Photo: Hugh Mortimer · CC BY-SA 2.0Toft Hill and High Etherley stands out for burglary: 4.6 times the rate of a typical town its size
Police recorded 14 cases of burglary in Toft Hill and High Etherley in the 12 months to August 2026, a rate of 7.5 per 1,000 against a typical 1.6. Across all the graded crimes, Toft Hill and High Etherley lands on B+: less crime per resident than 65% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. For every 72 residents, about one violent or sexual offence is recorded 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 Toft Hill and High Etherley
About the middle for a village its size
Of 1,764 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Toft Hill and High Etherley has the 956th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Barnburgh and Harlington, Ducklington and Pattingham, higher than Meppershall, Petworth and Copplestone. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
The B+ for Toft Hill and High Etherley, and how it is built
A fairly firm grade. Built on 149 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Toft Hill and High Etherley 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, Toft Hill and High Etherley runs highest on burglary (7.5 per 1,000 against 1.6), vehicle crime (5.4 per 1,000 against 1.5) and anti-social behaviour (7.5 per 1,000 against 5.3).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 27 | 14.5 | 16.6 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 14 | 7.5 | 1.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 14 | 7.5 | 5.3 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 10 | 5.4 | 1.5 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 8 | 4.3 | 3.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 8 | 4.3 | 2.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 4 | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 1 | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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.
Crime in Toft Hill and High Etherley 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 17 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.
Among 1,764 towns its size, Toft Hill and High Etherley ranks 956th for the least graded crime
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 189 | Urpeth County Durham | 2,048 | 7 | 7.5 | 1.1 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 337 | School Aycliffe County Durham | 1,590 | 13 | 4 | 1.3 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 382 | Castleside County Durham | 1,532 | 12.4 | 5.4 | 0.4 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 953 | Meppershall Bedfordshire | 2,044 | 16 | 10.6 | 3.3 | B+ |
| 954 | Petworth West Sussex | 2,592 | 14.9 | 11.7 | 5.7 | B+ |
| 955 | Copplestone Devon | 1,475 | 21.2 | 5.4 | 4.7 | B+ |
| 956 | Toft Hill and High Etherley County Durham | 1,865 | 13.9 | 12.7 | 1.8 | B+ |
| 957 | Thurgoland South Yorkshire | 1,239 | 19.1 | 7.5 | 1.9 | B+ |
| 958 | Woodchurch Kent | 1,201 | 18 | 8.6 | 3.3 | B+ |
| 959 | Bury Cambridgeshire | 1,750 | 20.2 | 6.5 | 6.1 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 1764 | 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.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Toft Hill and High Etherley, and others in County Durham.
27 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 23 the year before
“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 +17% (towns its size +3%).
No one died in a collision on Toft Hill and High Etherley’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 3 collisions with injuries inside Toft Hill and High Etherley in five years. 1 person was killed or seriously injured: 0 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 Toft Hill and High Etherley is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Toft Hill and High Etherley’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; Toft Hill and High Etherley 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.
Collisions police recorded inside Toft Hill and High Etherley’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Toft Hill and High Etherley
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toft Hill and High Etherley | 1,865 | 13.9 | 12.7 | B+ |
| West Auckland | 3,107 | 54.3 | 33.2 | D− |
| Evenwood | 1,587 | 43.3 | 25.6 | D |
| Bishop Auckland | 23,359 | 56.3 | 36.4 | D− |
| Cockfield | 1,351 | 31.6 | 14.3 | C |
| Crook | 9,717 | 45.4 | 26 | D |
| Shildon | 9,650 | 65.8 | 42.4 | D− |
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 60.8 | 38.1 | D− |
Toft Hill and High Etherley 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 Toft Hill and High Etherley 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 Toft Hill and High Etherley
Is Toft Hill and High Etherley safe?
Police recorded 13.9 violent and sexual offences and 12.7 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Toft Hill and High Etherley’s built-up area). That earns a B+ for safety: less crime per resident than 65% of UK towns. Among 1,764 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Toft Hill and High Etherley is 956th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Toft Hill and High Etherley?
Police recorded 27 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 23 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Toft Hill and High Etherley?
Violence & sexual offences: 27 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came burglary (14) and vehicle crime (10), with 14 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Toft Hill and High Etherley 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 Toft Hill and High Etherley’s 13.9 and 12.7, 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.