Photo: Stanley Howe · CC BY-SA 2.0Few UK towns record more crime per resident than Coundon and Leeholme
It has more violent crime than 97% of UK towns, and more burglary, vehicle crime and damage than 100%. On top of that, on crimes police recorded inside Coundon and Leeholme’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026, it grades D− for safety: #46 of 52 in County Durham. Violence recorded locally dropped 7% in a year. Year on year, 60.8 violent and sexual offences and 38.1 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage occur per 1,000 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Coundon and Leeholme
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 7% less violent crime per resident in Coundon and Leeholme 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 rose 31% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
87% of Coundon and Leeholme’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 0% 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 Coundon and Leeholme’s grade
A firm grade. Built on 748 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Coundon and Leeholme 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, Coundon and Leeholme runs highest on criminal damage & arson (26.2 per 1,000 against 4.5), other crime (5.6 per 1,000 against 1.5) and anti-social behaviour (27.4 per 1,000 against 8.8).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 144 | 57.1 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 69 | 27.4 | 8.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 66 | 26.2 | 4.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 16 | 6.3 | 3.6 |
| Other theft | not graded | 16 | 6.3 | 3.2 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 15 | 5.9 | 2 |
| Other crime | not graded | 14 | 5.6 | 1.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 13 | 5.2 | 1.9 |
| Drugs | not graded | 9 | 3.6 | 1 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 8 | 3.2 | 1.8 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 2 | 0.8 | 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.
87% of Coundon and Leeholme residents live in one of England’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
0% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 87% in the highest-crime 20%. The crime domain scores the risk of violence, burglary, theft and criminal damage where people live, so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
Coundon and Leeholme’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) in the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (crime domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of England’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
How Coundon and Leeholme compares with UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 32 | Urpeth County Durham | 2,048 | 7 | 7.5 | 1.1 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 195 | Burnopfield County Durham | 2,998 | 15.8 | 8.5 | 10.5 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 203 | Witton Gilbert County Durham | 2,525 | 18.4 | 6.3 | 9.6 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 212 | Hurworth-on-Tees County Durham | 2,667 | 19.1 | 6 | 2.5 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 545 | Garden City Clwyd | 2,427 | 66.3 | 26.8 | 13.5 | D− |
| 546 | Denholme West Yorkshire | 2,960 | 68.5 | 25.8 | 9.6 | D− |
| 547 | Bugle Cornwall | 2,430 | 71.4 | 23 | 7.8 | D− |
| 548 | Coundon and Leeholme County Durham | 2,522 | 60.8 | 38.1 | 14.3 | D− |
| 549 | Hatfield Woodhouse South Yorkshire | 2,208 | 97.5 | 7.3 | 2.6 | D− |
| 550 | Avonmouth Bristol | 2,643 | 82.9 | 54.6 | 60.4 | 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 Coundon and Leeholme, and others in County Durham.
Crime in Coundon and Leeholme 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 37 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 10 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Police in Coundon and Leeholme identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 62% of Coundon and Leeholme’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 16% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (61% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 12% of violent and 2% of household crimes reached court.
The latest outcome police.uk shows for each crime recorded in the first of the three years (September 2023 to August 2024), so most cases have closed. 275 crimes.
How crime in Coundon and Leeholme 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).
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 -7% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +31% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft -17% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour +21% (towns its size +0%).
One person died in collisions on Coundon and Leeholme’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 14 collisions with injuries inside Coundon and Leeholme in five years, in which one person died. 5 people were killed or seriously injured: 3 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; Coundon and Leeholme’s one death is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Coundon and Leeholme’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 2 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Coundon and Leeholme had 5.
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 uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Coundon and Leeholme’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Coundon and Leeholme
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 60.8 | 38.1 | D− |
| Bishop Auckland | 23,359 | 56.3 | 36.4 | D− |
| Shildon | 9,650 | 65.8 | 42.4 | D− |
| Chilton | 4,693 | 52.8 | 32.6 | D− |
| Spennymoor | 20,401 | 49.7 | 27.6 | D− |
| Newton Aycliffe | 25,760 | 48.3 | 24.9 | D |
| Ferryhill | 8,857 | 69.8 | 36.5 | D− |
| School Aycliffe | 1,590 | 13 | 4 | A |
Coundon and Leeholme records more graded crime per resident than 5 of its 7 neighbours; only Shildon and Ferryhill record more. Bishop Auckland, 2.1 miles away, records 56.3 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Coundon and Leeholme’s 60.8.
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 Coundon and Leeholme 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 built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Coundon and Leeholme
Is Coundon and Leeholme safe?
Police recorded 60.8 violent and sexual offences and 38.1 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Coundon and Leeholme’s built-up area). That earns a D− for safety: behind almost every UK town. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Coundon and Leeholme has less crime per resident than 1%.
Is crime going up in Coundon and Leeholme?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 7%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 31%, shoplifting and theft fell 17% and anti-social behaviour rose 21%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Coundon and Leeholme?
Violence & sexual offences: 144 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (66) and public order (16), with 69 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Coundon and Leeholme compare with Newton Aycliffe?
Newton Aycliffe records 48.3 violent and sexual offences and 24.9 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Coundon and Leeholme’s 60.8 and 38.1, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area 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.