Church of St Michael and All Angels · Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Witton Gilbert records shoplifting at 3.2 times the rate of a typical town its size
Each year brought 18.4 violent and sexual offences and 6.3 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage for every 1,000 residents. It has less crime per resident than 77% of the UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, 1,308 in all. Violence recorded locally climbed 22% 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 Witton Gilbert
Less crime than many places its size
Of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Witton Gilbert has the 203rd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Dearham, Haxey and Maulden, higher than Lower Kingswood, Timsbury and Reepham. Towns its size ↓
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 22% more violent crime per resident in Witton Gilbert than in the year before; across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Witton Gilbert’s B+ for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 187 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Witton Gilbert 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, Witton Gilbert runs highest on shoplifting (5.9 per 1,000 against 1.8) and criminal damage & arson (5.5 per 1,000 against 4.5). Anti-social behaviour sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 50 | 19.8 | 22.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 15 | 5.9 | 1.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 14 | 5.5 | 4.5 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 10 | 4 | 8.8 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 6 | 2.4 | 2 |
| Other crime | not graded | 4 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 3 | 1.2 | 3.6 |
| Other theft | not graded | 3 | 1.2 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 2 | 0.8 | 1.9 |
| Drugs | not graded | 2 | 0.8 | 1 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 1 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
“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.
How crime in Witton Gilbert 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 +22% (towns its size +1%), shoplifting and theft -34% (towns its size +2%).
How Witton Gilbert’s neighbourhoods rank in England
0% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 0% 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.
Witton Gilbert’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.
Towns its size: Witton Gilbert comes 203rd of 550
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 200 | Lower Kingswood Surrey | 2,029 | 16.8 | 7.7 | 9.5 | B+ |
| 201 | Timsbury Somerset | 2,506 | 18.8 | 5.9 | 10.5 | B+ |
| 202 | Reepham Norfolk | 2,317 | 15.8 | 8.8 | 3 | B+ |
| 203 | Witton Gilbert County Durham | 2,525 | 18.4 | 6.3 | 9.6 | B+ |
| 204 | Milton-under-Wychwood and Shipton-under-Wychwood Oxfordshire | 2,956 | 13.4 | 11.3 | 2.6 | B+ |
| 205 | Chalgrove Oxfordshire | 2,807 | 21.1 | 3.6 | 2.6 | B+ |
| 206 | Wootton (Vale of White Horse) Oxfordshire | 2,428 | 16.8 | 8 | 4.7 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 212 | Hurworth-on-Tees County Durham | 2,667 | 19.1 | 6 | 2.5 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 313 | Wolsingham County Durham | 2,428 | 19.6 | 10.4 | 3.2 | 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 Witton Gilbert, and others in County Durham.
Crime in Witton Gilbert 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 9 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 8 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 Witton Gilbert’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 0 collisions with injuries inside Witton Gilbert in five years. 0 people were killed or seriously injured.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Witton Gilbert is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Witton Gilbert’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; Witton Gilbert 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 Witton Gilbert’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Witton Gilbert
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Witton Gilbert | 2,525 | 18.4 | 6.3 | B+ |
| Sacriston | 5,186 | 38.5 | 23.3 | D |
| Langley Park | 4,031 | 39.1 | 17 | C− |
| Ushaw Moor and Bearpark | 6,483 | 41.8 | 17.7 | D |
| New Brancepeth | 1,280 | 55.2 | 14.8 | D |
| Burnhope | 1,465 | 22.5 | 15.5 | C+ |
| Durham | 50,502 | 40.6 | 16.7 | D |
| Whitehill | 1,679 | 45.1 | 21.6 | D |
Witton Gilbert 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 Witton Gilbert 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 Witton Gilbert
Is Witton Gilbert safe?
Police recorded 18.4 violent and sexual offences and 6.3 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Witton Gilbert’s built-up area). That earns a B+ for safety: less crime per resident than 70% of UK towns. Among 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Witton Gilbert is 203rd from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Witton Gilbert?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 22%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 100%, shoplifting and theft fell 34% and anti-social behaviour held steady. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Witton Gilbert?
Violence & sexual offences: 50 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (15) and criminal damage & arson (14), with 10 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Witton Gilbert 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 Witton Gilbert’s 18.4 and 6.3, 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.