Shaftesbury
Middle areaNorth east Dorset. 9,389 people in 4.5 square kilometres.
Gigabit coverage by middle area
Connected Nations (Ofcom) · January 2026
In Shaftesbury, 91.5% of homes and businesses could get gigabit-capable broadband in January 2026.
Recorded crime in Shaftesbury
In the 12 months to August 2026, police recorded crimes and anti-social behaviour in Shaftesbury at a rate of 72.6 per 1,000 people.
That compares with 53.9 per 1,000 people across Dorset.
Worked out by Open Index from police.uk crime records and ONS and NISRA population estimates.
| Kind of crime | Recorded |
|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 204 |
| Anti-social behaviour | 183 |
| Other crime | 83 |
| Shoplifting | 80 |
| Criminal damage and arson | 52 |
| Vehicle crime | 34 |
| Burglary | 28 |
| Drug offences | 11 |
| Robbery | 4 |
| Theft from the person | 3 |
Source: police.uk, 12 months to August 2026
How Shaftesbury compares
Each dot is a middle area. The black line marks the middle one.
Is Shaftesbury safe? What police records show
In the 12 months to August 2026, police recorded crimes and anti-social behaviour in Shaftesbury at a rate of 72.6 per 1,000 people.
That compares with 53.9 per 1,000 people across Dorset.
Across England as a whole, the recorded crime rate was 96.3 per 1,000 people.
In August 2026 alone, 60 cases of crime and anti-social behaviour were recorded in Shaftesbury.
In the 12 months to August 2026, the most common types were violence and sexual offences (204), anti-social behaviour (183) and other crime (83).
Worked out by Open Index from police.uk crime records and ONS and NISRA population estimates.
Rates are per resident, so places that many people work in or visit, such as Westminster, the City of London and other city centres, have far higher rates than their residents alone would suggest.
Figures for the whole of Dorset
These figures are published for the whole of Dorset, not for each middle area, so they describe all of Dorset and not Shaftesbury alone. See Dorset
Shaftesbury in brief
The median price paid for a home in Shaftesbury was £275,000 in 2025.
Shaftesbury had 9,158 usual residents at the census.
In Shaftesbury, 91.5% of homes and businesses could get gigabit-capable broadband in January 2026.
In Shaftesbury, 2.7% of residents aged 16 to 64 were claiming out-of-work benefits in August 2026.