Crime in the Dorset Police area: statistics, rates and trends
57,002 crimes were recorded in the Dorset Police area in the 12 months to August 2026, 71.3 per 1,000 residents. That is lower than the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and down 2% on the year before.
Table of Contents
- Crime map
- Crime in the Dorset Police area at a glance
- Crime trends in the Dorset Police area
- Types of crime in the Dorset Police area
- Home Office recorded crime in the Dorset Police area
- The Dorset Police area compared with nearby police force areas
- Areas within the Dorset Police area
- What happened after crimes were reported in the Dorset Police area
- Demographics of the Dorset Police area
- Questions about crime in the Dorset Police area
- About this data
Crime map
Violence and sexual offences (18,780), anti-social behaviour (15,067) and shoplifting (4,634) made up 68% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 37th of the 41 police force areas covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lowest tenth.
| Measure | the Dorset Police area | England | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crimes, the 12 months to August 2026 | 57,002 | 5,311,106 | 5,618,064 |
| Crimes per 1,000 residents | 71.3 | 96.7 | 96.7 |
| Change on previous 12 months | -2% | -1% | -1% |
| Population | 798,914 | 54,941,057 | 58,127,638 |
The year to August 2026 had the least recorded crime in the Dorset Police area of any year here (57,002 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 24%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.
| Period | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year to August 2026 | 57,002 | 71.3 | 96.7 |
| Year to August 2025 | 58,270 | 72.9 | 97.2 |
| Year to August 2024 | 61,454 | 76.9 | 97.9 |
| Year to August 2023 | 62,609 | 78.4 | n/a |
| Year to August 2022 | 66,862 | 83.7 | 102.0 |
| Year to August 2021 | 70,304 | 88.0 | 101.4 |
| Year to August 2020 | 72,546 | 90.8 | 102.7 |
| Year to August 2019 | 72,645 | 90.9 | 101.7 |
| Year to August 2018 | 74,793 | 93.6 | 100.8 |
Month by month
| Month | Crimes |
|---|---|
| August 2026 | 5,845 |
| July 2026 | 6,322 |
| June 2026 | 5,089 |
| May 2026 | 5,248 |
| April 2026 | 4,695 |
| March 2026 | 4,552 |
| February 2026 | 4,203 |
| January 2026 | 4,090 |
| December 2025 | 4,238 |
| November 2025 | 4,060 |
| October 2025 | 4,440 |
| September 2025 | 4,220 |
No category with at least 20 crimes was notably above the England and Wales rate, and theft from the person (83% below) and other crime (66% below) were well below it. On the year before, robbery rose from 354 to 454 and drugs rose from 959 to 1,190, while theft from the person fell from 297 to 234 and bicycle theft fell from 625 to 497.
| Crime type | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 | Change on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 18,780 | 23.5 | 34.2 | -4% |
| Anti-social behaviour | 15,067 | 18.9 | 15.4 | +10% |
| Shoplifting | 4,634 | 5.8 | 8.5 | -2% |
| Criminal damage and arson | 4,109 | 5.1 | 6.7 | -9% |
| Other theft | 3,475 | 4.3 | 6.4 | -11% |
| Vehicle crime | 2,857 | 3.6 | 5.0 | -12% |
| Public order | 2,772 | 3.5 | 6.7 | -15% |
| Burglary | 2,017 | 2.5 | 3.6 | -8% |
| Drugs | 1,190 | 1.5 | 3.3 | +24% |
| Other crime | 572 | 0.7 | 2.1 | -6% |
| Bicycle theft | 497 | 0.6 | 0.8 | -20% |
| Robbery | 454 | 0.6 | 1.4 | +28% |
| Possession of weapons | 344 | 0.4 | 1.0 | -5% |
| Theft from the person | 234 | 0.3 | 1.7 | -21% |
What each category covers: crime categories.
