Photo: Chris Downer · CC BY-SA 2.0Three Legged Cross records anti-social behaviour at 6.1 times the rate of a typical town its size
Its Safety Grade, C−, rests on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026: more crime per resident than 83% of UK towns. Of all the kinds of crime, anti-social behaviour is where Three Legged Cross departs most from towns its size: 32.8 per 1,000 against 5.3. About one violent or sexual offence a year is recorded for every 30 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
Inside Three Legged Cross’s C− for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 184 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Three Legged Cross against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Three Legged Cross runs highest on anti-social behaviour (32.8 per 1,000 against 5.3), criminal damage & arson (16.8 per 1,000 against 3.2) and violence & sexual offences (27.5 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 37 | 32.8 | 5.3 |
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 31 | 27.5 | 16.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 19 | 16.8 | 3.2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 9 | 8 | 2.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 6 | 5.3 | 0 |
| Public order | not graded | 4 | 3.5 | 2.4 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 4 | 3.5 | 1.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 3 | 2.7 | 1.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 3 | 2.7 | 1.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 2 | 1.8 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
How Three Legged Cross compares with UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Motcombe Dorset | 1,366 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 1 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 68 | Puddletown Dorset | 1,193 | 8.7 | 2.8 | 3.4 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 118 | Charlton Down Dorset | 1,487 | 8.7 | 4.7 | 2.2 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 217 | Child Okeford Dorset | 1,159 | 12.9 | 2.9 | 0.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 1130 | Seaton Burn Tyne and Wear | 1,354 | 36.7 | 17.2 | 13.3 | C− |
| 1131 | Henstridge Somerset | 1,579 | 41.4 | 12.7 | 3.2 | C− |
| 1132 | Goosnargh Lancashire | 1,892 | 47.2 | 7.1 | 3 | C− |
| 1133 | Three Legged Cross Dorset | 1,129 | 33.4 | 21 | 12.1 | C− |
| 1134 | Colsterworth Lincolnshire | 1,296 | 28.6 | 26 | 14.1 | C− |
| 1135 | Marlpit Hill Kent | 1,271 | 40 | 14.7 | 11.3 | C− |
| 1136 | Collingtree and Milton Malsor Northamptonshire | 1,514 | 39.9 | 15 | 50.9 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 1214 | Ingoldmells Lincolnshire | 1,928 | 259 | 64.7 | 57.2 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Three Legged Cross, and others in Dorset.
Crime in Three Legged Cross per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 23 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 13 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
33 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 48 the year before
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent -31% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles +30% (towns its size +0%), anti-social behaviour +42% (towns its size -1%).
One person died in collisions on Three Legged Cross’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 12 collisions with injuries inside Three Legged Cross in five years, in which one person died. 5 people were killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 2 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, so with numbers this small a single collision changes the picture; Three Legged Cross’s one death is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Three Legged Cross’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Three Legged Cross had 5.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Three Legged Cross’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Three Legged Cross
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three Legged Cross | 1,129 | 33.4 | 21 | C− |
| Verwood | 13,706 | 12.5 | 5.9 | A |
| West Moors | 10,432 | 16.9 | 9 | B+ |
| Ashley Heath | 7,151 | 10.9 | 10.4 | A− |
| Ferndown | 13,267 | 13.8 | 7.2 | A− |
| West Parley | 3,665 | 9.1 | 7.8 | A |
| Ringwood | 12,789 | 28.8 | 14.9 | C |
| Alderholt | 2,868 | 9.9 | 10.3 | A− |
Three Legged Cross records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Verwood, 1.6 miles away, records 12.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Three Legged Cross’s 33.4.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Three Legged Cross sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Three Legged Cross
Is Three Legged Cross safe?
Police recorded 33.4 violent and sexual offences and 21 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Three Legged Cross’s built-up area). That earns a C− for safety: less crime per resident than 17% of UK towns. Among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Three Legged Cross has less crime per resident than 7%.
Is crime going up in Three Legged Cross?
Police recorded 33 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 48 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Three Legged Cross?
Violence & sexual offences: 31 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (19) and other theft (9), with 37 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Three Legged Cross compare with Bournemouth?
Bournemouth records 37.1 violent and sexual offences and 20.4 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Three Legged Cross’s 33.4 and 21, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.