County Durham crime rate Interactive maps and visualisation

Overview of County Durham crime rate

Essential tools against vehicle theft.

Positioned with a medium crime level, County Durham is ranked 13th amongst 25 adjacent boroughs for its crime rates. The year 2023 reported 58,094 crimes, against a population of 522,068, bringing the crime rate to 111.28 per 1,000 residents. This marks an 8.01% decrease from the prior year, reflecting a promising downward trend in crime.

In County Durham, the most frequently reported crimes are Violence and sexual offences (36.6%), Anti-social behaviour (14.3%), and Criminal damage and arson (12.4%). Less common crimes include bicycle theft, theft from the person, and robbery, each contributing less than 0.5% to the total crime statistics.

Spread across 63 wards, the area exhibits varied crime rates. Wards like Elvet and Gilesgate (256.6), Peterlee East (242.9), and Bishop Auckland Town (187.9) report the highest figures, whereas Weardale (42.3), Benfieldside (38.8), and Durham South (38.1) are among the safest.

Examining the Postcode districts within County Durham, SR8 (162.2), DL1 (157.4), and DL4 (153.7) emerge as the areas with higher crime rates. The safest districts are marked by significantly lower crime rates, with DL13 (55.5), TS22 (54.8), and DL11 (44.0) leading the list.

In County Durham, there was an increase in Anti-social behaviour by 5.98% in 2020, along with a rise in Shoplifting by 2.28% in 2022 and 2.62% in 2023. Violence and sexual offences also saw a rise of 2.12% in 2020. On the downside, there were significant drops in Anti-social behaviour, with a decrease of 3% in 2021, 4.93% in 2022, and 9.81% in 2023, alongside declines in Burglary by 1.63% in 2020, Criminal damage and arson by 1.55% in 2023, and Other theft by 2.26% in 2020. Shoplifting decreased by 2.16% in 2020.

County Durham crime incidents by crime type

A total of 58094 crime incidents were reported in 2023. Below is the breakdown by crime type.

Violence and sexual offences – 21255 (36.6)%
Anti-social behaviour – 8294 (14.3)%
Criminal damage and arson – 7208 (12.4)%
Shoplifting – 5199 (8.9)%
Public order – 4896 (8.4)%
Other theft – 3168 (5.5)%
Burglary – 2567 (4.4)%
Vehicle crime – 2052 (3.5)%
Other crime – 1462 (2.5)%
Drugs – 1066 (1.8)%
Possession of weapons – 337 (0.6)%
Bicycle theft – 261 (0.4)%
Theft from the person – 170 (0.3)%
Robbery – 159 (0.3)%

How does County Durham compare against nearby areas ?

County Durham ranks 13th when compared against 25 nearby boroughs/local administrative districts.

List of nearby boroughs/local administrative districts from high crime rate to low (2023):

Heat map for all nearby areas County Durham is compared against

Crime rates in County Durham wards

There are 63 wards within County Durham. Elvet and Gilesgate, Peterlee East, Bishop Auckland Town has highest crime rate (crime per 1000 residents). Below map shows 2023 crime rates broken down by crime types.

get-ward-map/county-durham/

List of all 63 wards from high crime rate to low.