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A view from the V&A Museum, DundeePhoto: M J Richardson · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded
Safety in Dundee · Scottish Government, SIMD

Recorded crime in the Dundee City council area is 63% above Scotland’s rate

Police Scotland doesn’t publish crimes street by street, so Dundee has no Safety Grade and no overall grade until the 2026 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation brings neighbourhood crime figures. What Scotland does publish: crime for the whole Dundee City council area (929 crimes per 10,000 people in 2025-26), and how Dundee’s own neighbourhoods rank for crime.

Crimes, Dundee City
929
per 10,000 people, 2025-26
Scotland 569
Violence
196
non-sexual violent crimes per 10,000
Scotland 136
Cleared up
63%
of recorded crimes, 2025-26
Scotland 57%
SIMD crimes in Dundee
372
per 10,000 residents, 2017/18
Scotland 276
What stands out · In brief

What stands out about safety in Dundee

Crime up over ten years

Recorded crime across the Dundee City council area went from 752 to 929 per 10,000 people between 2016-17 and 2025-26; across Scotland it moved +3%. Ten years ↓

More crime-deprived neighbourhoods than most

34% of Dundee’s residents live in the fifth of Scotland’s small areas with the most crime on SIMD 2020, and 14% in the fifth with the least. Its rate of SIMD crimes, 372 per 10,000 in 2017/18, is 35% above Scotland’s. Neighbourhood ranks ↓

Written from the Scottish Government’s recorded crime and SIMD figures on this page.

Where in Dundee

Fewest SIMD crimes in Monikie, Broughty Ferry East and West Pitkerro; most in City Centre

AreaResidentsPer 10,000
Monikie7270
Broughty Ferry East3,56714
West Pitkerro6,44669
West Ferry2,97481
Westend5,76595
Barnhill4,235113
Craigie and Craigiebank3,973174
Hilltown4,754490
The Glens4,961504
Docks and Wellgate5,538529
Stobswell5,777531
Menzieshill4,182567
Lochee5,516577
City Centre5,1701,567
Below Scotland’s rateAt or above it

19 of Dundee’s 32 areas are at or above Scotland’s rate of 276 (orange bars). SIMD counts crimes where they were recorded, so an area with a town centre, a station or a hospital records more than its own residents suffer.

SIMD crimes per 10,000 residents in 2017/18, by small area (2011 data zones, grouped by the names the Scottish Government gives them), fewest first. The seven lowest and seven highest of 32.

By type

What police recorded in the Dundee City council area in 2025-26

Shoplifting212
Common assault158
Vandalism89
Fraud42
Housebreaking21
Car theft16
Drug supply11
Serious assault9
Robbery9
Domestic abuse9
Violent & sexualHomes, cars & damageOtherScotland

Against Scotland, the Dundee City council area runs highest on robbery (9 per 10,000 against 3), shoplifting (212 per 10,000 against 96) and car theft (16 per 10,000 against 9).

Show every crime group as a table
GroupRecordedPer 10,000Scotland
Non-sexual crimes of violence2,940196136
Sexual crimes5893930
Crimes of dishonesty (theft, housebreaking, fraud)6,459431213
Damage and reckless behaviour (vandalism, fire-raising)1,63810969
Crimes against society (drugs, weapons, justice)2,298153121
Antisocial offences (disorder, threatening behaviour)1,64411093

Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland 2025-26: crimes and offences by council area. Groups 1 to 5 are crimes; group 6, antisocial offences, is offences.

Per 10,000 people. The tick on each bar is Scotland’s rate. Every town in the council area shares these figures.

Ten years · yearly

Recorded crime up 24% since 2016-17

Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2016-17 to the newest year. Since April 2019 violence includes the new crime of domestic abuse under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018.

Per 10,000 people each year, the Dundee City council area against Scotland. 2016-17 to 2025-26: all crimes +24% (Scotland +3%), violence +20%.

Neighbourhoods · Scotland-wide rank

34% of Dundee residents live in one of Scotland’s highest-crime neighbourhoods

15%1
19%2
13%3
10%4
10%5
7%6
6%7
7%8
6%9
7%10
Higher crimeLower crime

20% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of Scotland’s neighbourhoods, and 34% in the highest-crime 20%. Dundee counted 372 SIMD crimes per 10,000 residents in 2017/18, 35% above Scotland’s 276; three years before, 376 (-1%, Scotland -9%).

Scottish Government, SIMD 2020v2 crime domain and SIMD crime indicators (crimes of violence, sexual crimes, domestic housebreaking, vandalism, drugs offences and common assault, 2014/15 and 2017/18). Residents from Scotland’s Census 2022 output areas.

Dundee’s residents by the crime decile of their small area (2011 data zone, about 800 people) in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020 (crime domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of Scotland’s 6,976 data zones and 10 the lowest.

Towns its size

Dundee is 11th of 15 Scottish towns of 42,256 to 192,968

#TownPeopleSIMD crimes per 10,000In the most crime-deprived fifth
1East Kilbride South Lanarkshire76,62621411%
2Dunfermline Fife56,05324718%
…
8Kilmarnock East Ayrshire47,07333533%
9Coatbridge North Lanarkshire42,25634430%
10Greenock Inverclyde42,87035527%
11Dundee Dundee City147,36537234%
12Aberdeen Aberdeen City192,96838228%
13Kirkcaldy and Dysart Fife51,13538341%
14Paisley Renfrewshire79,35139535%
15Inverness Highland48,25745030%

SIMD crimes per 10,000 residents in 2017/18, counting from the fewest: the towns either side of Dundee, and the ends of the list. Described, not graded.

