Crime in Dorset
Recorded crime in Dorset is 0.6 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 12%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
389,947 residents in 223 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 7/10Low crime
- Safety in the world
- 8/10Low crime
- Living
- 5.2/10Fair
- 5-year change
- −12%fewer crimes
Crime over 5 years
Down 12% in 5 years Recorded crimes in Dorset, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 0.6× the England and Wales average. 44 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 67% of the harm here
- Burglary: 15% of the harm here
- Other theft: 5% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 67% of the harm here. It is a broad police category: most of these crimes are assaults without injury, harassment and threats, often indoors between people who know each other, and only a small part are sexual or serious violent offences. Police data does not say which, so each one is weighted at the England and Wales average for the category, which can overstate a quiet residential area.
Anti-social behaviour: 19 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crime by type
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, most serious first, not counting anti-social behaviour.
| Type | Per 1,000 a year |
|---|---|
| Robbery | 0.2 |
| Burglary | 2.8 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 19.4 |
| Drugs | 1.1 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.3 |
| Other crime | 0.7 |
| Other theft | 4.7 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.2 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 2.5 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 5.9 |
| Public order | 3.1 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.4 |
| Shoplifting | 2.9 |
What crimes are recorded in Dorset
58.6 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole partnership area in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Crimes recorded by the police, April 2025 to March 2026. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership. Figures for the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole community safety partnerships, which together cover Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 896 | 1.1 | Down 18% |
| Cars broken into | 2,023 | 2.5 | Down 22% |
| Vehicle tampering | 296 | 0.37 | Down 24% |
| Vandalism to homes | 986 | 1.2 | Down 4% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 509 | 0.64 | Down 16% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 1,454 | 1.8 | Down 24% |
| Arson | 141 | 0.18 | Down 9% |
| Burglary of homes | 911 | 1.1 | Up 3% |
| Burglary of businesses | 859 | 1.1 | Down 13% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 3 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 205 | 0.26 | Down 16% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 206 | 0.26 | About the same |
| Robbery of people | 225 | 0.28 | Down 23% |
| Robbery of businesses | 197 | 0.25 | Up 338% |
| Violence with injury | 5,337 | 6.7 | Down 10% |
| Violence without injury | 7,539 | 9.4 | Down 2% |
| Stalking and harassment | 5,442 | 6.8 | Down 6% |
| Sexual offences | 2,216 | 2.8 | About the same |
| Shoplifting | 5,049 | 6.3 | About the same |
| Bicycle theft | 673 | 0.84 | Up 7% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 298 | 0.37 | Down 16% |
| Drug dealing | 261 | 0.33 | Up 64% |
| Drug possession | 1,171 | 1.5 | Up 6% |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare. These are council-area figures: police.uk street-level data, used for the map and the Safety score, only has the broad categories, and no source publishes murders or stabbings by street.
Dorset Police area: 249 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (229 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Dorset.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Police and Crime Commissioner: David Sidwick (Dorset) →
How often crimes lead to a charge
In Dorset, 8% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%).
- Charged or summonsed
- Caution or other action
- Suspect found, not prosecuted
- No suspect identified
- Still open
Show as a table
| Type | Crimes | Charged or summonsed | Caution or other action | Suspect found, not prosecuted | No suspect identified | Still open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 8,025 | 9% | 9% | 65% | 10% | 7% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 1,810 | 5% | 4% | 26% | 63% | 3% |
| Shoplifting | 1,515 | 17% | 2% | 14% | 66% | 1% |
| Other theft | 1,489 | 1% | 1% | 25% | 68% | 5% |
| Public order | 1,380 | 9% | 4% | 57% | 26% | 5% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 930 | 2% | 0% | 12% | 84% | 2% |
| Burglary | 796 | 5% | 1% | 17% | 71% | 5% |
| Drugs | 302 | 31% | 43% | 16% | 3% | 7% |
| Other crime | 274 | 7% | 11% | 54% | 15% | 14% |
| Bicycle theft | 136 | 3% | 1% | 6% | 80% | 10% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 135 | 39% | 11% | 40% | 4% | 7% |
| Robbery | 88 | 15% | 2% | 50% | 25% | 8% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 82 | 5% | 4% | 21% | 62% | 9% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 5% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Dorset, 2023 to 2025: 676 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 209 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 35 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.7 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 31% of them killed or seriously injured someone (Great Britain 26%).
Collisions on public roads that the police recorded where someone was hurt, counted where they happened, so busy through roads and town centres with few residents come out high. Serious and slight use the Department for Transport's adjusted severity, comparable between police forces. Source: Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Towns and cities in Dorset
Postcode districts in Dorset
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for Dorset.
Questions about crime in Dorset
- Is Dorset a safe place to live?
- Dorset scores 7 out of 10 for safety (low crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in Dorset?
- Down 12% over 5 years, from 17,574 recorded crimes a year to 15,488.
- What is the most common crime in Dorset?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 19 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Dorset?
- In Dorset, 8% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 35% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Dorset?
- Of 796 burglaries reported in Dorset between September 2024 and August 2025, 5% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 71% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Dorset?
- In the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole community safety partnerships (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset), the police recorded 896 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.1 per 1,000 residents, down 18% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Dorset?
- 2,949 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole community safety partnerships (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset) in 2025/26, 3.7 per 1,000 residents, 0.8 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Dorset last year?
- 3 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole community safety partnerships (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset) in 2025/26, against 4 the year before.