50 | – |
| Other theft offences | 1,764 | 3.4 | 6.5 | 0.51 | +2% |
| Vehicle offences | 1,067 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 0.41 | −16% |
| Other sexual offences | 967 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 0.81 | +11% |
| Residential burglary | 784 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.60 | +8% |
| Miscellaneous crimes against society | 732 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 0.67 | +21% |
| Possession of drugs | 590 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 0.45 | +27% |
| Rape | 462 | 0.88 | 1.2 | 0.73 | +15% |
| Non-residential burglary | 401 | 0.77 | 1.1 | 0.68 | −3% |
| Bicycle theft | 245 | 0.47 | 0.85 | 0.55 | +20% |
| Possession of weapons | 227 | 0.43 | 1.00 | 0.44 | +12% |
| Trafficking of drugs | 192 | 0.37 | 1.2 | 0.31 | +38% |
| Theft from the person | 116 | 0.22 | 1.8 | 0.13 | +30% |
| Arson | 103 | 0.20 | 0.38 | 0.52 | +29% |
| Robbery of personal property | 93 | 0.18 | 0.91 | 0.19 | +9% |
| Robbery of business property | 24 | 0.05 | 0.47 | 0.10 | – |
| Death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving | 8 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.44 | −27% |
| Homicide | 4 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.95 | +300% |
Recorded crime in Wiltshire 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. Wiltshire's rate was below the England and Wales rate in every one of those 14 years. 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 | 25,796 | 49.3 | 83.2 |
| 2025 | 24,403 | 46.6 | 84.5 |
| 2024 | 24,027 | 45.9 | 86.2 |
| 2023 | 26,792 | 51.2 | 89.2 |
| 2022 | 25,815 | 49.3 | 85.4 |
| 2021 | 22,552 | 43.1 | 74.1 |
| 2020 | 26,301 | 50.2 | 84.7 |
| 2019 | 25,929 | 49.5 | 84.1 |
| 2018 | 24,846 | 47.4 | 78.2 |
| 2017 | 21,586 | 41.2 | 69.1 |
| 2016 | 19,981 | 38.2 | 62.3 |
| 2015 | 17,285 | 33.0 | 57.1 |
| 2014 | 19,513 | 37.3 | 55.9 |
| 2013 | 20,197 | 38.6 | 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, Wiltshire had the lowest 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.
7 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Wiltshire; the highest is Bristol, City of (148.8 per 1,000) and the lowest Vale of White Horse (53.2).
| District | Crimes | Per 1,000 | Rate vs Wiltshire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bath and North East Somerset | 18,013 | 90.1 | +49% |
| Swindon | 19,935 | 81.7 | +35% |
| South Gloucestershire | 23,911 | 78.1 | +29% |
| Test Valley | 8,243 | 61.0 | +1% |
| Bristol, City of | 73,581 | 148.8 | +146% |
| West Berkshire | 10,756 | 65.1 | +8% |
| Vale of White Horse | 7,947 | 53.2 | -12% |
| Basingstoke and Deane | 13,530 | 70.1 | +16% |
Of the 167 areas within Wiltshire, Chippenham Lowden & Rowden had the highest crime rate (277.2 per 1,000) and Porton the lowest (13.1), 21 times apart.
