Photo: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0Donaghadee records anti-social behaviour at 3 times the rate of a typical town its size
More crime per resident is recorded in 90% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Violence recorded locally climbed 10% in a year. Overall, Donaghadee grades A− for safety (#2 of 6 in Ards and North Down): less crime per resident than 83% of UK towns, on crimes the Police Service of Northern Ireland recorded inside its settlement from September 2023 to August 2026. The local count comes to 14.0 violent and sexual offences and 5.7 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 people each year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Donaghadee
Less crime than most places its size
Of 546 UK towns of 5,000 to 10,000 people, Donaghadee has the 24th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Wendover, Northam and Fremington, higher than Ashingdon, Lydiate and Four Marks. Towns its size ↓
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 10% more violent crime per resident in Donaghadee than in the year before; across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
25% of Donaghadee’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of Northern Ireland (NIMDM 2017, crime and disorder), and 54% in the lowest-crime 30%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Donaghadee’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 433 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Donaghadee against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Donaghadee runs highest on anti-social behaviour (26.3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 193 | 26.3 | 8.8 |
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 114 | 15.6 | 22.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 33 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 16 | 2.2 | 3.2 |
| Other crime | not graded | 7 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 6 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 5 | 0.7 | 1.9 |
| Drugs | not graded | 5 | 0.7 | 1 |
| Public order | not graded | 3 | 0.4 | 3.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.1 | 2 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.1 | 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.
Of 546 towns its size, Donaghadee is 24th from the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merley Dorset | 5,489 | 8.4 | 2.8 | 3.8 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | Ashingdon Essex | 6,490 | 12 | 6.7 | 2.5 | A |
| 22 | Lydiate Merseyside | 6,516 | 13.6 | 5.4 | 3 | A |
| 23 | Four Marks Hampshire | 5,613 | 13.8 | 5.5 | 5.1 | A− |
| 24 | Donaghadee Ards and North Down | 7,325 | 14 | 5.7 | 3.5 | A− |
| 25 | Bovey Tracey Devon | 6,241 | 14.9 | 5.2 | 2.9 | A− |
| 26 | Great Notley Essex | 7,659 | 13.8 | 6.3 | 7.8 | A− |
| 27 | Seaton Cumbria | 5,051 | 15.5 | 4.6 | 2.5 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 46 | Comber Ards and North Down | 9,529 | 15.6 | 6.4 | 2.8 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 546 | 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 Donaghadee, and others in Ards and North Down.
25% of Donaghadee residents live in one of Northern Ireland’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
54% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of Northern Ireland’s neighbourhoods, and 25% 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.
Donaghadee’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 Donaghadee 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 3 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
How crime in Donaghadee 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 +10% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -7% (towns its size -1%), anti-social behaviour +80% (towns its size +0%).
Two people died in collisions on Donaghadee’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 30 collisions with injuries inside Donaghadee in five years, in which two people died (1 was a pedestrian). 6 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; Donaghadee’s two people are context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Donaghadee’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 6 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Donaghadee had 6.
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 Donaghadee’s settlement, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Donaghadee
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donaghadee | 7,325 | 14 | 5.7 | A− |
| Bangor | 64,596 | 18.9 | 6.4 | B+ |
| Newtownards | 29,677 | 28.7 | 9.1 | C+ |
| Comber | 9,529 | 15.6 | 6.4 | A− |
| Whitehead | 3,537 | 18.3 | 5.1 | B+ |
| Holywood | 10,757 | 16.2 | 7.9 | B+ |
Donaghadee 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 Donaghadee 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 Donaghadee
Is Donaghadee safe?
Police recorded 14 violent and sexual offences and 5.7 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Donaghadee’s settlement). That earns an A− for safety: less crime per resident than 83% of UK towns. Among 546 UK towns of 5,000 to 10,000 people, Donaghadee is 24th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Donaghadee?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 10%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 7%, shoplifting and theft rose 28% and anti-social behaviour rose 80%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Donaghadee?
Violence & sexual offences: 114 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (33) and other theft (16), with 193 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Donaghadee 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 Donaghadee’s 14 and 5.7, 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.