Swindon has a crime rate of 80.81 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #168 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Swindon'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 Swindon?

As of April 2026, Swindon has an annual crime rate of 80.81 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,752 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 Swindon rank nationally for crime?

Swindon ranks #168 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 Swindon?

The most common crime type in Swindon is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 656 incidents in April 2026 — 37.4% 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 Swindon local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Wiltshire Police Police

Crime in Swindon: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Swindon recorded 1,752 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 7.51 per 1,000 residents. This places Swindon at #168 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 37.4% of all offences recorded. Crime is up 4.2% compared to the same period last year.

info Crime is above average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring80.81 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment1,752 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #168 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_upCrime up 4.2% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

1,752

trending_down -1.8% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

80.81per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#168of 331

Ranked by annual rate

National Population

233,411

Estimated population

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 Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 48	48
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 20 Violence and sexual offences: 13 Anti-social behaviour: 7	20
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 28	28
On or near Supermarket Map	Public order: 14	14
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 11 Bicycle theft: 3	11
On or near Shopping Area Map	Public order: 8 Bicycle theft: 4	8
On or near Emlyn Square Map	Anti-social behaviour: 9 Criminal damage and arson: 3	9
On or near Supermarket Map	Anti-social behaviour: 11	11
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 11	11
On or near Markenfield Map	Shoplifting: 7 Bicycle theft: 2	7

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

1,752 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

656

37.4%

Anti-social Behaviour

316

18.0%

Public Order

163

9.3%

Shoplifting

156

8.9%

Criminal Damage & Arson

133

7.6%

Other Theft

4.9%

Vehicle Crime

4.7%

Drug Offences

2.3%

Burglary

1.7%

Other Crime

1.4%

Bicycle Theft

1.3%

Robbery

1.1%

Weapons Possession

0.9%

Theft from Person

0.5%

Crime Analysis: Swindon

Swindon recorded 1,752 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 80.81 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, ranked #168 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Swindon (37.4%). Anti-social Behaviour (18.0%) and Public Order (9.3%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Swindon has risen slightly — by 4.2%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Wiltshire Police 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

267

Total Stops

19.5%

Arrest Rate

105

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

146

Offensive weapons

Stolen goods

Evidence of offences under the Act

Articles for use in criminal damage

Game or poaching equipment

Firearms

Article for use in theft

Outcome

A no further action disposal162

Arrest52

Not recorded23

Community resolution22

Caution (simple or conditional)5

Summons / charged by post3

Gender

Male216

Female45

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

82.6%

White

10.0%

Black

5.8%

Asian

1.6%

Other

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

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

20 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Central	346	208.9
2	Eastcott	169	131.5
3	Penhill and Upper Stratton	82	100.4
4	Walcot and Park North	128	95.0
5	Liden, Eldene and Park South	101	84.1

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Haydon Wick	30	2.5
shield	Shaw	39	2.5
shield	St Margaret and South Marston	53	2.7
shield	Covingham and Dorcan	39	3.7
shield	Blunsdon and Highworth	77	4.7

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -1.8%

Year-on-Yeartrending_up +4.2%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.9%

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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