| Area | Type | Population | Crimes | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chippenham Lowden & Rowden | Neighbourhood | 3,370 | 934 | 277.2 |
| Salisbury St Edmund's | Neighbourhood | 5,152 | 1,420 | 275.6 |
| Trowbridge Central | Neighbourhood | 5,878 | 1,419 | 241.4 |
| Devizes North | Neighbourhood | 3,346 | 678 | 202.6 |
| Warminster East | Neighbourhood | 4,753 | 589 | 123.9 |
| Trowbridge Adcroft | Neighbourhood | 4,219 | 522 | 123.7 |
| Salisbury St Paul's | Neighbourhood | 5,692 | 670 | 117.7 |
| Bratton | Town | 1,341 | 154 | 114.8 |
| Trowbridge Drynham | Neighbourhood | 5,707 | 632 | 110.7 |
| Salisbury | Town | 47,234 | 4,724 | 100.0 |
| Ludgershall (Wiltshire) | Town | 4,823 | 470 | 97.4 |
| Melksham Forest | Neighbourhood | 6,110 | 587 | 96.1 |
| Devizes | Town | 18,261 | 1,739 | 95.2 |
| Trowbridge | Town | 42,702 | 4,063 | 95.1 |
| Melksham South | Neighbourhood | 4,016 | 377 | 93.9 |
| Salisbury Harnham East | Neighbourhood | 5,951 | 551 | 92.6 |
| Salisbury Milford | Neighbourhood | 5,491 | 480 | 87.4 |
| Ludgershall North & Rural | Neighbourhood | 4,925 | 417 | 84.7 |
| Salisbury Bemerton Heath | Neighbourhood | 5,428 | 449 | 82.7 |
| Amesbury West | Neighbourhood | 6,327 | 493 | 77.9 |
| Melksham | Town | 18,559 | 1,375 | 74.1 |
| Wilton | Town | 3,619 | 268 | 74.1 |
| Devizes South | Neighbourhood | 4,394 | 315 | 71.7 |
| Royal Wootton Bassett North | Neighbourhood | 5,522 | 394 | 71.4 |
| Salisbury Fisherton & Bemerton Village | Neighbourhood | 6,192 | 439 | 70.9 |
| Amesbury | Town | 13,838 | 981 | 70.9 |
| Trowbridge Park | Neighbourhood | 4,938 | 341 | 69.1 |
| Ethandune | Neighbourhood | 4,953 | 341 | 68.8 |
| Warminster | Town | 18,734 | 1,282 | 68.4 |
| Calne Central | Neighbourhood | 4,471 | 303 | 67.8 |
| Old Sarum | Town | 4,925 | 332 | 67.4 |
| Salisbury St Francis & Stratford | Neighbourhood | 5,920 | 394 | 66.6 |
| Devizes East | Neighbourhood | 7,907 | 525 | 66.4 |
| Westbury North | Neighbourhood | 7,246 | 480 | 66.2 |
| Bradford-on-Avon South | Neighbourhood | 4,505 | 289 | 64.2 |
| Corsham Ladbrook | Neighbourhood | 7,115 | 455 | 63.9 |
| Chippenham Sheldon | Neighbourhood | 7,004 | 437 | 62.4 |
| Dilton Marsh | Town | 1,226 | 76 | 62.0 |
| Downton & Ebble Valley | Neighbourhood | 5,682 | 350 | 61.6 |
| Wilton | Neighbourhood | 4,892 | 301 | 61.5 |
| Trowbridge Lambrok | Neighbourhood | 5,450 | 334 | 61.3 |
| Tisbury | Town | 2,973 | 181 | 60.9 |
| Sutton Veny | Town | 1,275 | 77 | 60.4 |
| Marlborough West | Neighbourhood | 6,494 | 392 | 60.4 |
| Old Sarum & Lower Bourne Valley | Neighbourhood | 6,384 | 385 | 60.3 |
| Westbury West | Neighbourhood | 6,839 | 409 | 59.8 |
| Royal Wootton Bassett | Town | 13,734 | 805 | 58.6 |
| Calne Chilvester & Abberd | Neighbourhood | 6,192 | 356 | 57.5 |
| Salisbury Harnham West | Neighbourhood | 3,204 | 184 | 57.4 |
| Warminster North & Rural | Neighbourhood | 5,550 | 318 | 57.3 |
| Marlborough | Town | 9,104 | 518 | 56.9 |
| Amesbury South | Neighbourhood | 5,997 | 339 | 56.5 |
