Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0Startforth has more crime per resident than 96% of UK towns
On crimes police recorded inside Startforth’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026, it grades D− for safety.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Startforth
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 8% less violent crime per resident in Startforth than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Startforth grades D− for safety
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
A fairly firm grade. Built on 336 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Startforth against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
Against the typical town its size, Startforth runs highest on other crime (52.5 per 1,000 against 1.1), public order (10.1 per 1,000 against 2.4) and violence & sexual offences (66.1 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 92 | 66.1 | 16.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 73 | 52.5 | 1.1 |
| Public order | not graded | 14 | 10.1 | 2.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 7 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 5 | 3.6 | 3.2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 4 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 3 | 2.2 | 5.3 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 2 | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 2 | 1.4 | 1.5 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 1.4 | 0 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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.
Police in Startforth identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
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. 116 crimes.
No suspect was identified for 20% of Startforth’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 1% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (28% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 33% of violent and 40% of household crimes reached court.
How Startforth compares with UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Startforth, and others in County Durham.
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 33 | High Shincliffe County Durham | 1,045 | 6.1 | 2.9 | 1.6 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 271 | School Aycliffe County Durham | 1,590 | 13 | 4 | 1.3 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 306 | Castleside County Durham | 1,532 | 12.4 | 5.4 | 0.4 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 461 | Gainford County Durham | 1,127 | 10.7 | 10.4 | 3.9 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 1187 | Trethomas Gwent | 1,713 | 58 | 19.5 | 5.6 | D− |
| 1188 | Poyle Berkshire | 1,736 | 44.6 | 34.8 | 13.6 | D− |
| 1189 | Colnbrook Berkshire | 1,898 | 48.1 | 31.3 | 22.7 | D− |
| 1190 | Startforth County Durham | 1,391 | 71.2 | 9.4 | 2.2 | D− |
| 1191 | Croeserw West Glamorgan | 1,294 | 61.8 | 19.3 | 9.8 | D− |
| 1192 | Newburn Tyne and Wear | 1,475 | 52 | 29.9 | 11.7 | D− |
| 1193 | Trimdon Colliery County Durham | 1,788 | 49.8 | 34.1 | 5.4 | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 1214 | Ingoldmells Lincolnshire | 1,928 | 259 | 64.7 | 57.2 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
For every 1,000 residents, about 68 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026
And about 6 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.
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
Violent crime down 8% in a year, while towns its size held steady
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 -8% (towns its size +3%).
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
No one died in a collision on Startforth’s roads in 2021–2025
Collisions police recorded inside Startforth’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Police recorded 1 collision with injuries inside Startforth in five years. 1 person was killed or seriously injured: 1 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Startforth is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Startforth’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Startforth had 1.
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.
Crime in the places around Startforth
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Startforth | 1,391 | 71.2 | 9.4 | D− |
| Barnard Castle | 5,783 | 24.9 | 13.7 | C+ |
| Staindrop | 1,339 | 23.4 | 12.2 | C+ |
| Cockfield | 1,351 | 31.6 | 14.3 | C |
| Gainford | 1,127 | 10.7 | 10.4 | A− |
| Evenwood | 1,587 | 43.3 | 25.6 | D |
| West Auckland | 3,107 | 54.3 | 33.2 | D− |
| Toft Hill and High Etherley | 1,865 | 13.9 | 12.7 | B+ |
Startforth records more graded crime per resident than 6 of its 7 neighbours; only West Auckland records more. Barnard Castle, 0.7 miles away, records 24.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Startforth’s 71.2.
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 Startforth 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 Startforth
Is Startforth safe?
Police recorded 71.2 violent and sexual offences and 9.4 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Startforth’s built-up area). That earns a D− for safety: less crime per resident than 4% of UK towns. Among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Startforth has less crime per resident than 2%.
Is crime going up in Startforth?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 8%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 40%, shoplifting and theft rose 33% and anti-social behaviour fell 63%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Startforth?
Violence & sexual offences: 92 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came other crime (73) and public order (14), with 3 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Startforth compare with Darlington?
Darlington records 45.2 violent and sexual offences and 25.8 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Startforth’s 71.2 and 9.4, 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.