Crime, violence and anti-social behaviour affect how safe people feel, and they are concentrated in some neighbourhoods.
Raised by:Official data · Home OfficeCouncil plans+5 moreHealth and Wellbeing Board (acting as the Safer Portsmouth Partnership)Safer Portsmouth PartnershipPolice and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of WightHampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue AuthorityResidents’ surveys
The issue in five minutes
The problem
Crimes recorded by the police per 1,000 residents: 114 per 1,000 residents (2025/26), 31 per 1,000 residents higher than England (83.1), calculated from unrounded figures. Affects: Residents of the city centre and higher-crime wards, women and girls, young people at risk of exploitation, and victims of domestic abuse.3 related measures
45.4 per 1,000 residents Violence against the person recorded by the police per 1,000 residents (2025/26; 14 per 1,000 residents higher than England (31.3), calculated from unrounded figures)
8.9 per 1,000 residents Anti-social behaviour incidents recorded by the police per 1,000 residents (police force area) (2023/24; 7.9 per 1,000 residents lower than England (16.9), calculated from unrounded figures)
48 per 100,000 residents Serious offences involving a knife or sharp instrument per 100,000 residents (police force area) (2025/26; 32 per 100,000 residents lower than England (79.9), calculated from unrounded figures)
Different measures, sources and periods: shown together, not ranked against each other.
Who says so
Home Office; Office for National Statistics; residents’ surveys.
What’s being done
Community Safety Plan 2025-2028Reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and harm over three years through four priorities: tackling violent crime (including violence against women and girls and knife crime), reducing drug harm, supporting young people at risk and helping people with complex needs.Lead Health and Wellbeing Board (Safer Portsmouth Partnership)In progress · evidence 23 September 2026
Summer anti-social behaviour funding 2024Fund extra community wardens, youth outreach and patrols in anti-social behaviour hotspots in Portsmouth (£150,000 of a £750,000 force-wide release).Lead Police and Crime CommissionerFunded · evidence 28 August 2024
Funded by
Funded by Police and Crime Commissioner (Home Office hotspot grant)£150,000 · Portsmouth share of a £750,000 release, 2024
Show the other 1
Youth Justice Strategic PlanAdopt the Youth Justice Strategic Plan and its priorities for reducing offending and reoffending by children, with final approval by Full Council.Lead Portsmouth City CouncilProposed · evidence 27 October 2026
Domestic abuse for Portsmouth before 2011/12, in 2017/18 and for 2025/26; knife crime before 2021/22 and on the national definition; and both by ward (annual city totals from the council's assessments are shown; the police reply is awaited) (Freedom of Information request)
Fraud and computer misuse for Portsmouth. They are left out of the recorded-crime figures shown here, which cover offences recorded by the police for the area. Fraud is reported to Action Fraud and published for the whole country, so no Portsmouth figure is shown yet
Anti-social behaviour reports to the council by area (Freedom of Information request)
Results of the four-weekly places-of-concern meetings and the Young Futures pilot
Crimes recorded by the police per 1,000 residents, compared over 5 years.
1 · The issue
What the evidence says
Who is affected: Residents of the city centre and higher-crime wards, women and girls, young people at risk of exploitation, and victims of domestic abuse.
PressureCrime varies between neighbourhoods and crime types. Mapped police records can show where incidents were recorded and which categories changed. City centres attract visitors and businesses as well as residents. Use matching time windows and population definitions; a mapped crime rate is not an individual’s chance of being harmed.In context →
2 · The evidence
The figures
114 per 1,000 residents
Crimes recorded by the police per 1,000 residents City 2025/26Home Office ↗ · retrieved 9 Nov 2026
31 per 1,000 residents higher than England (83.1), calculated from unrounded figures.
Crimes recorded by the police per 1,000 residents
2002/03 to 2025/26
Portsmouth · offences per 1,000 residents
Reviewed figures: 2002/03 to 2025/26.
Change dates and range
Shown on this chart: 123.63 offences per 1,000 residents in 2002/03; 114.32 offences per 1,000 residents in 2025/26. These are recorded counts; check the coverage notes before comparing periods.
73.7112150.3
2002/032025/26
The line joins consecutive published observations.
Hover or tap the chart for a value. Use the date slider with touch or arrow keys. Escape closes the chart label.
No clear change Down 9.3 per 1,000 residents since 2002/03 (124).