| Westbury (Wiltshire) | Town | 18,002 | 1,017 | 56.5 |
| Bromham, Rowde & Roundway | Neighbourhood | 5,179 | 292 | 56.4 |
| Mere | Neighbourhood | 4,724 | 266 | 56.3 |
| Royal Wootton Bassett South & West | Neighbourhood | 6,814 | 379 | 55.6 |
| Tidworth North & West | Neighbourhood | 9,172 | 510 | 55.6 |
| Calne North | Neighbourhood | 5,013 | 275 | 54.9 |
| Nadder Valley | Neighbourhood | 5,769 | 313 | 54.3 |
| Calne | Town | 21,187 | 1,148 | 54.2 |
| Trowbridge Grove | Neighbourhood | 4,062 | 220 | 54.2 |
| Melksham Without West & Rural | Neighbourhood | 8,394 | 454 | 54.1 |
| Chippenham Hardens & Central | Neighbourhood | 3,974 | 214 | 53.9 |
| Rudloe | Town | 2,576 | 137 | 53.2 |
| Tisbury | Neighbourhood | 4,916 | 260 | 52.9 |
| The Lavingtons | Neighbourhood | 5,429 | 287 | 52.9 |
| Southwick (Wiltshire) | Town | 2,520 | 133 | 52.8 |
| Mere (Wiltshire) | Town | 3,301 | 174 | 52.7 |
| Chippenham Cepen Park & Derriads | Neighbourhood | 5,371 | 283 | 52.7 |
| Tidworth | Town | 10,940 | 569 | 52.0 |
| Semington | Town | 1,796 | 93 | 51.8 |
| Amesbury East & Bulford | Neighbourhood | 6,226 | 321 | 51.6 |
| Wylye Valley | Neighbourhood | 5,015 | 256 | 51.0 |
| Corsham Without | Neighbourhood | 5,770 | 292 | 50.6 |
| Chippenham Hardenhuish | Neighbourhood | 7,041 | 351 | 49.9 |
| Cricklade | Town | 5,257 | 261 | 49.6 |
| Cricklade & Latton | Neighbourhood | 5,257 | 261 | 49.6 |
| Chippenham (Wiltshire) | Town | 34,925 | 1,727 | 49.4 |
| Broad Chalke | Town | 1,887 | 93 | 49.3 |
| Warminster West | Neighbourhood | 7,012 | 345 | 49.2 |
| Dinton (Wiltshire) | Town | 2,279 | 112 | 49.1 |
| Landford and Nomansland | Town | 1,842 | 90 | 48.9 |
| Malmesbury | Neighbourhood | 6,535 | 318 | 48.7 |
| Bradford-on-Avon | Town | 9,442 | 459 | 48.6 |
| Pewsey | Town | 3,788 | 181 | 47.8 |
| Collingbourne Ducis | Town | 1,632 | 77 | 47.2 |
| Avon Valley | Neighbourhood | 8,232 | 387 | 47.0 |
| Southwick | Neighbourhood | 4,007 | 187 | 46.7 |
| Marlborough East | Neighbourhood | 4,227 | 195 | 46.1 |
| Melksham Without North & Shurnhold | Neighbourhood | 3,969 | 183 | 46.1 |
| Hilperton | Neighbourhood | 3,506 | 159 | 45.4 |
| Netheravon | Town | 1,743 | 79 | 45.3 |
| Corsham | Town | 8,701 | 387 | 44.5 |
| Fovant & Chalke Valley | Neighbourhood | 3,017 | 134 | 44.4 |
| Malmesbury | Town | 8,482 | 375 | 44.2 |
| Melksham East | Neighbourhood | 6,080 | 268 | 44.1 |
| Durrington | Town | 5,510 | 242 | 43.9 |
| Bradford-on-Avon North | Neighbourhood | 6,074 | 265 | 43.6 |
| Tidworth East & Ludgershall South | Neighbourhood | 5,794 | 250 | 43.1 |
| Trowbridge Paxcroft | Neighbourhood | 6,034 | 260 | 43.1 |
| Pewsey | Neighbourhood | 5,347 | 228 | 42.6 |
| Kington | Neighbourhood | 5,201 | 220 | 42.3 |
| Holt | Neighbourhood | 5,709 | 237 | 41.5 |
| Sutton Benger | Town | 2,465 | 101 | 41.0 |
| Chippenham Monkton | Neighbourhood | 2,547 | 104 | 40.8 |
| Calne South | Neighbourhood | 3,677 | 149 | 40.5 |
| Whaddon (Wiltshire) | Town | 1,793 | 72 | 40.2 |
| Warminster Broadway | Neighbourhood | 2,862 | 112 | 39.1 |
