Photo: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0Killyleagh stands out for shoplifting: 3.1 times the rate of a typical town its size
Violence recorded locally dropped 30% in a year. Per 1,000 residents a year, 20.0 violent and sexual offences and 7.5 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage were recorded. All told, Killyleagh grades B for safety (#4 of 10 in Newry, Mourne and Down): less crime per resident than 62% of UK towns, on crimes the Police Service of Northern Ireland recorded inside its settlement from 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 Killyleagh
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 30% less violent crime per resident in Killyleagh than in the year before; across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
About the middle for a town its size
Of 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Killyleagh has the 383rd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Cleobury Mortimer, Lower Stondon and Hadlow, higher than Sway, Pewsey and Holme upon Spalding Moor. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind Killyleagh’s B
A fairly firm grade. Built on 230 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Killyleagh 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 Killyleagh 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; England and Wales towns only).
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 -30% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -46% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft -25% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour -41% (towns its size +0%).
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Killyleagh runs highest on shoplifting (5.7 per 1,000 against 1.8) and anti-social behaviour (10.4 per 1,000 against 8.8). Violence & sexual offences sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 44 | 15.8 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 29 | 10.4 | 8.8 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 16 | 5.7 | 1.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 11 | 3.9 | 4.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 8 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
| Drugs | not graded | 5 | 1.8 | 1 |
| Other crime | not graded | 4 | 1.4 | 1.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 2 | 0.7 | 1.9 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.4 | 2 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Public order | not graded | 0 | 0 | 3.6 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
How Killyleagh’s neighbourhoods rank in Northern Ireland
0% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of Northern Ireland’s neighbourhoods, and 0% in the highest-crime 20%. The crime and disorder domain scores recorded crime, anti-social behaviour and deliberate fires where people live, on 2014–15 figures (NISRA’s latest edition), so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
Killyleagh’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (Super Output Area, about 2,000 people) in the Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017 (crime and disorder domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of Northern Ireland’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
Crime in Killyleagh 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 5 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 9 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Of 856 towns its size, Killyleagh is 383rd from the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 79 | Saintfield Newry, Mourne and Down | 3,588 | 11.6 | 4.8 | 2.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 197 | Rostrevor Newry, Mourne and Down | 2,502 | 15.1 | 6 | 1.6 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 380 | Sway Hampshire | 2,437 | 14 | 13.5 | 5.1 | B |
| 381 | Pewsey Wiltshire | 3,792 | 20.2 | 7.2 | 3.1 | B |
| 382 | Holme upon Spalding Moor East Riding of Yorkshire | 2,547 | 20.6 | 6.9 | 4.1 | B |
| 383 | Killyleagh Newry, Mourne and Down | 2,787 | 20 | 7.5 | 9.7 | B |
| 384 | Little Clacton Essex | 2,458 | 21 | 6.5 | 4.5 | B |
| 385 | Mayland Essex | 3,740 | 21.4 | 6.2 | 2.4 | B |
| 386 | Bramhope West Yorkshire | 3,593 | 18.2 | 9.4 | 4.9 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 642 | Bessbrook Newry, Mourne and Down | 2,892 | 23.3 | 16.7 | 2.8 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 856 | Eastchurch Kent | 3,381 | 132 | 13.9 | 3.5 | 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 Killyleagh, and others in Newry, Mourne and Down.
No one died in a collision on Killyleagh’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 15 collisions with injuries inside Killyleagh in five years. 9 people were killed or seriously injured: 5 on foot and 2 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Killyleagh is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Killyleagh’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; Killyleagh had 9.
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 is as the Police Service of Northern Ireland recorded it: the Department for Transport’s adjustment, which evens out different ways of recording injuries, covers Great Britain’s forces only, and the towns its size are Great Britain’s. There’s no national rate here: more than three quarters of Northern Ireland’s road deaths (77%) happen outside every town’s settlement boundary. Source: PSNI police recorded injury road traffic collisions, 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Killyleagh’s settlement, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Killyleagh
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killyleagh | 2,787 | 20 | 7.5 | B |
| Downpatrick | 11,545 | 44.1 | 16.2 | D |
| Saintfield | 3,588 | 11.6 | 4.8 | A |
| Ballygowan | 3,138 | 11.7 | 3.7 | A |
| Ballynahinch | 6,164 | 28.5 | 12.4 | C |
| Comber | 9,529 | 15.6 | 6.4 | A− |
Killyleagh records more graded crime per resident than 3 of its 5 neighbours; only Downpatrick and Ballynahinch record more. Saintfield, 8.2 miles away, records 11.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Killyleagh’s 20.
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 Killyleagh 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 settlement can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Killyleagh
Is Killyleagh safe?
Police recorded 20 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 Killyleagh’s settlement). That earns a B for safety: less crime per resident than 62% of UK towns. Among 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Killyleagh is 383rd from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Killyleagh?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 30%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 46%, shoplifting and theft fell 25% and anti-social behaviour fell 41%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Killyleagh?
Violence & sexual offences: 44 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (16) and criminal damage & arson (11), with 29 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Killyleagh compare with Belfast?
Belfast records 45.1 violent and sexual offences and 19 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Killyleagh’s 20 and 7.5, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime (Police Service of Northern Ireland), 36 months to August 2026, points inside the settlement boundary · NISRA Census 2021, data zones best-fitted to the NISRA Settlement Development Limits 2015 (settlement totals from NISRA where it publishes them) · NISRA Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017, crime and disorder domain by Super Output Area (residents from NISRA Census 2021 data zones by area) · PSNI police recorded injury road traffic collisions 2021–2025 (Open Data NI), points inside the settlement 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.