Recorded crime in the Dorset Council area fell 9.8% to 19,274 in the year to June. Home burglaries rose slightly, unlike the force-wide fall police reported.
Police recorded 19,274 crimes in the Dorset Council area in the year to June 2026. That is 2,087 fewer than a year earlier, a fall of 9.8 per cent.
The figures come from the Office for National Statistics police force area data tables, published on 22 October. They cover the council area from Lyme Regis to Verwood. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are counted separately.
Across the whole Dorset Police area, including Bournemouth and Poole, recorded crime fell 7.0 per cent, from 50,443 to 46,919. Across England and Wales it fell 0.7 per cent.
The lowest rate in the force area
The Dorset Council area recorded 43.8 crimes for every 1,000 residents. That is about half the rate for England and Wales.
| Area | Crimes per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|
| Dorset Council area | 43.8 |
| Poole | 58.4 |
| Bournemouth | 89.2 |
| England and Wales | 84.6 |
Dorset Police as a whole recorded 58.9 crimes per 1,000 people. That is the fifth lowest of the 42 police force areas with a published rate. Only North Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Suffolk and West Mercia were lower.
What fell, and what did not
Most types of crime fell in the council area. A few did not.
| Offence | Year to June 2025 | Year to June 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public order offences | 1,761 | 1,287 | -26.9% |
| Vehicle offences | 1,240 | 934 | -24.7% |
| Shoplifting | 2,081 | 1,714 | -17.6% |
| Violence with injury | 2,616 | 2,233 | -14.6% |
| All theft offences | 6,456 | 5,632 | -12.8% |
| Criminal damage and arson | 2,300 | 2,115 | -8.0% |
| Stalking and harassment | 2,814 | 2,599 | -7.6% |
| Sexual offences | 1,003 | 1,001 | -0.2% |
| Robbery | 121 | 122 | +0.8% |
| Residential burglary | 616 | 627 | +1.8% |
| Drug offences | 465 | 509 | +9.5% |
Burglary and robbery: the county differs from the force
Dorset Police welcomed the figures and pointed to a 9.4 per cent fall in residential burglaries. That is true of the force area as a whole, where they fell from 1,631 to 1,477.
In the Dorset Council area they did not fall. They rose from 616 to 627. The force-wide fall came almost entirely from Poole, where residential burglaries dropped from 422 to 272.
Robbery runs the other way. The force reported a 23.6 per cent rise, which it put down to a change in how robberies against businesses are recorded. In the council area robbery was flat, at 122. The rise was in Poole, from 52 to 93, and Bournemouth, from 197 to 240.
What the figures do and do not show
- They count crimes reported to and recorded by the police, not all crime.
- Fraud is left out, because Action Fraud records it nationally.
- The ONS publishes them as official statistics, not accredited official statistics, and warns that changes in recording practice affect comparisons.
What it means for you
The council area’s crime rate is about half that of England and Wales, and most types of crime fell last year. Home burglary is the exception, so the force’s home security advice applies here as much as in Bournemouth.
To find or join a Neighbourhood Watch group near you, the force points to ourwatch.org.uk.
For street-level crime near you month by month, see police.uk, which maps reports to the nearest street.
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