Photo: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0Compared with UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Comber has less crime per resident than 85% of them
The typical town its size sees 8.8 cases of anti-social behaviour per 1,000 residents; Comber sees 16.5, or 157 in the 12 months to August 2026. In a usual year, 15.6 violent and sexual offences and 6.4 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage are logged per 1,000 inhabitants. Recorded violence rose 29% in a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Comber
Less crime than most places its size
Of 411 UK towns of 7,000 to 13,000 people, Comber has the 19th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Lymm, Whitnash and Bollington, higher than Bearsted, Hagley and Chinnor. 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. 23% of Comber’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 22% in one of the highest-crime 20%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 29% more violent crime per resident in Comber than in the year before; across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage fell 20% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
The A− for Comber, and how it is built
A fairly firm grade. Built on 627 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Comber against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
How crime in Comber has moved
“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 +29% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -20% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft -4% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour +9% (towns its size +0%).
19th of 411: Comber among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greasby Merseyside | 9,175 | 11.3 | 3.7 | 2.5 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Donaghadee Ards and North Down | 7,325 | 14 | 5.7 | 3.5 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Bearsted Kent | 8,349 | 14.8 | 7.1 | 4.8 | A− |
| 17 | Hagley Worcestershire | 7,012 | 13.3 | 8.6 | 5.7 | A− |
| 18 | Chinnor Oxfordshire | 7,268 | 15.5 | 6.5 | 5.1 | A− |
| 19 | Comber Ards and North Down | 9,529 | 15.6 | 6.4 | 2.8 | A− |
| 20 | Wootton Bedfordshire | 7,567 | 16.4 | 5.6 | 2.6 | A− |
| 21 | Cranfield Bedfordshire | 7,053 | 15.1 | 7 | 4.4 | A− |
| 22 | Kibworth Beauchamp and Kibworth Harcourt Leicestershire | 7,329 | 15.7 | 6.7 | 2.8 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 31 | Holywood Ards and North Down | 10,757 | 16.2 | 7.9 | 5.3 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 411 | City of London London | 7,820 | 252.8 | 111.5 | 710 | 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 Comber, and others in Ards and North Down.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Comber runs highest on anti-social behaviour (16.5 per 1,000 against 8.8). Violence & sexual offences and other theft sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 166 | 17.4 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 157 | 16.5 | 8.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 41 | 4.3 | 4.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 14 | 1.5 | 3.2 |
| Drugs | not graded | 9 | 0.9 | 1 |
| Other crime | not graded | 9 | 0.9 | 1.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 8 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| Public order | not graded | 6 | 0.6 | 3.6 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 3 | 0.3 | 1.9 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 3 | 0.3 | 2 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 3 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| 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.
1 in 4 Comber residents lives in one of Northern Ireland’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
40% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of Northern Ireland’s neighbourhoods, and 22% 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.
Comber’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.
Crime in Comber 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 5 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 2 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Lowest recorded crime in Comber West, Comber North and Comber South
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comber West | 3,205 | 14.5 | 5.4 | |
| Comber North | 3,393 | 14.3 | 5.9 | |
| Comber South | 2,637 | 20.2 | 8.8 |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Comber’s settlement), September 2023 to August 2026.
One person died in collisions on Comber’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 49 collisions with injuries inside Comber in five years, in which one person died (1 was a pedestrian). 7 people were killed or seriously injured: 4 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, so with numbers this small a single collision changes the picture; Comber’s one death is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Comber’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 8 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Comber had 7.
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 Comber’s settlement, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Comber
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comber | 9,529 | 15.6 | 6.4 | A− |
| Ballygowan | 3,138 | 11.7 | 3.7 | A |
| Newtownards | 29,677 | 28.7 | 9.1 | C+ |
| Metropolitan Castlereagh | 58,763 | 14.8 | 6.6 | A− |
| Carryduff | 7,173 | 11.5 | 5.1 | A |
| Holywood | 10,757 | 16.2 | 7.9 | B+ |
| Saintfield | 3,588 | 11.6 | 4.8 | A |
| Bangor | 64,596 | 18.9 | 6.4 | B+ |
Comber records more graded crime per resident than 4 of its 7 neighbours. Ballygowan, 3.7 miles away, records 11.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Comber’s 15.6.
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 Comber 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 Comber
Is Comber safe?
Police recorded 15.6 violent and sexual offences and 6.4 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Comber’s settlement). That earns an A− for safety: less crime per resident than 78% of UK towns. Among 411 UK towns of 7,000 to 13,000 people, Comber is 19th from the least crime. 23% of residents live in neighbourhoods in Northern Ireland’s lowest-crime 10%.
What are the safest areas of Comber?
By council ward, Comber West, Comber North and Comber South record the least violent and household crime per resident: 14.5, 14.3 and 20.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 20.2 in Comber South.
Is crime going up in Comber?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 29%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 20%, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour rose 9%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Comber?
Violence & sexual offences: 166 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (41) and other theft (14), with 157 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Comber 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 Comber’s 15.6 and 6.4, 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) · OSNI ward boundaries (the 2014 wards), residents from NISRA Census 2021 data zones by area · 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.