Is Isle of Wight safe?

Isle of Wight has a crime rate of 75.18 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #142 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Isle of Wight'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 Isle of Wight?

As of April 2026, Isle of Wight has an annual crime rate of 75.18 per 1,000 residents, based on 999 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 Isle of Wight rank nationally for crime?

Isle of Wight ranks #142 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 Isle of Wight?

The most common crime type in Isle of Wight is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 460 incidents in April 2026 — 46.0% 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 Isle of Wight local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Hampshire Constabulary Police

Crime in Isle of Wight: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Isle of Wight recorded 999 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 7.11 per 1,000 residents. This places Isle of Wight at #142 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 46.0% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 7.1% compared to the same period last year.

check_circle Crime is below average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring75.18 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment999 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #142 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 7.1% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

999

trending_up +5.4% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

75.18per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#142of 331

Ranked by annual rate

National Population

140,459

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: 49	49
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 25	25
On or near Parkhurst Road Map	Violence and sexual offences: 14 Other crime: 2	14
On or near Guadeloupe Road Map	Shoplifting: 7 Anti-social behaviour: 7	7
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 9	9
On or near Oak Vale Map	Violence and sexual offences: 5 Public order: 4	5
On or near Seagrove Drive Map	Anti-social behaviour: 7	7
On or near Union Street Map	Shoplifting: 7	7
On or near Parking Area Map	Public order: 7	7
On or near Millennium Way Map	Shoplifting: 6	6

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

999 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

460

46.0%

Anti-social Behaviour

134

13.4%

Shoplifting

120

12.0%

Public Order

7.6%

Criminal Damage & Arson

6.6%

Other Theft

4.1%

Drug Offences

3.2%

Burglary

2.1%

Weapons Possession

1.6%

Vehicle Crime

1.2%

Other Crime

0.8%

Robbery

0.6%

Theft from Person

0.6%

Bicycle Theft

0.1%

Crime Analysis: Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight recorded 999 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 75.18 per 1,000 residents — broadly average for England and Wales, ranked #142 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Isle of Wight (46.0%). Anti-social Behaviour (13.4%) and Shoplifting (12.0%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Isle of Wight has fallen noticeably — by 7.1%. 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

39 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Ryde North West	70	165.2
2	Sandown South	59	132.8
3	Mountjoy & Shide	45	131.3
4	Pan & Barton	56	126.2
5	Ryde South East	25	92.8

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Chale, Niton & Shorwell	10	2.9
shield	Binstead & Fishbourne	7	1.9
shield	Cowes South & Northwood	14	3.4
shield	Bembridge	11	3.0
shield	Newchurch, Havenstreet & Ashey	12	3.5

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +5.4%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -7.1%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -1.1%

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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