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Sunderland · England

Crime and safety

Sunderland council area. Every figure carries its own date.

Sunderland

Recorded crime and population

A larger population can mean more recorded offences even when the number of offences per resident falls. Read the total and the rate together.

Sunderland · 2025/26 · Territorial police-recorded offences excluding fraud; British Transport Police excluded by CSP source. Source classifications retained.

Recorded offences

27,007

Offences per 1,000 residents

93.6

Population used for the rate

About 288,600

2024 mid-year population

The source rounds this population to the nearest 100. The rate shown is the official published rate.

Show the figures and workings

The rate is recorded offences divided by the population, multiplied by 1,000. Where the source rounds its population figure, we retain its published rate rather than recalculate it from that rounded figure. This counts offences, not the percentage of residents who were victims.

Checked counts and population-based rates
PeriodOffencesPopulation usedPer 1,000 residents
2025/2627,007About 288,600 (2024)93.6

These figures match the source area for this period. That does not establish a comparable history for today’s council boundaries.

Official source and method →
Can we test the population theory over 30 years?

Only where the offence definitions, recording practices and area boundaries are comparable. Changes in reporting, police recording and the types of crime matter too. We do not join incompatible series or invent missing years.

Only the latest independently checked observation is displayed. A comparable long-run crime-and-population trend has not been established.

  • 2002/03: Series starts after April 2002 recording-standard introduction; not comparable to pre-2002 records.
  • 2013/14: Offence grouping revision; source back-series retained. Recording practice changes also affect comparisons.
  • 2017/18: Burglary classification changed; broad total retained but detailed groups need review.
  • 2023/24: Burglary subcategories and recording-rule changes require interpretation review.

A comparable 30-year crime-and-population trend has not been established for this area.

For example, if offences rose by 10% while population rose by 20%, offences per resident would fall by about 8%. This is an illustration, not a finding about this area.

People commuting or visiting can also affect offences recorded in a place. The resident population is a useful common denominator, but does not count everyone present.

What could help? Follow the types and locations of repeated problems, check residents’ experiences, and assess the response. Area population totals do not identify who commits offences.

Local issues and proposed responses →

Police-recorded locations for Sunderland local authority area. Locations are approximate; these are not all crimes or a measure of personal risk.

Mapped crime over time

September 2024 to August 2026

Sunderland local authority area · mapped crimes

Reviewed figures: September 2024 to August 2026. This reviewed record covers fewer than 30 years, so the chart opens on all of it.

Shown on this chart: 2,378 mapped crimes in September 2024; 1,956 mapped crimes in August 2026. These are recorded counts; check the coverage notes before comparing periods.

The line joins consecutive published observations.

Monthly crime and anti-social behaviour
Recorded locations by month · Sunderland
MonthMapped crimeAnti-social behaviour
September 20242,378475
October 20242,426504
November 20242,513487
December 20242,263300
January 20252,202347
February 20251,971350
March 20252,332365
April 20252,289481
May 20252,531511
June 20252,365474
July 20252,340464
August 20252,461437
September 20252,494458
October 20252,488385
November 20252,395373
December 20252,277257
January 2026611301
February 20261,220336
March 20261,823431
April 20261,904537
May 20262,112486
June 20262,031398
July 20261,941494
August 20261,956488
Crime categories in the latest complete year

A complete, consecutive 12-month period without an unresolved reporting break is needed before these totals can be shown.

What these numbers include

Approximate published locations, not every crime or personal risk.

Anti-social behaviour is separate. Transport police and records without usable locations are excluded.

Do not compare directly with Scottish council-level recorded crime totals.

These are retrieved mapped records, not a guarantee of complete crime reporting. Approximate locations and unmapped incidents limit comparisons.

Publication history: Northumbria Police: Crime data not provided for February 2026. The force will provide a data refresh as soon as possible. Later update: Northumbria Police: Crime data refresh for February 2026.

UK Facts review: Sunderland mapped crimes change from 2277 in December 2025 to 611 in January 2026. This unexplained break is also present in the source records. It must not be interpreted as a real fall in crime; the cause has not been verified.

Missing ward-months invalidate totals and changes. Busy centres attract visitors, so residential population is not a measure of the number of people exposed.

Police data and method →

What could improve local safety →

Explore individual wards →