Cleared up

63% of crimes in the Dundee City council area were cleared up, more than Scotland’s 57%

All crimes63%
Violence70%
Sexual crimes64%
Dishonesty49%
Damage30%
Against society92%
Violent & sexualHomes, cars & damageOtherScotland

Violence and drugs crimes are cleared up most often, because they are usually recorded with a suspect in view; housebreaking, theft and vandalism least.

Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland 2025-26: crime clear-up rates by council area.

Share of crimes recorded in 2025-26 that were cleared up: a suspect identified and enough evidence to report them to the procurator fiscal. The tick is Scotland.

1,000 people · one year

For every 1,000 people in the Dundee City council area, about 24 violent or sexual crimes in 2025-26

Violent & sexualHousebreaking, car theft & damageOther theft & fraud
3,529
violent and sexual crimes, Dundee City, 2025-26
2,187
housebreaking, car theft & damage
5,910
other theft & fraud
78
of the three, per 1,000

A crime isn’t a victim: one person can suffer several, and crimes in a city centre often involve visitors rather than residents.

And about 15 housebreakings, car thefts or acts of vandalism and fire-raising, plus 39 other thefts and frauds. Each dot is one person; each coloured dot is one recorded crime. These are council-wide figures: every town in the Dundee City council area shares them.

On the roads

Five people died in collisions on Dundee’s roads in 2021–2025

Police recorded 633 collisions with injuries inside Dundee in five years, in which five people died (3 were pedestrians). 233 people were killed or seriously injured: 88 on foot and 14 on a bicycle.

That is about what is typical for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: at their median rate (1.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Dundee’s size would see about 8 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Dundee’s own rate (0.7) is context, not a ranking.

Counting serious injuries too, Dundee had 31.6 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (30.3). 38% of them were on foot, against 31% across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more.

5
people killed, 2021–2025
233
killed or seriously injured
88
of them on foot
14
of them on a bicycle

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; the towns its size are England and Wales’s. There’s no national rate here: more than two thirds of Scotland’s road deaths (70%) happen outside every town’s locality boundary. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.

Collisions police recorded inside Dundee’s locality, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.

Neighbours

Crime in the places around Dundee

Fewest quarterSecondThirdMost SIMD crime
TownPeopleSIMD crimes per 10,000Most crime-deprived fifth
Dundee147,36537234%
Newport-on-Tay and Wormit4,119850%
Tayport3,967710%
Monifieth9,356710%
Carnoustie11,3731020%
Cupar8,8352259%
St Andrews16,4651170%
Forfar13,77432125%

Dundee counted more SIMD crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Newport-on-Tay and Wormit, 2.9 miles away, counted 85 per 10,000, against Dundee’s 372.

SIMD crimes per 10,000 residents in 2017/18. The map colours each town by the quarter of Scotland’s towns it falls in; they are not grades. Tap a town for its safety page.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Council areas, not towns. Recorded crime and clear-up rates are published for each of Scotland’s 32 council areas, so every town in the Dundee City council area shares them. A city centre and a quiet village in the same council show the same figures.
  • SIMD crime is town-level, but old. The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation counts selected crimes (violence, sexual crimes, domestic housebreaking, vandalism, drugs offences and common assault) in each small area. SIMD 2020 uses crimes from 2017/18; SIMD 2026, due at the end of 2026, will bring newer figures; we plan to grade Scottish safety on them.
  • Not a grade. Nothing on this page is graded. The towns-its-size ranking and the neighbours’ colours describe SIMD crime rates; they aren’t a Safety Grade and don’t feed one.
  • Recorded, not experienced. Recorded crime is what the police record. It moves with reporting and policing as well as with crime; the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey asks people directly, for Scotland as a whole.

Questions about safety in Dundee

Is Dundee safe?

Police Scotland recorded 929 crimes per 10,000 people across the Dundee City council area in 2025-26, 63% above Scotland’s 569. Within Dundee, the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation counted 372 of its selected crimes per 10,000 residents in 2017/18, against 276 across Scotland; 34% of residents live in the fifth of Scotland’s neighbourhoods with the most crime. Police Scotland doesn’t publish street-level crime, so Dundee has no Safety Grade.

How many crimes are solved in the Dundee City council area?

63% of crimes recorded in 2025-26 were cleared up (someone was identified and there was enough evidence to report them to the procurator fiscal), against 57% across Scotland.

Why doesn’t Dundee have a Safety Grade?

Our Safety Grade counts crimes inside each town’s boundary. Police Scotland doesn’t publish crimes by location for reuse, so Scottish towns can’t be measured the same way. The 2026 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation will bring newer neighbourhood crime figures.

Sources: Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland (crimes, offences and clear-up rates by council area, 2016-17 to 2025-26); Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020v2 crime domain and SIMD crime indicators (2014/15, 2017/18), 2011 data zones with Census 2022 residents · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the NRS 2022 locality 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.