How change is judged
Crimes recorded by the police per 1,000 residents: 5.1 per 1,000 residents change between 2020/21 and 2025/26, smaller than the threshold used (Standard deviation of the 23 year-to-year changes in Portsmouth’s recorded crime rate, 2002/03 to 2025/26 (11.35 offences per 1,000 residents). A five-year window is used because recording-practice changes after 2014 move the series. Recorded crime reflects reporting and recording as well as offending.).
Rule: Standard deviation of the 23 year-to-year changes in Portsmouth’s recorded crime rate, 2002/03 to 2025/26 (11.35 offences per 1,000 residents). A five-year window is used because recording-practice changes after 2014 move the series. Recorded crime reflects reporting and recording as well as offending.
In November 2014 the police inspectorate (HMIC) reported under-recording of crime by police forces. Forces then improved their recording; ONS links the large rises in recorded violence since 2015 to this, so earlier and later years are not like for like.
From 2018 stalking, harassment and controlling behaviour were recorded in addition to other crimes reported at the same time, adding to violence figures.
From May 2023 that rule was reversed: police no longer record two crimes when one is a stalking, harassment or controlling behaviour offence. This lowers some counts, such as malicious communications.
Same period, other places (2025/26)
Portsmouth114
Southampton120
Chichester59.8
Winchester55.3
South East70.1
England83.1
Comparators: the nearest cities and the most similar places, with England.
More trends for this issue (3)
Violence against the person recorded by the police per 1,000 residents
2002/03 to 2025/26
Portsmouth · offences per 1,000 residents
Reviewed figures: 2002/03 to 2025/26.
Change dates and range
Shown on this chart: From 2002/03 to 2025/26, violence against the person recorded by the police per 1,000 residents rose by 200.1% in Portsmouth and rose by 134.9% in England.
Both places compared over 2002/03 to 2025/26, using matching published dates.
Compared areas: Portsmouth; England.
Actual values
PortsmouthEngland
4.833.562.3
2002/032025/26
Each line joins consecutive published observations for that place. Missing dates remain gaps.
Hover or tap the chart for a value. Use the date slider with touch or arrow keys. Escape closes the chart label.
These are crimes recorded by the police, not all crime. Many crimes are never reported, and a rise can mean better recording or more reporting, not only more crime.
Anti-social behaviour incidents recorded by the police per 1,000 residents (police force area)
2011/12 to 2023/24
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary area · incidents per 1,000 residents
Reviewed figures: 2011/12 to 2023/24.
Change dates and range
Shown on this chart: From 2011/12 to 2023/24, anti-social behaviour incidents recorded by the police per 1,000 residents (police force area) fell by 81.2% in Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary area and fell by 65.3% in England.
Both places compared over 2011/12 to 2023/24, using matching published dates.
Compared areas: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary area; England.
Actual values
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary areaEngland
4.12851.8
2011/122023/24
Each line joins consecutive published observations for that place. Missing dates remain gaps.
Hover or tap the chart for a value. Use the date slider with touch or arrow keys. Escape closes the chart label.
These are incidents reported to the police, not crimes. ASB reported only to the council or a housing provider is not included.
Serious offences involving a knife or sharp instrument per 100,000 residents (police force area)
2019/20 to 2025/26
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary area · offences per 100,000 residents
Reviewed figures: 2019/20 to 2025/26.
Change dates and range
Shown on this chart: From 2019/20 to 2025/26, serious offences involving a knife or sharp instrument per 100,000 residents (police force area) fell by 29.1% in Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary area and fell by 15.6% in England.
Both places compared over 2019/20 to 2025/26, using matching published dates.
Compared areas: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary area; England.
Actual values
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary areaEngland
42.470.498.4
2019/202025/26
Each line joins consecutive published observations for that place. Missing dates remain gaps.
Hover or tap the chart for a value. Use the date slider with touch or arrow keys. Escape closes the chart label.
This is a police force figure covering Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight together. Knife crime is not published for Portsmouth on its own.
Related measures
45.4 per 1,000 residentsViolence against the person recorded by the police per 1,000 residentsCity 2025/26 · 14 per 1,000 residents higher than England (31.3), calculated from unrounded figures · Violence against the person, the largest group of recorded crime.
