New Forest has a crime rate of 51.85 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, placing it among the higher-crime areas in the UK at #33 of 331 local authorities. Crime levels vary significantly across New Forest's wards; some neighbourhoods are considerably safer than the city average. See the ward breakdown and hotspot map on this page for a detailed local picture.

What is the crime rate in New Forest?

As of April 2026, New Forest has an annual crime rate of 51.85 per 1,000 residents, based on 809 recorded offences in the latest reporting period. This figure is sourced from Police.uk open data and normalised using ONS Census 2021 population estimates to allow accurate comparisons between areas.

How does New Forest rank nationally for crime?

New Forest ranks #33 out of 331 local authorities in England and Wales by annual crime rate per 1,000 residents. A rank of #1 indicates the highest crime rate nationally. Rankings are recalculated each month as new Police.uk data becomes available, covering all recorded crimes across the area.

What is the most common crime in New Forest?

The most common crime type in New Forest is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 315 incidents in April 2026 — 38.9% of all recorded crime in the area. Data is sourced from Police.uk and covers all crimes recorded by the responsible police force across the New Forest local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Hampshire Constabulary Police

Crime in New Forest: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

New Forest is one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, recording 809 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 4.58 per 1,000 residents. This places New Forest at #33 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 38.9% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 10.8% compared to the same period last year.

shield Crime is significantly below the UK average — one of the safer areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring51.85 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment809 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #33 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 10.8% year-on-year

Data Sources:Police.ukONS Census 2021HM Land Registry Period: April 2026 • Updated monthly

Total Crimes

809

trending_down -1.5% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

51.85per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#33of 331

Top 10% Safest UK

Hampshire

#3rank

Ranked by annual rate

12-Month Crime Trend

Monthly Totals

Interactive Crime Map

District View

Live Points

Crime Incident

Area Boundary

Incident Distribution

Top Locations

Location Reference	Crime Breakdown	Primary Count
On or near Parking Area Map	Criminal damage and arson: 16	16
On or near Sports/Recreation Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9 Public order: 3 Other theft: 2	9
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 11 Bicycle theft: 1	11
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 11	11
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 7 Robbery: 3	7
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9	9
On or near Ringwood Road Map	Violence and sexual offences: 7	7
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 5 Burglary: 2	5
On or near Parking Area Map	Vehicle crime: 6	6
On or near Sports/Recreation Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 5	5

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

809 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

315

38.9%

Anti-social Behaviour

11.9%

Criminal Damage & Arson

11.6%

Public Order

8.5%

Other Theft

8.0%

Burglary

5.3%

Shoplifting

4.4%

Vehicle Crime

4.2%

Drug Offences

2.3%

Other Crime

1.9%

Weapons Possession

1.1%

Robbery

0.9%

Bicycle Theft

0.7%

Theft from Person

0.1%

Crime Analysis: New Forest

New Forest recorded 809 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 51.85 per 1,000 residents — among the lower-crime areas in England and Wales, ranked #33 of 331 by crime rate.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in New Forest (38.9%). Anti-social Behaviour (11.9%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (11.6%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in New Forest has fallen sharply — by 10.8%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Hampshire Constabulary through the Police.uk open data platform and cross-referenced with ONS 2021 Census population estimates to produce the per-resident rates above. Data typically appears 1–2 months after the end of the recording period.

Stop & Search

April 2026

1,565

Total Stops

17.4%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Firearms

Psychoactive substances

Outcome

A no further action disposal939

Community resolution289

Arrest273

Summons / charged by post35

Not recorded29

Gender

Male1,298

Female243

Other24

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

81.4%

White

9.1%

Black

5.7%

Asian

3.8%

Other

Stop & search data published by Hampshire Constabulary under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: police.uk.

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

34 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Totton West	45	87.3
2	Totton East	43	83.5
3	Ringwood South	59	70.4
4	Totton North	39	67.9
5	Milton	41	66.0

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Hordle	11	2.0
shield	Boldre and Sway	11	1.9
shield	Milford	14	2.9
shield	Barton	15	2.8
shield	Ringwood North	18	2.9

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -1.5%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -10.8%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -1.7%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 331 local authorities in England & Wales.

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