Crime is on the rise across Somerset, according to the latest data released by the Home Office. A new interactive crime map reveals which areas have the highest rates of criminal activity, helping residents understand the risks in their communities.
In the year ending March 2025, police forces across England and Wales recorded over 5.3 million non-fraud crimes. Although this reflected a 2% decrease nationwide compared to the previous year, Avon and Somerset experienced a contrasting trend with a significant 12% increase. This amounted to 168,354 non-fraud crimes—approximately 18,000 more than the year before—making it one of the fastest-growing crime regions alongside Gloucestershire Constabulary.
Breaking down the numbers, Somerset saw a 13% rise in crime, North Somerset also reported a 13% increase, while Bath and North East Somerset experienced a 16% spike. To fairly compare crime levels between areas with different population sizes, crime rates are presented as the number of offences per 1,000 residents.
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Bristol stands out as the most dangerous place to live in Avon and Somerset, with a staggering 132 offences per 1,000 people. Outside of Bristol, North Somerset has the highest crime rate, registering 84 crimes per 1,000 people based on 18,325 recorded offences during 2024-25—equivalent to one in every twelve residents falling victim to crime last year. The rest of Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset follow closely behind, with rates of 82 and 81 crimes per 1,000 individuals respectively.
Alongside crime reports, separate data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Crime Survey for England and Wales indicates that people aged 16 and over experienced an estimated 9.4 million crime incidents in the year to March 2025, up from 8.8 million the year before. This increase is largely driven by a 31% surge in fraud cases, which accounted for 4.2 million incidents—the highest since fraud was first recorded in the survey in 2016/17.
Despite this rise, the overall number of crime incidents tracked by the survey is still 16% lower than in 2016/17, reflecting a long-term downward trend in many types of offences such as theft, criminal damage, and violence with or without injury. The survey captures a wide range of crimes reported by victims, including offences not always reported to the police, though it excludes sexual offences, stalking, harassment, and domestic abuse which are monitored separately.
With crime showing differing trends across the region, residents can use the new interactive map to see the current crime rates in their area, track changes over time, and compare how their communities fare against national averages.