Crime in Swindon town centre grows exponentially

Crime is growing faster in Swindon town centre than it is in Swindon as a whole and across Wiltshire.

Members of Swindon Borough Council’s Build a Better Swindon Committee will receive a report from Wiltshire Police on policing and crime in the town centre and the Broadgreen area right next door.

And the figures show that the growth in reported crimes in the town centre is outstripping the growth in the rest of Swindon and Wiltshire by some distance.

Leader of Swindon Borough Council, Jim Robbins said: "We are aware that crime in the town centre is growing, as it is across the entire UK.

"Swindon and Wiltshire are still some of the safest places to live in the UK and we are working towards regenerating areas.

"We are working really closely with the police and that is why we have brought in the Public Protection Act."

In September 2025 there were 126 crimes reported in the town centre, more than four a day, and that represents an alarming 59 per cent leap from the same month in 2024.

Between July and September this year, the 419 crimes reported there were 43 per cent up on the same three months in 2024 and the full year from October 2024 to the end of September this year saw 1363 crimes, a 16.5 per cent increase on the corresponding twelve months previously.

For Swindon as a whole, the increase in crime for the year is 6.2 per cent, for the three month period 15.2 per cent and for the single month 18.8 per cent, while the corresponding figures for Wiltshire are a 6.5 per cent increase, and 11 per cent jump and a 9.4 per cent rise.

It should be noted that in the year to the end of September 2024 Swindon and Wiltshire had the lowest overall crime rate in the country.

There were 52.8 crimes per 1,000 people, a total of 39,715 crimes, were recorded in Swindon and Wiltshire in the year ending September 2024, according to figures published by the Office of National Statistics.

And the combined area ranked lowest nationally in crimes related to violence against the person, with 22.1 crimes per 1,000 people, a total of 16,220.

The report to the committee says making the streets of towns across Wiltshire safer is a priority for both the Police and Crime Commissioner and the county police service.

It says: “Both Wiltshire Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner worked in partnership with councils, local businesses, charities and community groups to build safer, stronger, more welcoming town centres across the county as part of the Home Office Safer Streets Summer initiative.

“It targeted key locations in Wiltshire that experience higher levels of ASB, retail crime, and potential public disorder during the summer months. Efforts focused on Swindon and four additional towns in Wiltshire and the Police’s actions were backed by £1M from the Home Office’s Hotspot Response Fund and were built on real-time crime data and community feedback.

“Preparation is underway with the Home Office for the forthcoming Winter of Action.”