Photo: Ardfern · CC BY-SA 3.0Ballygowan has less crime per resident than nine in ten UK towns
Violence and property crime split as 11.7 violent and sexual offences and 3.7 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents a year. At 6.4 per 1,000 residents, shoplifting in Ballygowan runs well past the 1.8 of a typical town its size (20 recorded in the 12 months to August 2026). On the record of crimes the Police Service of Northern Ireland recorded inside the town’s settlement from September 2023 to August 2026, it takes A for safety: #1 of 6 in Ards and North Down.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Ballygowan
Less crime than most places its size
Of 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Ballygowan has the 61st lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Feltwell, Stratton and Swanland, higher than South Cerney, Waringstown and Pen-y-fai. Towns its size ↓
Many neighbourhoods rank low for crime in Northern Ireland
NISRA’s Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017 ranks every small area of Northern Ireland on crime and disorder. 37% of Ballygowan’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 0% in one of the highest-crime 20%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Ballygowan’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 145 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Ballygowan against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
A third of Ballygowan residents live in one of Northern Ireland’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
100% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of Northern Ireland’s neighbourhoods, and 0% in the highest-crime 20%. The crime and disorder domain scores recorded crime, anti-social behaviour and deliberate fires where people live, on 2014–15 figures (NISRA’s latest edition), so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
Ballygowan’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (Super Output Area, about 2,000 people) in the Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017 (crime and disorder domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of Northern Ireland’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Ballygowan runs highest on shoplifting (6.4 per 1,000 against 1.8) and anti-social behaviour (12.4 per 1,000 against 8.8). Violence & sexual offences sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 39 | 12.4 | 8.8 |
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 30 | 9.6 | 22.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 20 | 6.4 | 1.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 9 | 2.9 | 4.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 6 | 1.9 | 3.2 |
| Drugs | not graded | 6 | 1.9 | 1 |
| Other crime | not graded | 5 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.3 | 2 |
| Public order | not graded | 0 | 0 | 3.6 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 0 | 0 | 1.9 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Among 856 towns its size, Ballygowan ranks 61st for the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 58 | South Cerney Gloucestershire | 3,998 | 11.2 | 4 | 4.1 | A |
| 59 | Waringstown Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 3,866 | 11.6 | 3.7 | 1.9 | A |
| 60 | Pen-y-fai Mid Glamorgan | 2,301 | 10.3 | 5.1 | 2.8 | A |
| 61 | Ballygowan Ards and North Down | 3,138 | 11.7 | 3.7 | 8 | A |
| 62 | Over Cambridgeshire | 2,898 | 10.8 | 4.6 | 1.3 | A |
| 63 | East Saltdean East Sussex | 2,892 | 12 | 3.5 | 2.2 | A |
| 64 | Adderbury and Twyford Oxfordshire | 3,318 | 12.5 | 3.1 | 3.3 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 856 | Eastchurch Kent | 3,381 | 132 | 13.9 | 3.5 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Ballygowan, and others in Ards and North Down.
Crime in Ballygowan per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 3 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 8 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
30 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 44 the year before
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data; England and Wales towns only).
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent -32% (towns its size +1%), anti-social behaviour -35% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on Ballygowan’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 14 collisions with injuries inside Ballygowan in five years. 3 people were killed or seriously injured: 2 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Ballygowan is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Ballygowan’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 3 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Ballygowan had 3.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured is as the Police Service of Northern Ireland recorded it: the Department for Transport’s adjustment, which evens out different ways of recording injuries, covers Great Britain’s forces only, and the towns its size are Great Britain’s. There’s no national rate here: more than three quarters of Northern Ireland’s road deaths (77%) happen outside every town’s settlement boundary. Source: PSNI police recorded injury road traffic collisions, 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Ballygowan’s settlement, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Ballygowan
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballygowan | 3,138 | 11.7 | 3.7 | A |
| Saintfield | 3,588 | 11.6 | 4.8 | A |
| Comber | 9,529 | 15.6 | 6.4 | A− |
| Carryduff | 7,173 | 11.5 | 5.1 | A |
| Metropolitan Castlereagh | 58,763 | 14.8 | 6.6 | A− |
| Newtownards | 29,677 | 28.7 | 9.1 | C+ |
| Ballynahinch | 6,164 | 28.5 | 12.4 | C |
| Belfast | 293,298 | 45.1 | 19 | D |
Ballygowan records less graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Ballygowan sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the settlement can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Ballygowan
Is Ballygowan safe?
Police recorded 11.7 violent and sexual offences and 3.7 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Ballygowan’s settlement). That earns an A for safety: less crime per resident than 93% of UK towns. Among 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Ballygowan is 61st from the least crime. 37% of residents live in neighbourhoods in Northern Ireland’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Ballygowan?
Police recorded 30 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 44 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Ballygowan?
Violence & sexual offences: 30 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (20) and criminal damage & arson (9), with 39 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Ballygowan compare with Belfast?
Belfast records 45.1 violent and sexual offences and 19 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Ballygowan’s 11.7 and 3.7, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime (Police Service of Northern Ireland), 36 months to August 2026, points inside the settlement boundary · NISRA Census 2021, data zones best-fitted to the NISRA Settlement Development Limits 2015 (settlement totals from NISRA where it publishes them) · NISRA Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017, crime and disorder domain by Super Output Area (residents from NISRA Census 2021 data zones by area) · PSNI police recorded injury road traffic collisions 2021–2025 (Open Data NI), points inside the settlement boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.