8.9 per 1,000 residentsAnti-social behaviour incidents recorded by the police per 1,000 residents (police force area)Police force area 2023/24 · 7.9 per 1,000 residents lower than England (16.9), calculated from unrounded figures · Anti-social behaviour incidents; force-area figures, ending 2023/24.
48 per 100,000 residentsSerious offences involving a knife or sharp instrument per 100,000 residents (police force area)Police force area 2025/26 · 32 per 100,000 residents lower than England (79.9), calculated from unrounded figures · Knife crime is a Safer Portsmouth Partnership priority; force-area figures.
Show the other 3 measures
6,067 incidentsDomestic abuse incidents reported to the police in PortsmouthCity 2024/25 · Domestic abuse incidents reported to the police in Portsmouth, 2011/12 to 2024/25 (2017/18 not published as a figure). Police records, not how common abuse is.
3,940 crimesDomestic abuse crimes recorded by the police in PortsmouthCity 2024/25 · The part of those incidents recorded as crimes. Kept separate from incidents; recording changes affect it.
826 crimesKnife-enabled crimes in Portsmouth (the council's broad local measure)City 2024/25 · The council's broad count of knife-enabled crimes in Portsmouth, 2021/22 to 2024/25; it includes possession and is wider than the national knife measure.
Council consultation: 66% of 1,698 respondents put “making sure people feel safe and supported in their homes and communities” in their top five priorities for the council (rank 1 of the published five; 16 August to 14 September 2025; people chose to take part). How residents ranked priorities →
“"ASB is a big problem in the area where I live" (1 not a problem to 5 very big problem)” Answer: Agree or strongly agree
32%
Self-selected responses · 1,074 respondents · fieldwork 10 February to 21 March 2026 · Portsmouth City Council ↗
Survey-based evidence. Convenience sample at busy locations, not random and not weighted; the council notes people with experience of crime or ASB may be more likely to take part. The report says this is 6 points lower than 2024; perception has been broadly stable since 2018.
“Personally witnessed or experienced anti-social behaviour in Portsmouth in the previous 12 months (no list shown)” Answer: Yes, at least one ASB type
77%
Self-selected responses · 1,073 respondents · fieldwork 10 February to 21 March 2026 · Portsmouth City Council ↗
Survey-based evidence. Convenience sample at busy locations, not random and not weighted; the council notes people with experience of crime or ASB may be more likely to take part. Highest since this question method began in 2014. 829 of the 1,074 interviews gives 77.2%; the report states 77.3%, probably excluding a blank answer.
“Personally witnessed or experienced anti-social behaviour in Portsmouth in the previous 12 months (no list shown)” Answer: Yes, at least one ASB type
Survey-based evidence. Convenience sample at busy locations, not random and not weighted; the council notes people with experience of crime or ASB may be more likely to take part. 2024 value read from Figure 9 of the 2026 report and consistent with its stated 13-point rise; the 2024 report itself could not be read. Base not stated.
“Types of ASB personally witnessed or experienced in the previous 12 months (unprompted)” Answer: People using or supplying drugs
20%
Self-selected responses · 1,074 respondents · fieldwork 10 February to 21 March 2026 · Portsmouth City Council ↗
Survey-based evidence. Convenience sample at busy locations, not random and not weighted; the council notes people with experience of crime or ASB may be more likely to take part. Most common ASB type in 2026.
“Types of ASB personally witnessed or experienced in the previous 12 months (unprompted)” Answer: People using or supplying drugs
Survey-based evidence. Convenience sample at busy locations, not random and not weighted; the council notes people with experience of crime or ASB may be more likely to take part. 2024 value from Table 5 of the 2026 report; base not stated there.
“Types of ASB personally witnessed or experienced in the previous 12 months (unprompted)” Answer: Traffic issues (including e-scooters)
18%
Self-selected responses · 1,074 respondents · fieldwork 10 February to 21 March 2026 · Portsmouth City Council ↗
Survey-based evidence. Convenience sample at busy locations, not random and not weighted; the council notes people with experience of crime or ASB may be more likely to take part.
Formal commitments by public bodies, with their original decision. Stages without dated evidence are hatched, never filled.
Committed by Health and Wellbeing Board (Safer Portsmouth Partnership)In progress
Community Safety Plan 2025-2028
Reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and harm over three years through four priorities: tackling violent crime (including violence against women and girls and knife crime), reducing drug harm, supporting young people at risk and helping people with complex needs.
