Crime in County Durham
Recorded crime in County Durham is 1.1 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has risen 9%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
538,011 residents in 330 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 3/10Above average crime
- Safety in the world
- 7/10Low crime
- Living
- 5.9/10Fair
- 5-year change
- +9%more crimes
Crime over 5 years
Up 9% in 5 years Recorded crimes in County Durham, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 1.1× the England and Wales average. 92 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 69% of the harm here
- Burglary: 15% of the harm here
- Other theft: 4% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 69% of the harm here. It is a broad police category: most of these crimes are assaults without injury, harassment and threats, often indoors between people who know each other, and only a small part are sexual or serious violent offences. Police data does not say which, so each one is weighted at the England and Wales average for the category, which can overstate a quiet residential area.
Anti-social behaviour: 25 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crime by type
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, most serious first, not counting anti-social behaviour.
| Type | Per 1,000 a year |
|---|---|
| Robbery | 0.3 |
| Burglary | 5.3 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 38.9 |
| Drugs | 2.0 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.6 |
| Other crime | 2.8 |
| Other theft | 6.5 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.4 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 4.0 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 14.2 |
| Public order | 7.9 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.5 |
| Shoplifting | 8.2 |
What crimes are recorded in County Durham
90.9 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in County Durham in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Our total for April 2025 to March 2026: 49,544. Home Office recorded crime: 48,913 (1% apart).
Crimes recorded by the police, April 2025 to March 2026. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 974 | 1.8 | Up 6% |
| Cars broken into | 547 | 1.0 | Down 28% |
| Vehicle tampering | 337 | 0.63 | Down 3% |
| Vandalism to homes | 2,918 | 5.4 | Down 3% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 590 | 1.1 | Up 2% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 1,768 | 3.3 | Down 2% |
| Arson | 548 | 1.0 | Up 8% |
| Burglary of homes | 1,267 | 2.4 | Down 8% |
| Burglary of businesses | 578 | 1.1 | Down 32% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 7 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 205 | 0.38 | Up 21% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 266 | 0.49 | Up 28% |
| Robbery of people | 189 | 0.35 | Up 11% |
| Robbery of businesses | 114 | 0.21 | Up 208% |
| Violence with injury | 4,720 | 8.8 | Up 8% |
| Violence without injury | 7,950 | 14.8 | Up 4% |
| Stalking and harassment | 6,162 | 11.5 | About the same |
| Sexual offences | 2,010 | 3.7 | Up 8% |
| Shoplifting | 5,921 | 11.0 | Down 2% |
| Bicycle theft | 138 | 0.26 | Down 39% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 124 | 0.23 | Up 36% |
| Drug dealing | 300 | 0.56 | Down 19% |
| Drug possession | 903 | 1.7 | Up 23% |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare. These are council-area figures: police.uk street-level data, used for the map and the Safety score, only has the broad categories, and no source publishes murders or stabbings by street.
Durham Police area: 408 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (394 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only County Durham.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Police and Crime Commissioner: Joy Allen (Durham) →
How often crimes lead to a charge
In County Durham, 12% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%).
- Charged or summonsed
- Caution or other action
- Suspect found, not prosecuted
- No suspect identified
- Still open
Show as a table
| Type | Crimes | Charged or summonsed | Caution or other action | Suspect found, not prosecuted | No suspect identified | Still open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 20,552 | 10% | 7% | 66% | 14% | 3% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 7,211 | 4% | 4% | 25% | 66% | 1% |
| Shoplifting | 5,804 | 35% | 2% | 15% | 48% | 1% |
| Public order | 3,727 | 12% | 4% | 55% | 27% | 1% |
| Other theft | 2,763 | 3% | 3% | 25% | 67% | 2% |
| Burglary | 2,363 | 12% | 1% | 17% | 69% | 1% |
| Other crime | 1,863 | 11% | 6% | 65% | 15% | 3% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 1,777 | 5% | 1% | 19% | 74% | 1% |
| Drugs | 1,224 | 17% | 20% | 48% | 8% | 7% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 424 | 32% | 13% | 49% | 3% | 4% |
| Robbery | 239 | 19% | 1% | 46% | 33% | 1% |
| Bicycle theft | 184 | 5% | 0% | 12% | 82% | 2% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 169 | 3% | 2% | 48% | 44% | 3% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 2% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
County Durham, 2023 to 2025: 452 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 179 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 59 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
0.8 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 40% of them killed or seriously injured someone (Great Britain 26%).
Collisions on public roads that the police recorded where someone was hurt, counted where they happened, so busy through roads and town centres with few residents come out high. Serious and slight use the Department for Transport's adjusted severity, comparable between police forces. Source: Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Towns and cities in County Durham
Postcode districts in County Durham
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for County Durham.
Questions about crime in County Durham
- Is County Durham a safe place to live?
- County Durham scores 3 out of 10 for safety (above average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in County Durham?
- Up 9% over 5 years, from 48,364 recorded crimes a year to 52,872.
- What is the most common crime in County Durham?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 39 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in County Durham?
- In County Durham, 12% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 35% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in County Durham?
- Of 2,363 burglaries reported in County Durham between September 2024 and August 2025, 12% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 69% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in County Durham?
- In County Durham, the police recorded 974 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.8 per 1,000 residents, up 6% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in County Durham?
- 5,276 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in County Durham in 2025/26, 9.8 per 1,000 residents, 2.0 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in County Durham last year?
- 7 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in County Durham in 2025/26, against 1 the year before.