47,076 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in the Dorset Police area in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 58.9 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 8% on the year ending March 2025 (51,123), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 43 territorial police force areas of England and Wales, the Dorset Police area had the 4th lowest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 41 force areas with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).
Offences recorded in the Dorset Police area, the year ending March 2026
The largest category was violence without injury, with 7,568 offences (16% 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 (0.21 times), trafficking of drugs (0.27 times) and robbery of personal property (0.31 times).
The largest rises on the year were in trafficking of drugs (+65%). The largest falls were in robbery of personal property (−24%) and vehicle offences (−21%). 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 | 7,568 | 9.5 | 13.2 | 0.72 | −2% |
| Stalking and harassment | 5,497 | 6.9 | 10.1 | 0.68 | −6% |
| Violence with injury | 5,382 | 6.7 | 8.1 | 0.83 | −10% |
| Shoplifting | 5,043 | 6.3 | 8.1 | 0.78 | – |
| Criminal damage | 4,512 | 5.6 | 6.8 | 0.83 | −11% |
| Other theft offences | 4,085 | 5.1 | 6.5 | 0.78 | −8% |
| Vehicle offences | 3,222 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 0.80 | −21% |
| Public order offences | 3,146 | 3.9 | 7.0 | 0.57 | −20% |
| Residential burglary | 1,501 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 0.75 | −13% |
| Other sexual offences | 1,419 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 0.78 | −0% |
| Possession of drugs | 1,164 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.58 | +5% |
| Non-residential burglary | 866 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.97 | −13% |
| Rape | 828 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.86 | −1% |
| Bicycle theft | 676 | 0.85 | 0.85 | 0.99 | +6% |
| Miscellaneous crimes against society | 637 | 0.80 | 2.1 | 0.38 | −10% |
| Possession of weapons | 403 | 0.50 | 1.00 | 0.51 | −12% |
| Theft from the person | 299 | 0.37 | 1.8 | 0.21 | −16% |
| Trafficking of drugs | 256 | 0.32 | 1.2 | 0.27 | +65% |
| Robbery of personal property | 227 | 0.28 | 0.91 | 0.31 | −24% |
| Robbery of business property | 197 | 0.25 | 0.47 | 0.52 | – |
| Arson | 143 | 0.18 | 0.38 | 0.47 | −8% |
| Homicide | 3 | <0.01 | 0.01 | 0.47 | −25% |
| Death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving | 2 | <0.01 | 0.03 | 0.07 | −67% |
Recorded crime in the Dorset Police area 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. The Dorset Police area'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 | 47,076 | 58.9 | 83.2 |
| 2025 | 51,123 | 64.0 | 84.5 |
| 2024 | 51,860 | 64.9 | 86.2 |
| 2023 | 52,740 | 66.0 | 89.2 |
| 2022 | 51,466 | 64.4 | 85.4 |
| 2021 | 47,418 | 59.4 | 74.1 |
| 2020 | 54,452 | 68.2 | 84.7 |
| 2019 | 55,404 | 69.3 | 84.1 |
| 2018 | 49,874 | 62.4 | 78.2 |
| 2017 | 45,221 | 56.6 | 69.1 |
| 2016 | 41,590 | 52.1 | 62.3 |
| 2015 | 36,082 | 45.2 | 57.1 |
| 2014 | 37,212 | 46.6 | 55.9 |
| 2013 | 39,758 | 49.8 | 56.7 |
No district figures are shown for the Dorset Police area for the year ending March 2026 because the Home Office publishes each of them jointly with a neighbouring district, as one community safety partnership.
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.
