Bournemouth’s famous golden beaches typically draw 12 million tourists a year, but for those who live and work in the Dorset seaside resort, the summer season is bringing more anxiety than anticipation.
Local business owners are raising the alarm over escalating anti-social behavior and a visible drug crisis that one shopkeeper says is “the worst” he has ever seen.
“It’s not a migrant problem here—it’s a drug problem,” said Ed Watts, owner of Flirt Cafe in the town’s Triangle district. Having watched the situation deteriorate over the past five years, Watts is urging the government to intervene with “surge funding” for Dorset’s stretched police force.
The statistics highlight the scale of the challenge. Bournemouth’s city crime rate currently sits at 122.7 incidents per 1,000 people—nearly double the national average of 68. Most alarmingly, drug-related offenses have spiked by 49.8% over the last year.
The town’s struggles are visibly spilling onto its famous coastline. An unauthorized encampment—complete with tents, a generator, and a white leather sofa—recently appeared in the cliffside undergrowth near the shoreline. The makeshift site drew immediate fire from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who branded the camp an “invasion” on social media and demanded strict enforcement.
However, locals say the transient population isn’t just international. Jonny Spencer, another local business owner, noted that some individuals intentionally travel to Bournemouth for the summer to sleep rough, exploiting the town’s coastal weather and local charity resources despite having council housing elsewhere in the country.
Local authorities are now scrambling to manage the fallout. Millie Earl, the Liberal Democrat council leader, confirmed that fencing has been erected to block access to the cliffside camp while safe eviction plans are finalized, though she emphasized that the vast majority of visitors still enjoy a safe, trouble-free stay.
Dorset Police are also pushing back against the narrative of a town in freefall. Chief Superintendent Julie Howe pointed to the rollout of the “Good Safe Summer” initiative, promising highly visible patrols across the seafront, Lower Gardens, and town center.
The police insist their recent efforts are already yielding results. Bolstered by 11 new neighborhood officers, the town center has actually recorded a 5.7% drop in anti-social behavior and a 3.2% reduction in overall crime over the past 12 months.
Despite the statistical dip, the reality on the ground feels starkly different for the businesses on the front lines. As the summer heat arrives, Bournemouth is walking a tightrope between maintaining its reputation as a premier holiday destination and managing a complex, deeply rooted crime problem.