Recorded offences
31,147
Crime and safety: look beneath the average
Recorded crime and population
A larger population can mean more recorded offences even when the number of offences per resident falls. Read the total and the rate together.
Southampton · 2025/26 · Territorial police-recorded offences excluding fraud; British Transport Police excluded by CSP source. Source classifications retained.
Offences per 1,000 residents
120.1
Population used for the rate
About 259,400
2024 mid-year population
The source rounds this population to the nearest 100. The rate shown is the official published rate.
Show the figures and workings
The rate is recorded offences divided by the population, multiplied by 1,000. Where the source rounds its population figure, we retain its published rate rather than recalculate it from that rounded figure. This counts offences, not the percentage of residents who were victims.
| Period | Offences | Population used | Per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 31,147 | About 259,400 (2024) | 120.1 |
These figures match the source area for this period. That does not establish a comparable history for today’s council boundaries.
Official source and method →Can we test the population theory over 30 years?
Only where the offence definitions, recording practices and area boundaries are comparable. Changes in reporting, police recording and the types of crime matter too. We do not join incompatible series or invent missing years.
Only the latest independently checked observation is displayed. A comparable long-run crime-and-population trend has not been established.
- 2002/03: Series starts after April 2002 recording-standard introduction; not comparable to pre-2002 records.
- 2013/14: Offence grouping revision; source back-series retained. Recording practice changes also affect comparisons.
- 2017/18: Burglary classification changed; broad total retained but detailed groups need review.
- 2023/24: Burglary subcategories and recording-rule changes require interpretation review.
A comparable 30-year crime-and-population trend has not been established for this area.
For example, if offences rose by 10% while population rose by 20%, offences per resident would fall by about 8%. This is an illustration, not a finding about this area.
People commuting or visiting can also affect offences recorded in a place. The resident population is a useful common denominator, but does not count everyone present.
What could help? Follow the types and locations of repeated problems, check residents’ experiences, and assess the response. Area population totals do not identify who commits offences.
Local issues and proposed responses →See where mapped crime has changed, which categories account for it and the local responses proposed.
Every ward uses the same published months and boundary method. Approximate locations are not a measure of all crime or personal risk. Anti-social behaviour is counted separately.
| Ward | Period ending | Mapped crimes | Change from previous year | Anti-social behaviour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banister & Polygon | Aug 2026 | 2,534 | -4.2% | 279 |
| Bargate | Aug 2026 | 5,710 | 3.1% | 767 |
| Bassett | Aug 2026 | 874 | -4% | 106 |
| Bevois | Aug 2026 | 2,430 | 5.6% | 380 |
| Bitterne Park | Aug 2026 | 1,048 | -11.3% | 95 |
| Coxford | Aug 2026 | 1,015 | -9.4% | 215 |
| Freemantle | Aug 2026 | 2,644 | -1.5% | 224 |
| Harefield | Aug 2026 | 1,201 | 3.3% | 89 |
| Millbrook | Aug 2026 | 1,566 | -8% | 192 |
| Peartree | Aug 2026 | 1,474 | 5.1% | 150 |
| Portswood | Aug 2026 | 1,637 | 2% | 203 |
| Redbridge | Aug 2026 | 1,686 | 4.3% | 302 |
| Shirley | Aug 2026 | 1,575 | -3.4% | 181 |
| Sholing | Aug 2026 | 1,085 | 6.1% | 81 |
| Swaythling | Aug 2026 | 1,207 | -11.6% | 148 |
| Thornhill | Aug 2026 | 1,709 | 0.3% | 269 |
| Woolston | Aug 2026 | 1,386 | -0.4% | 221 |
What could help?
Weakness · Southampton
Crime remains higher than the England rate
Recorded crime was 120.1 offences per 1,000 residents, compared with 83.4 across England, in the year ending March 2026.
The city total fell 0.7% against the revised previous year. Local hotspots and crime types need separate investigation; city totals do not measure personal risk.
Evidence and related projects
Police-recorded crimes: 31,147 · Year ending March 2026 · Southampton. Police-recorded crimes. Home Office recorded offences, excluding fraud. ASB is recorded separately.
Police-recorded crime rate: 120.1 · Year ending March 2026 · Southampton. Police-recorded crime rate. Police-recorded crime excluding fraud, not all crime. ONS-published rate uses mid-2024 population. Some Hampshire offences cannot be assigned to a local authority. Comparators are selected coastal authorities, not a statistical peer group.
England police-recorded crime rate: 83.4 · Year ending March 2026 · England. England police-recorded crime rate. Police-recorded crime excluding fraud, not all crime. ONS-published rate uses mid-2024 population. Some Hampshire offences cannot be assigned to a local authority. Comparators are selected coastal authorities, not a statistical peer group.
Annual change in recorded crime: -0.7% · Year ending March 2026 · Southampton. Annual change in recorded crime. Against revised year ending March 2025 in the same ONS release; not against an older unrevised total.
- Southampton Data Observatory: Safe City Strategic Assessment ↗ · checked 2026-10-17
City partnership assessment and strategy evidence; city totals and street-mapped police data are different measures.
- ONS / Home Office ↗ · checked 2026-10-03 · published 2026-07-23
Imported from the published Southampton Counts evidence register; the original review date is retained. Evidence file/hash/table details remain in the full baseline download.
Compare the three places → · Sources, limits and downloads →