Locacity has analysed 12 months of official Police.uk crime data to rank the South West of England's major towns and cities by crime rate. The analysis covers ten Built-Up Areas with a population of 75,000 or above, using ONS Census 2021 population data to calculate crimes per 1,000 residents.
Key Findings
Poole
Safest major urban area in the South West
2×
Gloucester's crime rate vs Poole — the widest gap in the region
Gloucester
Least safe major urban area in the South West
Rankings — Crimes per 1,000 Residents
| Rank | Area | Crimes per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poole | 59.8 |
| 2 | Swindon | 80.2 |
| 3 | Bournemouth | 91.2 |
| 3 | Cheltenham | 91.2 |
| 5 | Plymouth | 92.4 |
| 6 | Bath | 94.1 |
| 7 | Exeter | 101.7 |
| 8 | Weston-super-Mare | 110.4 |
| 9 | Bristol | 112.7 |
| 10 | Gloucester | 123.7 |
Source: Locacity analysis of Police.uk data (April 2025 – March 2026) and ONS Census 2021 population estimates.
Analysis
Poole emerged as the safest major urban area in the South West, recording 59.8 crimes per 1,000 residents over the 12-month period — the lowest of any major urban area in the region. Swindon ranked second at 80.2, followed by Bournemouth and Cheltenham joint third at 91.2.
At the other end of the table, Gloucester recorded the highest crime rate at 123.7 crimes per 1,000 residents — more than double that of Poole and significantly above Bristol (112.7) and Weston-super-Mare (110.4). The gap between the safest and least safe major urban areas in the South West is striking.
The South West's regional average of 91.0 crimes per 1,000 residents is below the national average of 101.5 crimes per 1,000 residents across all major urban areas in England and Wales analysed by Locacity (excludes Greater Manchester, where data is not published through Police.uk).
The findings carry real implications for the property market. According to a Churchill Home Insurance survey, around 29,000 property sales fall through every year across England and Wales due to buyers’ concerns about local crime — representing an estimated £6.6 billion in lost property transactions annually. Understanding crime levels before committing to a purchase has never been more important.
However, these figures represent averages across entire urban areas. Crime levels can vary significantly from one street to the next within the same town or city — making street-level analysis essential for anyone making a property decision.
What this means for homebuyers and renters
Regional rankings provide a useful starting point, but they only tell part of the story. A Locacity report gives you a detailed, street-level picture of crime around a specific property — including the area immediately surrounding your home, nearby schools, transport hubs, and 999 police and ambulance response times.
Methodology
- • Analysis covers ten Built-Up Areas (BUAs) in the South West with a population of 75,000 or above, as defined by the Office for National Statistics.
- • Crime data sourced from Police.uk open data service (April 2025 – March 2026).
- • Population data sourced from ONS Census 2021.
- • BUA boundaries sourced from ONS Built-Up Areas (December 2022) boundary data.
- • Bristol figures include Kingswood and Fishponds, which the ONS defines as a separate Built-Up Area but which form part of the contiguous Bristol urban area.
- • Crime coordinates in Police.uk data are approximated to the nearest street in accordance with Police.uk anonymisation policy; a small number of crimes near BUA boundaries may therefore be assigned to an adjacent area.
- • Greater Manchester Police does not publish data through Police.uk and is excluded from all Locacity analysis.