Is County Durham safe?

County Durham has a crime rate of 108.85 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #265 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across County Durham'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 County Durham?

As of April 2026, County Durham has an annual crime rate of 108.85 per 1,000 residents, based on 5,577 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 County Durham rank nationally for crime?

County Durham ranks #265 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 County Durham?

The most common crime type in County Durham is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 1,841 incidents in April 2026 — 33.0% 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 County Durham local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Durham Constabulary Police

Crime in County Durham: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

County Durham recorded 5,577 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 10.68 per 1,000 residents. This places County Durham at #265 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 33.0% of all offences recorded. Crime is up 12.8% compared to the same period last year.

warning Crime is significantly above the UK average for this area.

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Key Statistics

monitoring108.85 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment5,577 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #265 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_upCrime up 12.8% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

5,577

trending_down -0.5% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

108.85per 1k

High Risk

National Safety

#265of 331

Top 15% Riskiest UK

National Population

522,067

Estimated population

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: 127	127
On or near Shopping Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 38 Violence and sexual offences: 26 Criminal damage and arson: 8	38
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 61	61
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 43	43
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 43	43
On or near Supermarket Map	Anti-social behaviour: 39	39
On or near Hardwick Street Map	Shoplifting: 38	38
On or near Petrol Station Map	Violence and sexual offences: 22 Anti-social behaviour: 13	22
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 31	31
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 26	26

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

5,577 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

1,841

33.0%

Anti-social Behaviour

1,096

19.7%

Criminal Damage & Arson

678

12.2%

Shoplifting

574

10.3%

Public Order

347

6.2%

Other Theft

273

4.9%

Vehicle Crime

209

3.7%

Burglary

199

3.6%

Other Crime

158

2.8%

Drug Offences

108

1.9%

Weapons Possession

0.7%

Robbery

0.5%

Bicycle Theft

0.3%

Theft from Person

0.3%

Crime Analysis: County Durham

County Durham recorded 5,577 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 108.85 per 1,000 residents — one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, placing it in the top quarter nationally (#265 of 331 local authorities).

Violence & Sexual Offences makes up the largest share of crime in County Durham at 33.0%. Anti-social Behaviour (19.7%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (12.2%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in County Durham has risen sharply — by 12.8%. 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

63 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	West Auckland	135	174.7
2	Murton	128	173.0
3	Horden	141	172.6
4	Shildon and Dene Valley	204	164.9
5	Peterlee East	138	163.8

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Durham South	13	1.4
shield	Benfieldside	43	3.6
shield	Chester-le-Street North	23	4.5
shield	Weardale	33	3.6
shield	Bishop Middleham and Cornforth	24	4.2

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -0.5%

Year-on-Yeartrending_up +12.8%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_up +10.8%

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.

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