25 June 2025milestone Health and Wellbeing Board approved the Community Safety Plan 2025-2028. The plan sets no fixed numerical targets and has no plan-level budget. source ↗
23 September 2026milestone Progress update on the Community Safety Action Plan 2025-28 presented to the Health and Wellbeing Board, for information. source ↗
Committed by Safer Portsmouth PartnershipNot verified
Community Safety Plan 2025-2028
Run a Young Futures panel pilot for children aged 10 to 17 at risk of involvement in crime, linking them to positive activities and role models.
ApprovedFundedUnder wayCompleted
No dated evidence of progress has been found; stages are shown hatched.
Capital programme 2026/27: schemes added by amendment
Deliver four schemes added to the 2026/27 capital programme: a raised zebra crossing on Lawrence Road, traffic calming on Highbury Grove, five deployable CCTV cameras for Charles Dickens ward and more accessible play equipment.
Committed by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue AuthorityApproved
Safety Plan 2025-2030
Deliver the Safety Plan (community risk management plan) from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2030. It names no Portsmouth-specific service changes; it identifies very high dwelling-fire risk areas, mainly in the cities.
Police, council and residents pick a few specific local problems each year, use matched data to understand them, act together, and publish what was done and whether harm fell, without identifying anyone.
Start soonBuild nextLonger term
EstimateAllocatedSpentUnknown
Proposed lead: Safer Portsmouth Partnership (proposal; not agreed)
First step: The partnership's analysts could set out, for one place already discussed at the 4-weekly meeting, the matched crime categories, Police.uk data and survey findings side by side, with their limits.
Proposals and votes by parties, councillors and MPs
What others have proposed on this issue and what happened to it. A pledge or campaign is not a decision.
Budget amendmentAdopted
Labour group amendment to the 2026/27 capital programme
Proposed by
Proposed by Labour group Cllr Charlotte Gerada
Where and when
Full Council budget meeting, 24 February 2026
What was proposed
Add four local schemes to the 2026/27 capital programme: a raised zebra crossing on Lawrence Road (£90,000 towards a £120,000 scheme, the rest from neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy), traffic calming on Highbury Grove (£56,000), five deployable CCTV cameras for Charles Dickens ward (£35,000), and £30,000 more for play equipment, taking accessible play improvements to £80,000.
Who can deliver it
Portsmouth City Council
The money
Capital, £211,000 in total. Paid for by moving £201,000 from the City Centre Road scheme and £10,000 from the DLTC Urban Spaces inclusive design budget, so no new money was added.
Outcome
26 for · 0 against · 15 abstained (counted from the named votes)
Build more genuinely affordable homes, including social housing; continue to challenge the spread of HMOs to keep communities mixed and balanced; more council-owned temporary accommodation; cheaper and more frequent buses; hardship support; more CCTV and accessible play equipment.
Who can deliver it
Portsmouth City Council, with bus operators for bus services
The money
No costs given.
Outcome
Election pledge: not put to a council vote.
What has happened since
A pledge, not a decision. CCTV and accessible play also appear in Labour’s budget amendment adopted on 24 February 2026, before the pledges were published.
Outcome: Crimes recorded by the police per 1,000 residents, latest against 5 years earlier; changes smaller than 11.4 are treated as no clear change. Now: no clear change.
Link neighbourhood safety priorities to measured results: Recorded crime by category; Project-area harm; Repeat victimisation; ASB experience and reporting; Case outcomes.
What is not yet known
Domestic abuse for Portsmouth before 2011/12, in 2017/18 and for 2025/26; knife crime before 2021/22 and on the national definition; and both by ward (annual city totals from the council's assessments are shown; the police reply is awaited) (requested under Freedom of Information)
Fraud and computer misuse for Portsmouth. They are left out of the recorded-crime figures shown here, which cover offences recorded by the police for the area. Fraud is reported to Action Fraud and published for the whole country, so no Portsmouth figure is shown yet (not published)
Anti-social behaviour reports to the council by area (requested under Freedom of Information)
Results of the four-weekly places-of-concern meetings and the Young Futures pilot (not published)
Cost of living is featured by editorial choice. Other issues follow the order respondents gave the council in its 2025 budget consultation, a survey people chose to take part in; it describes respondents, not all residents.
