Crime in Swanage
Recorded crime in Swanage is about the Dorset average and 0.6 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 17%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Swanage: about 7,262 residents in 7 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 7/10Low crime
- Living
- 5.8/10Fair
- 5-year change
- −17%fewer crimes
- vs the council
- 1.0×the Dorset average
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Swanage.
Crime over 5 years
Down 17% in 5 years Recorded crimes within 1.5 km of Swanage, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: about the Dorset average (0.6× the England and Wales average). 45 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 72% of the harm here
- Burglary: 13% of the harm here
- Other theft: 5% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 72% 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: 21 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crimes recorded in Dorset (the whole partnership area)
April 2025 to March 2026, for the whole Dorset partnership area, not only Swanage. Figures for the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole community safety partnerships, which together cover Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
| 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% |
| Vandalism (homes, other buildings and vehicles) | 2,949 | 3.7 | Down 17% |
| Burglary of homes | 911 | 1.1 | Up 3% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 3 | - | - |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare.
How often crimes lead to a charge in BH19
In BH19, the postcode district at the centre of Swanage, 6% 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) | 214 | 7% | 9% | 67% | 10% | 7% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 51 | 2% | 2% | 25% | 67% | 4% |
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.
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 | 2.5 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 21.2 |
| Drugs | 0.8 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.3 |
| Other crime | 0.4 |
| Other theft | 4.4 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.3 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 2.1 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 6.4 |
| Public order | 3.0 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.3 |
| Shoplifting | 3.6 |
Postcode districts in Swanage
Nearby towns
Council: Dorset
Questions about crime in Swanage
- Is Swanage a safe place to live?
- Swanage scores 7 out of 10 for safety (low crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is about the Dorset average.
- Is crime going up or down in Swanage?
- Down 17% over 5 years, from 348 recorded crimes a year to 289.
- What is the most common crime in Swanage?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 21 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How does crime in Swanage compare with Dorset?
- Crime severity in Swanage is about the Dorset average.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Swanage?
- In BH19, the postcode district at the centre of Swanage, 6% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 34% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Swanage?
- In 2025/26, in the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole partnership area, which includes Swanage, the police recorded 896 cars stolen (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.1 per 1,000 residents, down 18% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Swanage?
- 2,949 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole partnership area, which includes Swanage, 3.7 per 1,000 residents, 0.8 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Swanage last year?
- 3 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in 2025/26, in the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole partnership area, which includes Swanage, against 4 the year before. Police data does not say where in the area they happened.