CRIME in Wellington has increased by almost 50 per cent since 2023, according to police data.

From January to March 2023, the police recorded 302 crimes in the Wellington centre and south area, which increased to 430 between January and March of this year.

A total of 1,739 crimes were recorded for the year ending April 2025, 228 of which were categorised as anti-social behaviour.

Violent and sexual offences are still the most recorded crimes in the area, with 877 in the past year.

Inspector Joe Piscina said: “We have had some positive results this year in proactively dealing with those committing crime and disorder in Wellington. Recently, there was a spike in anti-social behaviour from a group of youths within the town that were travelling in to cause issues.

“Officers proactively dealt with the main offenders within the group and put conditions on them to prevent them coming back to Wellington and causing issues.

“The Wellington Neighbourhood team will continue to put officers in the areas that require patrols and any concerns from the public will be addressed locally, but I can reassure the public that any crime trends continue to be a target for our officers.

"We have taken steps in recent years to make improvements to our crime recording processes. Therefore, any changes in crime figures should bear that in mind.

“If you review the figures across other areas of a similar population, crime figures are comparable.

“Our officers continue to investigate all reports of crime and do everything possible to bring offenders to justice.

“We have also added the neighbourhood targeting team to Somerset West and their sole purpose will be to deal proactively with neighbourhood matters and they will be a resource that can be used for Wellington when needed.”