| Neston (Wiltshire) | Town | 1,869 | 73 | 39.1 |
| Great Bedwyn | Town | 1,824 | 71 | 38.9 |
| Bowerhill | Town | 4,472 | 170 | 38.0 |
| Box (Wiltshire) | Town | 3,244 | 123 | 37.9 |
| Urchfont & Bishops Cannings | Neighbourhood | 5,105 | 193 | 37.8 |
| Market Lavington | Town | 1,491 | 56 | 37.6 |
| Shrewton | Town | 1,483 | 55 | 37.1 |
| Purton | Neighbourhood | 7,187 | 265 | 36.9 |
| Corsham Pickwick | Neighbourhood | 4,399 | 162 | 36.8 |
| Chippenham Cepen Park & Hunters Moon | Neighbourhood | 3,956 | 145 | 36.7 |
| Bulford | Town | 4,712 | 172 | 36.5 |
| North Bradley | Town | 1,487 | 54 | 36.3 |
| Ramsbury | Town | 1,437 | 52 | 36.2 |
| Downton | Town | 1,388 | 50 | 36.0 |
| Laverstock | Neighbourhood | 5,843 | 210 | 35.9 |
| Potterne | Town | 1,506 | 54 | 35.9 |
| Till Valley | Neighbourhood | 3,511 | 125 | 35.6 |
| Aldbourne | Town | 1,886 | 65 | 34.5 |
| Calne Rural | Neighbourhood | 5,479 | 186 | 33.9 |
| Devizes Rural West | Neighbourhood | 3,044 | 103 | 33.8 |
| Purton | Town | 3,142 | 105 | 33.4 |
| Alderbury & Whiteparish | Neighbourhood | 4,539 | 150 | 33.0 |
| Westbury East | Neighbourhood | 3,917 | 128 | 32.7 |
| Aldbourne & Ramsbury | Neighbourhood | 6,914 | 225 | 32.5 |
| Burbage | Town | 1,906 | 62 | 32.5 |
| Minety | Neighbourhood | 4,872 | 156 | 32.0 |
| Seend | Town | 1,538 | 49 | 31.9 |
| Chippenham Pewsham | Neighbourhood | 5,292 | 168 | 31.7 |
| Pewsey Vale East | Neighbourhood | 5,722 | 181 | 31.6 |
| Ashton Keynes | Town | 1,783 | 56 | 31.4 |
| Box & Colerne | Neighbourhood | 5,774 | 176 | 30.5 |
| Redlynch & Landford | Neighbourhood | 4,620 | 139 | 30.1 |
| Edington | Town | 1,132 | 34 | 30.0 |
| Royal Wootton Bassett East | Neighbourhood | 4,192 | 124 | 29.6 |
| Middle Winterslow | Town | 1,764 | 52 | 29.5 |
| By Brook | Neighbourhood | 5,189 | 145 | 27.9 |
| Westwood | Town | 1,075 | 30 | 27.9 |
| Sherston | Neighbourhood | 4,772 | 131 | 27.5 |
| Winterslow & Upper Bourne Valley | Neighbourhood | 6,512 | 177 | 27.2 |
| Pewsey Vale West | Neighbourhood | 5,521 | 150 | 27.2 |
| Redlynch and Woodfalls | Town | 1,309 | 33 | 25.2 |
| Whitley (Wiltshire) | Town | 1,616 | 40 | 24.8 |
| Perham Down | Town | 2,496 | 61 | 24.4 |
| Ogbourne Maizey | Town | 1,731 | 42 | 24.3 |
| Urchfont | Town | 2,045 | 49 | 24.0 |
| Winsley & Westwood | Neighbourhood | 4,512 | 108 | 23.9 |
| Holt (Wiltshire) | Town | 1,424 | 33 | 23.2 |
| Sherston | Town | 1,400 | 31 | 22.1 |
| Colerne | Town | 2,530 | 53 | 20.9 |
| Lyneham | Neighbourhood | 6,880 | 144 | 20.9 |
| Minety | Town | 1,410 | 29 | 20.6 |
| Atworth | Town | 1,377 | 28 | 20.3 |
| Lyneham | Town | 5,777 | 114 | 19.7 |
| Brinkworth | Town | 1,584 | 31 | 19.6 |
| Brinkworth | Neighbourhood | 4,794 | 87 | 18.1 |
| Lydiard Millicent | Town | 1,391 | 24 | 17.3 |
| Great Somerford | Town | 1,597 | 25 | 15.7 |
| Larkhill | Town | 2,281 | 34 | 14.9 |
| Porton | Town | 1,521 | 20 | 13.1 |
The 10 locations below account for 17% of the crime recorded in Wiltshire over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (1,313).
