Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0Kirkby Stephen records public order at 4.8 times the rate of a typical town its size
Its letter overall is C+: more crime per resident than 62% of UK towns, from crimes police recorded inside its built-up area through September 2023 to August 2026. Violent crime was up 35% in a year. Recorded violent and sexual offences ran at 28.7 per 1,000 residents a year, and burglary, vehicle crime and damage at 9.9.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Kirkby Stephen
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 35% more violent crime per resident in Kirkby Stephen 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 1,764 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Kirkby Stephen has the 1,407th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than South Hiendley, Kensworth and Curdworth, higher than Sedbergh, Kirkbymoorside and Eton Wick. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Kirkby Stephen’s C+ for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 219 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Kirkby Stephen against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
How crime in Kirkby Stephen 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 +35% (towns its size +3%).
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Kirkby Stephen runs highest on public order (11.6 per 1,000 against 2.4), criminal damage & arson (6.9 per 1,000 against 3.2) and violence & sexual offences (35.4 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 67 | 35.4 | 16.6 |
| Public order | not graded | 22 | 11.6 | 2.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 13 | 6.9 | 3.2 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 7 | 3.7 | 0 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 7 | 3.7 | 1.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 5 | 2.6 | 1.1 |
| Other theft | not graded | 4 | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 3 | 1.6 | 0.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 3 | 1.6 | 5.3 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 2 | 1.1 | 1.5 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 1.1 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 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.
Of 1,764 towns its size, Kirkby Stephen is 1,407th from the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 71 | Allithwaite Cumbria | 1,171 | 8.3 | 2.9 | 1.7 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 74 | Scotby Cumbria | 1,830 | 8.9 | 2.4 | 1.3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 86 | High Harrington Cumbria | 1,574 | 10 | 1.7 | 1.1 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 88 | Arnside Cumbria | 2,231 | 9.3 | 2.4 | 1.5 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 1404 | Sedbergh Cumbria | 1,449 | 28.5 | 9.9 | 5.8 | C+ |
| 1405 | Kirkbymoorside North Yorkshire | 2,763 | 27.6 | 10.9 | 6.3 | C+ |
| 1406 | Eton Wick Berkshire | 2,121 | 25.9 | 12.6 | 3.2 | C+ |
| 1407 | Kirkby Stephen Cumbria | 1,895 | 28.7 | 9.9 | 7.2 | C+ |
| 1408 | Thorpe Surrey | 1,226 | 20.4 | 18.2 | 8.2 | C+ |
| 1409 | Weston Rhyn Shropshire | 1,381 | 29.9 | 8.7 | 15.9 | C+ |
| 1410 | Goudhurst Kent | 1,104 | 25.7 | 13 | 8.5 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 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 Kirkby Stephen, and others in Cumbria.
Crime in Kirkby Stephen 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 6 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 Kirkby Stephen’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 10 collisions with injuries inside Kirkby Stephen in five years. 3 people were killed or seriously injured: 2 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 Kirkby Stephen is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Kirkby Stephen’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; Kirkby Stephen had 3.
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 Kirkby Stephen’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Kirkby Stephen
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkby Stephen | 1,895 | 28.7 | 9.9 | C+ |
| Appleby-in-Westmorland | 3,233 | 42.4 | 10.4 | C− |
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 Kirkby Stephen 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 Kirkby Stephen
Is Kirkby Stephen safe?
Police recorded 28.7 violent and sexual offences and 9.9 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Kirkby Stephen’s built-up area). That earns a C+ for safety: less crime per resident than 38% of UK towns. Among 1,764 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Kirkby Stephen is 1,407th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Kirkby Stephen?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 35%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 22%, shoplifting and theft fell 39% and anti-social behaviour fell 25%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Kirkby Stephen?
Violence & sexual offences: 67 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (22) and criminal damage & arson (13), with 3 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Kirkby Stephen compare with Kendal?
Kendal records 37.6 violent and sexual offences and 10.8 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Kirkby Stephen’s 28.7 and 9.9, 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.