Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0West Rainton records more crime per resident than 91% of UK towns
Recorded violence held steady in a year. Scored on crimes police recorded inside West Rainton’s built-up area across September 2023 to August 2026, the town lands on D for safety. Of all the kinds of crime, criminal damage & arson is where West Rainton departs most from towns its size: 19.4 per 1,000 against 3.2. In a usual year, 42.7 violent and sexual offences and 22.4 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage are logged per 1,000 inhabitants.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in West Rainton
Neighbourhood ranks
51% of West Rainton’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.
Inside West Rainton’s D for safety
A firm grade. Built on 453 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks West Rainton 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, West Rainton runs highest on criminal damage & arson (19.4 per 1,000 against 3.2), other theft (10.3 per 1,000 against 2.5) and anti-social behaviour (20.7 per 1,000 against 5.3).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 101 | 43.5 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 48 | 20.7 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 45 | 19.4 | 3.2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 24 | 10.3 | 2.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 19 | 8.2 | 2.4 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 9 | 3.9 | 1.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 9 | 3.9 | 1.1 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 6 | 2.6 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 5 | 2.2 | 0.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 4 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 0.9 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 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 West Rainton 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 526 | Perranporth Cornwall | 2,752 | 44 | 17.4 | 14 | D |
| 527 | Caistor Lincolnshire | 2,284 | 45.2 | 16.2 | 6.4 | D |
| 528 | Cornforth County Durham | 2,424 | 44 | 20.8 | 5.4 | D |
| 529 | West Rainton County Durham | 2,323 | 42.7 | 22.4 | 9 | D |
| 530 | Longtown Cumbria | 2,176 | 43.4 | 21.9 | 8.3 | D |
| 531 | Hellingly East Sussex | 2,616 | 50 | 16.3 | 5.4 | D |
| 532 | Broughton Buckinghamshire | 2,168 | 58.1 | 13.1 | 12.2 | 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 West Rainton, and others in County Durham.
Crime in West Rainton 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 25 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 13 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Police name a suspect about as often as across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 66% of West Rainton’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 5% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (72% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 8% of violent and 0% 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. 145 crimes.
How crime in West Rainton 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 +3% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles +29% (towns its size +0%), anti-social behaviour +7% (towns its size -1%).
Two people died in collisions on West Rainton’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 11 collisions with injuries inside West Rainton in five years, in which two people died. 8 people were killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 2 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, so with numbers this small a single collision changes the picture; West Rainton’s two people are context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of West Rainton’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; West Rainton had 8.
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 West Rainton’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around West Rainton
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Rainton | 2,323 | 42.7 | 22.4 | D |
| East Rainton | 1,476 | 25.6 | 14.1 | C+ |
| High Pittington | 1,147 | 16.6 | 14.5 | B− |
| Hetton-le-Hole | 8,968 | 36.5 | 25.6 | D |
| Fence Houses | 6,945 | 27.3 | 19.9 | C |
| Great Lumley | 3,627 | 21.1 | 8.6 | B |
| Houghton-le-Spring | 12,552 | 37 | 24.7 | D |
| Sherburn | 2,796 | 30.8 | 21.7 | C− |
West Rainton records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. East Rainton, 1.1 miles away, records 25.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against West Rainton’s 42.7.
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 West Rainton 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 West Rainton
Is West Rainton safe?
Police recorded 42.7 violent and sexual offences and 22.4 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside West Rainton’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 9% of UK towns. Among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, West Rainton has less crime per resident than 4%.
Is crime going up in West Rainton?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 29%, shoplifting and theft rose 131% and anti-social behaviour rose 7%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in West Rainton?
Violence & sexual offences: 101 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (45) and other theft (24), with 48 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does West Rainton compare with Durham?
Durham records 40.6 violent and sexual offences and 16.7 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against West Rainton’s 42.7 and 22.4, 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.