| Location | Crimes |
|---|---|
| On or near Parking Area | 1,313 |
| On or near Supermarket | 1,294 |
| On or near Shopping Area | 655 |
| On or near Petrol Station | 651 |
| On or near Sports/Recreation Area | 382 |
| On or near High Street | 343 |
| On or near Hospital | 240 |
| On or near Bridge Street | 204 |
| On or near Queen Street | 202 |
| On or near Chapel Lane | 196 |
Of the 25,511 crimes in Wiltshire with a recorded outcome, 31% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 3.7% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 6,213 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.
| Outcome | Crimes | Share | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investigation complete; no suspect identified | 7,870 | 30.8% | 35.3% |
| Unable to prosecute suspect | 7,631 | 29.9% | 34.5% |
| Under investigation | 4,505 | 17.7% | 11.5% |
| Status update unavailable | 1,562 | 6.1% | 4.7% |
| Local resolution | 1,221 | 4.8% | 3.1% |
| Awaiting court outcome | 944 | 3.7% | 5.2% |
| Action to be taken by another organisation | 653 | 2.6% | 1.3% |
| Court result unavailable | 433 | 1.7% | 2.5% |
| Further investigation is not in the public interest | 369 | 1.4% | 0.5% |
| Offender given a caution | 156 | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| Further action is not in the public interest | 120 | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| Formal action is not in the public interest | 46 | 0.2% | 0.3% |
Wiltshire has an estimated population of 523,700 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer households without a car (13%, against 23%), fewer students (4.8%, against 7.9%) and an older population (23%, against 19%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Wiltshire average decile 6.9 (1 = most deprived), less deprived than average.
| Measure | Wiltshire | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 0 to 15 | 17.5% | 18.3% |
| Aged 65 and over | 22.9% | 18.9% |
| Residents 16+ in work | 60.2% | 57.2% |
| Residents 16+ unemployed | 2.3% | 3.4% |
| Residents 16+ retired | 25.0% | 21.6% |
| Residents 16+ who are students | 4.8% | 7.9% |
| Residents 16+ with Level 4 qualifications or above (degree, HND and similar) | 34.2% | 33.8% |
| Residents 16+ with no qualifications | 14.4% | 18.2% |
| Households with no car or van | 13.1% | 23.3% |
| Homes owned outright or with a mortgage | 68.0% | 62.5% |
| Social rented homes | 14.5% | 17.1% |
| Private rented homes | 17.4% | 20.3% |
| Average deprivation decile (1 = most deprived, 10 = least) | 6.9 | 5.5 (England) |
| Residents in the most deprived 10% of areas | 0.6% | 10.1% (England) |
3,005 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Wiltshire in 2024/25 (5.7 per 1,000 residents; the council counts only fly-tips reported by the public), according to the council's return to Defra. Fly-tipping is not in the police figures on this page: fly-tipping in Wiltshire has the council's figures by place, type of waste and size, and its enforcement actions and fines.
Is Wiltshire a safe place to live?
Wiltshire recorded 60.6 crimes per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to August 2026, lower than the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and ranks 263rd of the 302 districts on this site by crime rate (1 = highest).
What is the most common crime in Wiltshire?
Violence and sexual offences was the most common category, with 12,168 reports in the 12 months to August 2026, followed by anti-social behaviour (6,213).
Is crime in Wiltshire going up or down?
Recorded crime in Wiltshire was almost unchanged on the year before: 31,724 crimes in the 12 months to August 2026 against 31,620 in the previous 12 months.
What is the population of Wiltshire?
About 523,700 people (ONS mid-2024 estimate), 23% of them aged 65 or over (England and Wales: 19%).
Which police force covers Wiltshire?
Wiltshire is policed by Wiltshire.
How many crimes did the police record in Wiltshire in the year ending March 2026?
25,796 crimes, excluding fraud, in the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics: 49.3 per 1,000 residents, against 83.2 across England and Wales. In the year ending March 2025 the figure was 24,403.
Which offences are more common in Wiltshire 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 (4,505).
Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.