Sunderland has a crime rate of 90.28 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #207 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Sunderland's wards; some neighbourhoods are considerably safer than the city average. See the ward breakdown and hotspot map on this page for a detailed local picture.

What is the crime rate in Sunderland?

As of April 2026, Sunderland has an annual crime rate of 90.28 per 1,000 residents, based on 2,442 recorded offences in the latest reporting period. This figure is sourced from Police.uk open data and normalised using ONS Census 2021 population estimates to allow accurate comparisons between areas.

How does Sunderland rank nationally for crime?

Sunderland ranks #207 out of 331 local authorities in England and Wales by annual crime rate per 1,000 residents. A rank of #1 indicates the highest crime rate nationally. Rankings are recalculated each month as new Police.uk data becomes available, covering all recorded crimes across the area.

What is the most common crime in Sunderland?

The most common crime type in Sunderland is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 651 incidents in April 2026 — 26.7% of all recorded crime in the area. Data is sourced from Police.uk and covers all crimes recorded by the responsible police force across the Sunderland local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Northumbria Police Police

Crime in Sunderland: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Sunderland recorded 2,442 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 8.72 per 1,000 residents. This places Sunderland at #207 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 26.7% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 11.8% compared to the same period last year.

info Crime is above average compared to other UK areas.

compare_arrows Compare

Key Statistics

monitoring90.28 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment2,442 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #207 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 11.8% year-on-year

Data Sources:Police.ukONS Census 2021HM Land Registry Period: April 2026 • Updated monthly

Total Crimes

2,442

trending_up +8.3% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

90.28per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#207of 331

Ranked by annual rate

Tyne and Wear

#3rank

Ranked by annual rate

12-Month Crime Trend

Monthly Totals

Interactive Crime Map

District View

Live Points

Crime Incident

Area Boundary

Incident Distribution

Top Locations

Location Reference	Crime Breakdown	Primary Count
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 69 Burglary: 5	69
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 40	40
On or near Derwent Street Map	Violence and sexual offences: 20 Anti-social behaviour: 10 Bicycle theft: 2	20
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 24	24
On or near Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 21 Public order: 3	21
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 22	22
On or near Wensleydale Avenue Map	Shoplifting: 15	15
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 15	15
On or near Kayll Road Map	Violence and sexual offences: 10 Criminal damage and arson: 3	10
On or near The Broadway Map	Anti-social behaviour: 13	13

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

2,442 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

651

26.7%

Anti-social Behaviour

537

22.0%

Shoplifting

324

13.3%

Criminal Damage & Arson

250

10.2%

Public Order

147

6.0%

Burglary

136

5.6%

Other Theft

127

5.2%

Vehicle Crime

3.4%

Other Crime

3.1%

Robbery

1.4%

Drug Offences

1.4%

Theft from Person

0.8%

Weapons Possession

0.6%

Bicycle Theft

0.4%

Crime Analysis: Sunderland

Sunderland recorded 2,442 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 90.28 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, ranked #207 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences makes up the largest share of crime in Sunderland at 26.7%. Anti-social Behaviour (22.0%) and Shoplifting (13.3%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Sunderland has fallen sharply — by 11.8%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Northumbria Police through the Police.uk open data platform and cross-referenced with ONS 2021 Census population estimates to produce the per-resident rates above. Data typically appears 1–2 months after the end of the recording period.

Stop & Search

April 2026

506

Total Stops

21.5%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

255

Offensive weapons

Stolen goods

Article for use in theft

Anything to threaten or harm anyone

Articles for use in criminal damage

Firearms

Evidence of offences under the Act

Outcome

A no further action disposal356

Arrest109

Community resolution21

Summons / charged by post19

Khat or Cannabis warning1

Gender

Male393

Female57

Other1

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

88.9%

White

6.6%

Asian

2.4%

Other

2.1%

Black

Stop & search data published by Northumbria Police under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: police.uk.

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

25 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Hendon	324	185.8
2	St Peter's	127	124.7
3	Southwick	143	121.3
4	Pallion	92	96.5
5	Redhill	110	93.0

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	St Chad's	37	2.9
shield	Barnes	37	3.4
shield	Washington North	135	5.6
shield	Washington East	60	4.5
shield	Shiney Row	76	6.2

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +8.3%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -11.8%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -2.3%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 331 local authorities in England & Wales.

View full methodology arrow_forward

Analyse a Postcode

Get street-level safety data for any postcode in Sunderland.

Compare Sunderland with other cities

Open Comparator

Police Force

local_police

Northumbria Police

35 policing neighbourhoods

call101

languageNorthumbria Police website

notifications

Follow This Area

Get a free monthly email when new crime data is published for Sunderland.

add_alert Follow Sunderland

Free · Monthly · No spam

Free Download

PDF Crime Report

picture_as_pdf

check_circle12-month crime trend analysis
check_circleCrime type breakdown
check_circleLocal & national rankings
check_circleRisk assessment score

Free account required · Instant download

Data Integrity & Scale

verifiedPolice.uk Verified

updateMonthly Sync

Our algorithmic insights use standardized models. Read Methodology