6 of the 8 nearest police force areas have a higher crime rate than the Dorset Police area; the highest is the Gwent Police area (118.9 per 1,000) and the lowest the Wiltshire Police area (67.3).
| Police force area | Crimes | Per 1,000 | Rate vs the Dorset Police area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hampshire | 166,958 | 80.9 | +13% |
| Wiltshire | 51,659 | 67.3 | -6% |
| Avon and Somerset | 188,310 | 103.8 | +46% |
| Gwent | 71,512 | 118.9 | +67% |
| Thames Valley | 193,726 | 73.4 | +3% |
| Surrey | 87,794 | 70.3 | -1% |
| South Wales | 126,013 | 92.4 | +30% |
| Sussex | 163,298 | 92.8 | +30% |
Of the 2 areas within the Dorset Police area, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole had the highest crime rate (87.9 per 1,000) and Dorset the lowest (54.0).
| Area | Type | Population | Crimes | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | District | 408,967 | 35,930 | 87.9 |
| Dorset | District | 389,947 | 21,072 | 54.0 |
Of the 41,935 crimes in the Dorset Police area with a recorded outcome, 34% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 6.2% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 15,067 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.
| Outcome | Crimes | Share | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investigation complete; no suspect identified | 14,445 | 34.4% | 35.3% |
| Unable to prosecute suspect | 14,208 | 33.9% | 34.5% |
| Under investigation | 4,766 | 11.4% | 11.5% |
| Awaiting court outcome | 2,615 | 6.2% | 5.2% |
| Status update unavailable | 1,289 | 3.1% | 4.7% |
| Local resolution | 1,205 | 2.9% | 3.1% |
| Court result unavailable | 948 | 2.3% | 2.5% |
| Action to be taken by another organisation | 834 | 2.0% | 1.3% |
| Further investigation is not in the public interest | 790 | 1.9% | 0.5% |
| Offender given a caution | 450 | 1.1% | 0.6% |
| Formal action is not in the public interest | 231 | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| Further action is not in the public interest | 129 | 0.3% | 0.3% |
The Dorset Police area has an estimated population of 798,914 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has an older population (26%, against 19%), more retired residents (29%, against 22%) and less social housing (12%, against 17%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up the Dorset Police area average decile 6.2 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.
| Measure | the Dorset Police area | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 0 to 15 | 15.5% | 18.3% |
| Aged 65 and over | 26.0% | 18.9% |
| Residents 16+ in work | 53.9% | 57.2% |
| Residents 16+ unemployed | 2.8% | 3.4% |
| Residents 16+ retired | 29.0% | 21.6% |
| Residents 16+ who are students | 6.7% | 7.9% |
| Residents 16+ with Level 4 qualifications or above (degree, HND and similar) | 31.8% | 33.8% |
| Residents 16+ with no qualifications | 15.9% | 18.2% |
| Households with no car or van | 16.6% | 23.3% |
| Homes owned outright or with a mortgage | 67.4% | 62.5% |
| Social rented homes | 11.6% | 17.1% |
| Private rented homes | 20.9% | 20.3% |
| Average deprivation decile (1 = most deprived, 10 = least) | 6.2 | 5.5 (England) |
| Residents in the most deprived 10% of areas | 3.4% | 10.1% (England) |
Is the Dorset Police area a safe place to live?
The Dorset Police area recorded 71.3 crimes per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to August 2026, lower than the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and ranks 37th of the 41 police force areas on this site by crime rate (1 = highest).
What is the most common crime in the Dorset Police area?
Violence and sexual offences was the most common category, with 18,780 reports in the 12 months to August 2026, followed by anti-social behaviour (15,067).
Is crime in the Dorset Police area going up or down?
Recorded crime in the Dorset Police area was down 2% on the year before: 57,002 crimes in the 12 months to August 2026 against 58,270 in the previous 12 months.
What is the population of the Dorset Police area?
About 798,914 people (ONS mid-2024 estimate), 26% of them aged 65 or over (England and Wales: 19%).
How many crimes did the police record in the Dorset Police area in the year ending March 2026?
47,076 crimes, excluding fraud, in the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics: 58.9 per 1,000 residents, against 83.2 across England and Wales. In the year ending March 2025 the figure was 51,123.
Which offences are more common in the Dorset Police area 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 (7,568).
Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.