Brockenhurst Baptist Church · Photo: Hassocks5489 · CC0Brockenhurst has less violent crime per resident than four in five UK towns
Shoplifting runs at 4 per 1,000 residents in Brockenhurst, against 1.8 in a typical town its size: police recorded 14 in the 12 months to August 2026. Across all the graded crimes, Brockenhurst lands on B+ (#21 of 76 in Hampshire): less crime per resident than 67% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. In a typical year, there is one violent or sexual offence on record for roughly every 71 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Brockenhurst
Less crime than many places its size
Of 1,089 UK towns of 2,000 to 5,000 people, Brockenhurst has the 398th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Caddington, Cosby and Harriseahead, Mow Cop and Newchapel, higher than Wing, Yorkley and Whitecroft and Eastry. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Brockenhurst’s B+ for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 258 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Brockenhurst against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
How Brockenhurst’s neighbourhoods rank in England
50% 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.
Brockenhurst’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, Brockenhurst runs highest on shoplifting (4 per 1,000 against 1.8), burglary (3.2 per 1,000 against 1.9) and vehicle crime (3.2 per 1,000 against 2). Violence & sexual offences sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 34 | 9.8 | 22.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 22 | 6.3 | 4.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 14 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Public order | not graded | 13 | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 11 | 3.2 | 1.9 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 11 | 3.2 | 2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 10 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 9 | 2.6 | 8.8 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 8 | 2.3 | 0.1 |
| Other crime | not graded | 4 | 1.1 | 1.5 |
| Robbery | Violent | 2 | 0.6 | 0.2 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| 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.
Brockenhurst places 398th of 1,089 towns its size, the least crime first
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 3 | South Wonston Hampshire | 2,686 | 5.5 | 3.7 | 2 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 55 | Charlton Hampshire | 2,121 | 10.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 121 | Bransgore Hampshire | 3,688 | 11.4 | 6.2 | 4.2 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 127 | Woolton Hill and Highclere Hampshire | 2,755 | 11 | 6.9 | 2.2 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 395 | Wing Buckinghamshire | 2,979 | 17.6 | 8.4 | 2.4 | B+ |
| 396 | Yorkley and Whitecroft Gloucestershire | 2,678 | 21.2 | 4.8 | 2.2 | B+ |
| 397 | Eastry Kent | 2,388 | 19 | 7 | 2.5 | B+ |
| 398 | Brockenhurst Hampshire | 3,484 | 14 | 11.9 | 18.4 | B+ |
| 399 | Carlton North Yorkshire | 2,040 | 15.2 | 10.8 | 4.7 | B+ |
| 400 | Milborne Port Somerset | 3,207 | 19 | 7 | 6.1 | B+ |
| 401 | Bricket Wood Hertfordshire | 4,624 | 17.9 | 8.2 | 3.4 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 1089 | 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 Brockenhurst, and others in Hampshire.
For every 1,000 residents, about 10 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026
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 13 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 9 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
36 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 62 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 -42% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +47% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft -62% (towns its size +2%).
No one died in a collision on Brockenhurst’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 17 collisions with injuries inside Brockenhurst in five years. 6 people were killed or seriously injured: 3 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Brockenhurst is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Brockenhurst’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 3 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Brockenhurst had 6.
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 Brockenhurst’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst records more graded crime per resident than 2 of its 7 neighbours. Hordle, 4.8 miles away, records 11.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Brockenhurst’s 14.
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 Brockenhurst 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 Brockenhurst
Is Brockenhurst safe?
Police recorded 14 violent and sexual offences and 11.9 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Brockenhurst’s built-up area). That earns a B+ for safety: less crime per resident than 67% of UK towns. Among 1,089 UK towns of 2,000 to 5,000 people, Brockenhurst is 398th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Brockenhurst?
Police recorded 36 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 62 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Brockenhurst?
Violence & sexual offences: 34 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (22) and shoplifting (14), with 9 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Brockenhurst compare with Christchurch?
Christchurch records 18.1 violent and sexual offences and 10.4 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Brockenhurst’s 14 and 11.9, 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.