Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Tanfield Lea stands out for anti-social behaviour: 2.7 times the rate of a typical town its size
Recorded violence rose 10% in a year. Set against the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, it has less crime per resident than 30% of them. Tanfield Lea grades B− for safety overall: close to the middle of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Each year brought 21.1 violent and sexual offences and 11.1 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage for every 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 Tanfield Lea
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 10% more violent crime per resident in Tanfield Lea than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Tanfield Lea has the 344th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Y Felinheli, Hatton and Elstead, higher than Evercreech, Grimsargh and Cadnam and Bartley. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Tanfield Lea’s B− for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 232 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Tanfield Lea 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, Tanfield Lea runs highest on anti-social behaviour (14.6 per 1,000 against 5.3), criminal damage & arson (6.7 per 1,000 against 3.2) and violence & sexual offences (22.5 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 54 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 35 | 14.6 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 16 | 6.7 | 3.2 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 9 | 3.8 | 1.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 7 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 5 | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 3 | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 2 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 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.
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.
How crime in Tanfield Lea has moved
“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).
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 +3%), homes and vehicles +12% (towns its size +0%), anti-social behaviour -15% (towns its size -1%).
344th of 550: Tanfield Lea among towns its size
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 341 | Evercreech Somerset | 2,165 | 24.3 | 7.5 | 6.9 | B− |
| 342 | Grimsargh Lancashire | 2,594 | 25.1 | 7.1 | 3.5 | B− |
| 343 | Cadnam and Bartley Hampshire | 2,023 | 20.8 | 11.4 | 8.4 | B− |
| 344 | Tanfield Lea County Durham | 2,399 | 21.1 | 11.1 | 1.5 | B− |
| 345 | Catterall Lancashire | 2,800 | 27.3 | 5 | 8.1 | B− |
| 346 | Hambrook and Nutbourne West Sussex | 2,752 | 20.1 | 12.2 | 4 | B− |
| 347 | Combe Martin Devon | 2,707 | 25.8 | 6.7 | 5 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 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 Tanfield Lea, and others in County Durham.
Crime in Tanfield Lea 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 12 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.
No one died in a collision on Tanfield Lea’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 5 collisions with injuries inside Tanfield Lea in five years. 0 people were killed or seriously injured.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Tanfield Lea is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Tanfield Lea’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 2 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Tanfield Lea had 0.
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 Tanfield Lea’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Tanfield Lea
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tanfield Lea | 2,399 | 21.1 | 11.1 | B− |
| Stanley | 19,423 | 57.4 | 28 | D− |
| Annfield Plain | 7,786 | 50.6 | 24.5 | D |
| Dipton | 2,653 | 26.5 | 17.5 | C |
| Burnopfield | 2,998 | 15.8 | 8.5 | B+ |
| Rowlands Gill | 5,254 | 21.8 | 12 | B− |
| Sunniside | 3,422 | 22.7 | 13.2 | C+ |
| Burnhope | 1,465 | 22.5 | 15.5 | C+ |
Tanfield Lea records more graded crime per resident than 1 of its 7 neighbours. Burnopfield, 2.1 miles away, records 15.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Tanfield Lea’s 21.1.
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 Tanfield Lea 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 Tanfield Lea
Is Tanfield Lea safe?
Police recorded 21.1 violent and sexual offences and 11.1 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Tanfield Lea’s built-up area). That earns a B− for safety: less crime per resident than 51% of UK towns. Among 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Tanfield Lea is 344th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Tanfield Lea?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 10%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 12%, shoplifting and theft rose 67% and anti-social behaviour fell 15%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Tanfield Lea?
Violence & sexual offences: 54 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (16) and vehicle crime (9), with 35 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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.