Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Winston: recorded crime, not graded
The nearest town with a Safety Grade is Truth or Consequences, 23 miles away, graded C−. Winston has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Sierra County. The Sierra County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Winston alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in Winston
Policed by the county
Winston is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Winston. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest New Mexico towns with their own police figures are Truth or Consequences (C−, 23 mi), Santa Clara (C+, 49 mi), Bayard (D, 49 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Winston. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Sierra County without police of their own, which include Winston.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest New Mexico towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truth or Consequences | C− | 23 mi | 5.8 | 18.8 |
| Santa Clara | C+ | 49 mi | 3.3 | 10.0 |
| Bayard | D | 49 mi | 6.5 | 17.7 |
| Las Cruces | D− | 86 mi | 6.0 | 46.3 |
| Lordsburg | C | 92 mi | 6.0 | 5.7 |
| Alamogordo | C− | 103 mi | 3.9 | 25.2 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Winston. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Winston.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Winston and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Winston
Is Winston, NM safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Winston. The nearest New Mexico towns with a grade are Truth or Consequences (C−, 23 mi), Santa Clara (C+, 49 mi), Bayard (D, 49 mi).
Who polices Winston?
The Sierra County Sheriff’s Office. Winston is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Sierra County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Winston.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.