Winchester has a crime rate of 55.19 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, placing it among the higher-crime areas in the UK at #45 of 331 local authorities. Crime levels vary significantly across Winchester'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 Winchester?

As of April 2026, Winchester has an annual crime rate of 55.19 per 1,000 residents, based on 701 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 Winchester rank nationally for crime?

Winchester ranks #45 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 Winchester?

The most common crime type in Winchester is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 242 incidents in April 2026 — 34.5% 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 Winchester local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Hampshire Constabulary Police

Crime in Winchester: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Winchester is one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, recording 701 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 5.05 per 1,000 residents. This places Winchester at #45 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 34.5% of all offences recorded. Crime is up 5.9% 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

monitoring55.19 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment701 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #45 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_upCrime up 5.9% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

701

Annual Crime Rate

55.19per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#45of 331

Top 14% Safest UK

Hampshire

#5rank

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 Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 10 Violence and sexual offences: 7 Other theft: 3	10
On or near West Hill Drive Map	Violence and sexual offences: 10 Other crime: 5	10
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 11 Anti-social behaviour: 3	11
On or near St George'S Street Map	Shoplifting: 9 Vehicle crime: 2	9
On or near Silver Hill Map	Drugs: 9 Theft from the person: 1	9
On or near Market Street Map	Shoplifting: 6 Public order: 4	6
On or near Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 7	7
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 6	6
On or near Parking Area Map	Public order: 3 Vehicle crime: 3	3
On or near Petrol Station Map	Other theft: 4 Public order: 2	4

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

701 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

242

34.5%

Anti-social Behaviour

11.3%

Public Order

10.4%

Shoplifting

7.6%

Other Theft

7.4%

Criminal Damage & Arson

6.8%

Drug Offences

6.4%

Vehicle Crime

6.3%

Burglary

4.6%

Other Crime

2.3%

Weapons Possession

0.9%

Theft from Person

0.6%

Robbery

0.6%

Bicycle Theft

0.4%

Crime Analysis: Winchester

Winchester recorded 701 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 55.19 per 1,000 residents — among the lower-crime areas in England and Wales, ranked #45 of 331 by crime rate.

Violence & Sexual Offences makes up the largest share of crime in Winchester at 34.5%. Anti-social Behaviour (11.3%) and Public Order (10.4%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Winchester has risen noticeably — by 5.9%. 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

16 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	St Michael	159	122.3
2	Southwick and Wickham	45	72.4
3	St Luke	29	59.5
4	Whiteley and Shedfield	81	56.9
5	Bishop's Waltham	34	51.0

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Badger Farm and Oliver's Battery	34	2.4
shield	Denmead	16	1.8
shield	St Barnabas	23	2.5
shield	Upper Meon Valley	13	2.2
shield	Central Meon Valley	43	4.5

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_flat 0.0%

Year-on-Yeartrending_up +5.9%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_up +0.7%

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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