Photo: Mike Faherty · CC BY-SA 2.0West Parley sees less crime per resident than 90% of UK towns
Measured on crimes police recorded inside West Parley’s built-up area between September 2023 and August 2026, it earns a Safety Grade of A: #2 of 30 in Dorset. More crime per resident is recorded in 95% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Typical years here bring 9.1 violent and sexual offences plus 7.8 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in West Parley
Less crime than most places its size
Of 539 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, West Parley has the 36th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Gresford, Istead Rise and Lytchett Matravers, higher than North Ferriby, Penrhyn Bay and Oaklands. Towns its size ↓
Many neighbourhoods rank low for crime nationally
The government’s Indices of Deprivation 2025 rank every neighbourhood in England on recorded crime. 55% of West Parley’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 0% in one of the highest-crime 20%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
West Parley: A for safety, and why
A firm grade. Built on 186 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks West Parley against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Most West Parley residents live in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
55% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 0% in the highest-crime 20%. The crime domain scores the risk of violence, burglary, theft and criminal damage where people live, so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
West Parley’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) in the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (crime domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of England’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, West Parley runs highest on anti-social behaviour (12.3 per 1,000 against 8.8). Violence & sexual offences sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 45 | 12.3 | 8.8 |
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 28 | 7.6 | 22.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 8 | 2.2 | 4.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 7 | 1.9 | 2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 6 | 1.6 | 1.9 |
| Other theft | not graded | 4 | 1.1 | 3.2 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 3 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| Public order | not graded | 3 | 0.8 | 3.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
West Parley against towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 33 | North Ferriby East Riding of Yorkshire | 3,964 | 12.1 | 4.6 | 3 | A |
| 34 | Penrhyn Bay Clwyd | 4,201 | 13 | 3.7 | 4.2 | A |
| 35 | Oaklands Hertfordshire | 3,960 | 10.9 | 5.9 | 2.2 | A |
| 36 | West Parley Dorset | 3,665 | 9.1 | 7.8 | 3.4 | A |
| 37 | Cuxton Kent | 3,039 | 9.7 | 7.4 | 2.9 | A |
| 38 | Brayton North Yorkshire | 4,092 | 12.6 | 4.4 | 1.4 | A |
| 39 | Brundall Norfolk | 4,378 | 14.2 | 2.9 | 7.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 42 | Lytchett Matravers Dorset | 3,455 | 12 | 5.3 | 2 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 150 | Chickerell Dorset | 3,973 | 18.8 | 6.3 | 3.8 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 300 | Lyme Regis Dorset | 3,741 | 23.3 | 10 | 6.8 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 326 | Bearwood Dorset | 4,134 | 23.1 | 12.1 | 12 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 539 | Eastchurch Kent | 3,381 | 132 | 13.9 | 3.5 | 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 West Parley, and others in Dorset.
Crime in West Parley 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 6 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 2 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
29 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 38 the year before
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 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 -24% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -28% (towns its size -1%), anti-social behaviour -20% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on West Parley’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 40 collisions with injuries inside West Parley in five years. 11 people were killed or seriously injured: 3 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and West Parley is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, West Parley had 58.1 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (16.7).
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 West Parley’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around West Parley
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Parley | 3,665 | 9.1 | 7.8 | A |
| Ferndown | 13,267 | 13.8 | 7.2 | A− |
| West Moors | 10,432 | 16.9 | 9 | B+ |
| Bearwood | 4,134 | 23.1 | 12.1 | C+ |
| Bournemouth | 196,453 | 37.1 | 20.4 | D |
| Merley | 5,489 | 8.4 | 2.8 | A+ |
| Wimborne Minster | 16,629 | 22.8 | 9.5 | B− |
| Ashley Heath | 7,151 | 10.9 | 10.4 | A− |
West Parley records more graded crime per resident than 1 of its 7 neighbours. Merley, 3.6 miles away, records 8.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against West Parley’s 9.1.
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 West Parley 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 West Parley
Is West Parley safe?
Police recorded 9.1 violent and sexual offences and 7.8 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside West Parley’s built-up area). That earns an A for safety: less crime per resident than 90% of UK towns. Among 539 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, West Parley is 36th from the least crime. 55% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in West Parley?
Police recorded 29 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 38 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in West Parley?
Violence & sexual offences: 28 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (8) and vehicle crime (7), with 45 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does West Parley 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 West Parley’s 9.1 and 7.8, 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.