Photo: Alexander P Kapp · CC BY-SA 2.0Distington trails 80% of UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people on crime per resident
Per 1,000 residents a year, 30.6 violent and sexual offences and 7.5 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage were recorded. On burglary, vehicle crime and damage it beats 66% of UK towns; on violent crime, only 31%. Weighing it all, Distington earns C+ for safety, with more crime per resident than 62% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area over September 2023 to August 2026.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Distington
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Distington has the 977th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Stickney, Weobley and Frampton on Severn, higher than Burnhope, Billy Row and Codmore Hill. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
The grade: C+ for Distington
A fairly firm grade. Built on 157 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Distington against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Of 1,214 towns its size, Distington is 977th from the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 61 | Allithwaite Cumbria | 1,171 | 8.3 | 2.9 | 1.7 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 64 | Scotby Cumbria | 1,830 | 8.9 | 2.4 | 1.3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 75 | High Harrington Cumbria | 1,574 | 10 | 1.7 | 1.1 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 107 | Levens Cumbria | 1,020 | 9.8 | 2.9 | 2.3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 974 | Burnhope County Durham | 1,465 | 22.5 | 15.5 | 1.1 | C+ |
| 975 | Billy Row County Durham | 1,254 | 25.5 | 12.5 | 3.5 | C+ |
| 976 | Codmore Hill West Sussex | 1,288 | 27.2 | 10.9 | 12.4 | C+ |
| 977 | Distington Cumbria | 1,375 | 30.6 | 7.5 | 4.6 | C+ |
| 978 | Hockliffe Bedfordshire | 1,068 | 20.3 | 17.8 | 13.7 | C+ |
| 979 | St Just Cornwall | 1,830 | 27.8 | 10.3 | 3.2 | C+ |
| 980 | Romsley Worcestershire | 1,153 | 21.7 | 16.5 | 6.4 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 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.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Distington, and others in Cumbria.
Crime in Distington 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 4 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 4 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 25 | 18.2 | 16.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 5 | 3.6 | 1.1 |
| Public order | not graded | 4 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 4 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 3 | 2.2 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 3 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 1 | 0.7 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 1 | 0.7 | 5.3 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 0 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 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.
25 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 39 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 -36% (towns its size +3%).
No one died in a collision on Distington’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 1 collision with injuries inside Distington 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 Distington is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Distington’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; Distington 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 Distington’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Distington
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distington | 1,375 | 30.6 | 7.5 | C+ |
| High Harrington | 1,574 | 10 | 1.7 | A+ |
| Moresby Parks | 1,180 | 12.4 | 1.4 | A+ |
| Workington | 21,276 | 59.3 | 22.1 | D− |
| Stainburn | 2,120 | 14.3 | 3.6 | A |
| Whitehaven | 22,952 | 52 | 14.5 | D |
| Frizington | 1,754 | 62.5 | 23 | D− |
| Seaton | 5,051 | 15.5 | 4.6 | A− |
Distington records more graded crime per resident than 4 of its 7 neighbours. High Harrington, 1.3 miles away, records 10 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Distington’s 30.6.
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 Distington 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 Distington
Is Distington safe?
Police recorded 30.6 violent and sexual offences and 7.5 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Distington’s built-up area). That earns a C+ for safety: less crime per resident than 38% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Distington is 977th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Distington?
Police recorded 25 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 39 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Distington?
Violence & sexual offences: 25 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came other crime (5) and public order (4), with 1 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Distington compare with Whitehaven?
Whitehaven records 52 violent and sexual offences and 14.5 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Distington’s 30.6 and 7.5, 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.