Crime in New Forest
Recorded crime in New Forest is 0.8 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 30%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
176,116 residents in 114 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 5/10Average crime
- Safety in the world
- 7/10Low crime
- Living
- 6.1/10Fair
- 5-year change
- −30%fewer crimes
Crime over 5 years
Down 30% in 5 years Recorded crimes in New Forest, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 0.8× the England and Wales average. 61 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 60% of the harm here
- Burglary: 22% of the harm here
- Other theft: 4% of the harm here
Anti-social behaviour: 10 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crime by type
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, most serious first, not counting anti-social behaviour.
| Type | Per 1,000 a year |
|---|---|
| Robbery | 0.3 |
| Burglary | 5.5 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 23.6 |
| Drugs | 1.5 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.6 |
| Other crime | 1.1 |
| Other theft | 5.1 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.3 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 4.7 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 7.4 |
| Public order | 6.1 |
| Bicycle theft | 1.0 |
| Shoplifting | 3.9 |
What crimes are recorded in New Forest
52.8 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in New Forest in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Our total for April 2025 to March 2026: 9,191. Home Office recorded crime: 9,301 (1% apart).
Crimes recorded by the police, April 2025 to March 2026. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 140 | 0.79 | Down 31% |
| Cars broken into | 272 | 1.5 | Down 29% |
| Vehicle tampering | 64 | 0.36 | Down 41% |
| Vandalism to homes | 206 | 1.2 | Up 5% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 155 | 0.88 | Down 27% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 287 | 1.6 | Down 20% |
| Arson | 41 | 0.23 | Down 11% |
| Burglary of homes | 167 | 0.95 | Down 13% |
| Burglary of businesses | 230 | 1.3 | About the same |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 1 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 52 | 0.30 | Down 7% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 54 | 0.31 | Down 18% |
| Robbery of people | 36 | 0.20 | Down 23% |
| Robbery of businesses | 32 | 0.18 | - |
| Violence with injury | 1,049 | 6.0 | Down 2% |
| Violence without injury | 1,318 | 7.5 | Down 4% |
| Stalking and harassment | 1,369 | 7.8 | Up 2% |
| Sexual offences | 442 | 2.5 | Down 2% |
| Shoplifting | 760 | 4.3 | Down 28% |
| Bicycle theft | 72 | 0.41 | Down 43% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 38 | 0.22 | Down 12% |
| Drug dealing | 44 | 0.25 | Down 39% |
| Drug possession | 178 | 1.0 | Down 8% |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare. These are council-area figures: police.uk street-level data, used for the map and the Safety score, only has the broad categories, and no source publishes murders or stabbings by street.
Hampshire Police area: 988 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (945 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only New Forest.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Police and Crime Commissioner: Donna Jones (Hampshire) →
How often crimes lead to a charge
In New Forest, 6% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%).
- Charged or summonsed
- Caution or other action
- Suspect found, not prosecuted
- No suspect identified
- Still open
Show as a table
| Type | Crimes | Charged or summonsed | Caution or other action | Suspect found, not prosecuted | No suspect identified | Still open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 4,577 | 4% | 8% | 63% | 16% | 9% |
| Shoplifting | 968 | 27% | 7% | 15% | 48% | 2% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 967 | 4% | 7% | 22% | 64% | 4% |
| Public order | 908 | 4% | 4% | 45% | 40% | 7% |
| Other theft | 738 | 2% | 2% | 19% | 70% | 7% |
| Burglary | 635 | 5% | 1% | 14% | 73% | 7% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 536 | 1% | 1% | 9% | 85% | 4% |
| Other crime | 219 | 12% | 7% | 52% | 16% | 13% |
| Drugs | 196 | 10% | 47% | 19% | 21% | 3% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 132 | 9% | 11% | 41% | 25% | 14% |
| Bicycle theft | 83 | 1% | 0% | 6% | 83% | 10% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 7% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
New Forest, 2023 to 2025: 326 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 89 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 13 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.9 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 27% of them killed or seriously injured someone (Great Britain 26%).
Collisions on public roads that the police recorded where someone was hurt, counted where they happened, so busy through roads and town centres with few residents come out high. Serious and slight use the Department for Transport's adjusted severity, comparable between police forces. Source: Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Towns and cities in New Forest
Postcode districts in New Forest
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for New Forest.
Questions about crime in New Forest
- Is New Forest a safe place to live?
- New Forest scores 5 out of 10 for safety (average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in New Forest?
- Down 30% over 5 years, from 13,006 recorded crimes a year to 9,085.
- What is the most common crime in New Forest?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 24 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in New Forest?
- In New Forest, 6% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 38% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in New Forest?
- Of 635 burglaries reported in New Forest between September 2024 and August 2025, 5% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 73% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in New Forest?
- In New Forest, the police recorded 140 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 0.8 per 1,000 residents, down 31% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in New Forest?
- 648 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in New Forest in 2025/26, 3.7 per 1,000 residents, 0.8 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in New Forest last year?
- 1 homicide (murder or manslaughter) was recorded in New Forest in 2025/26, against 0 the year before.