Crime in Hartlepool
Recorded crime in Hartlepool is 1.5 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.
98,180 residents in 57 neighbourhoods. 4% live in busy town or city centres.
- Safety in the UK
- 2/10High crime
- Safety in the world
- 6/10Average crime
- Living
- 6.9/10Good
- 5-year change
- +9%more crimes
Crime over 5 years
Up 9% in 5 years Recorded crimes in Hartlepool, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 1.5× the England and Wales average. 126 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 61% of the harm here
- Burglary: 17% of the harm here
- Robbery: 5% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 61% 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: 43 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 | 1.3 |
| Burglary | 8.4 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 47.4 |
| Drugs | 3.9 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 1.1 |
| Other crime | 3.8 |
| Other theft | 9.5 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.5 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 6.7 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 15.8 |
| Public order | 10.2 |
| Bicycle theft | 1.2 |
| Shoplifting | 16.6 |
What crimes are recorded in Hartlepool
134.1 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Hartlepool in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Our total for April 2025 to March 2026: 13,259. Home Office recorded crime: 13,168 (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 | 174 | 1.8 | Up 18% |
| Cars broken into | 166 | 1.7 | Down 24% |
| Vehicle tampering | 99 | 1.0 | Down 27% |
| Vandalism to homes | 653 | 6.7 | About the same |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 129 | 1.3 | Up 18% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 278 | 2.8 | Down 17% |
| Arson | 109 | 1.1 | Up 28% |
| Burglary of homes | 386 | 3.9 | Up 3% |
| Burglary of businesses | 139 | 1.4 | Down 23% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 2 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 79 | 0.80 | Down 11% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 54 | 0.55 | Up 4% |
| Robbery of people | 121 | 1.2 | Down 18% |
| Robbery of businesses | 120 | 1.2 | Up 445% |
| Violence with injury | 1,244 | 12.7 | Down 3% |
| Violence without injury | 1,835 | 18.7 | About the same |
| Stalking and harassment | 1,543 | 15.7 | About the same |
| Sexual offences | 545 | 5.6 | Up 3% |
| Shoplifting | 2,331 | 23.7 | About the same |
| Bicycle theft | 87 | 0.89 | Up 21% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 56 | 0.57 | Up 60% |
| Drug dealing | 76 | 0.77 | Down 42% |
| Drug possession | 416 | 4.2 | Up 20% |
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.
Cleveland Police area: 944 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (893 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Hartlepool.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
How often crimes lead to a charge
In Hartlepool, 14% 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) | 5,089 | 8% | 3% | 71% | 15% | 2% |
| Shoplifting | 2,289 | 31% | 0% | 11% | 57% | 0% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 1,308 | 5% | 1% | 27% | 66% | 1% |
| Public order | 1,005 | 9% | 0% | 54% | 36% | 1% |
| Other theft | 732 | 4% | 1% | 31% | 62% | 2% |
| Burglary | 584 | 12% | 0% | 18% | 69% | 1% |
| Other crime | 538 | 13% | 1% | 67% | 14% | 4% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 487 | 8% | 0% | 19% | 72% | 1% |
| Drugs | 458 | 48% | 17% | 25% | 5% | 5% |
| Robbery | 168 | 17% | 0% | 43% | 39% | 1% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 129 | 58% | 1% | 36% | 2% | 4% |
| Bicycle theft | 90 | 2% | 0% | 12% | 86% | 0% |
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.
Towns and cities in Hartlepool
Postcode districts in Hartlepool
Questions about crime in Hartlepool
- Is Hartlepool a safe place to live?
- Hartlepool scores 2 out of 10 for safety (high crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in Hartlepool?
- Up 9% over 5 years, from 12,624 recorded crimes a year to 13,778.
- What is the most common crime in Hartlepool?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 47 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Hartlepool?
- In Hartlepool, 14% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 37% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Hartlepool?
- Of 584 burglaries reported in Hartlepool 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 Hartlepool?
- In Hartlepool, the police recorded 174 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.8 per 1,000 residents, up 18% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Hartlepool?
- 1,060 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Hartlepool in 2025/26, 10.8 per 1,000 residents, 2.2 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Hartlepool last year?
- 2 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in Hartlepool in 2025/26, against 1 the year before.