Photo: Graham Robson · CC BY-SA 2.0Blyth has more crime per resident than 94% of UK towns
The Safety Grade comes out at D, drawn from crimes police recorded inside Blyth’s built-up area through September 2023 to August 2026. The typical town its size sees 0.3 cases of bicycle theft per 1,000 residents; Blyth sees 1.2, or 47 in the 12 months to August 2026. Recorded violence fell 16% in a year. Typical years here bring 49.3 violent and sexual offences plus 23.2 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Blyth
One ward carries much of the rate
Croft ward, where 37% of Blyth’s shoplifting and theft is recorded, recorded 1,554 of Blyth’s 5,688 violent and sexual offences in three years: 113.2 per 1,000 of its own residents a year. Across the rest of Blyth the figure is 39.2. Where in Blyth ↓
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 16% less violent crime per resident in Blyth than in the year before; across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage fell 6% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 174 UK towns of 28,000 to 54,000 people, Blyth has the 148th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Bridlington, Pontefract and Morecambe, higher than Tipton, Ilkeston and Oldbury. Towns its size ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
62% of Blyth’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 12% in the lowest-crime 30%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Blyth’s D for safety
A firm grade. Built on 8,343 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Blyth against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
62% of Blyth residents live in one of England’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
12% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 62% 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.
Blyth’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.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Blyth runs highest on bicycle theft (1.2 per 1,000 against 0.3), shoplifting (21.4 per 1,000 against 6.1) and robbery (1.4 per 1,000 against 0.5).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 1,427 | 35.9 | 30.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 1,061 | 26.7 | 12.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 849 | 21.4 | 6.1 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 423 | 10.6 | 6.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 312 | 7.9 | 5.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 197 | 5 | 4.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 175 | 4.4 | 1.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 173 | 4.4 | 2.4 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 159 | 4 | 2.8 |
| Drugs | not graded | 100 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
| Robbery | Violent | 57 | 1.4 | 0.5 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 51 | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 47 | 1.2 | 0.3 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 27 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
“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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
148th of 174: Blyth among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heswall Merseyside | 29,082 | 14.3 | 5.5 | 3.8 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 62 | Cramlington Northumberland | 28,846 | 31 | 14.4 | 13.4 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 145 | Tipton West Midlands | 47,202 | 49.1 | 21.6 | 12 | D |
| 146 | Ilkeston Derbyshire | 38,723 | 55 | 17.2 | 17.6 | D |
| 147 | Oldbury West Midlands | 45,188 | 49.6 | 22.7 | 17.9 | D |
| 148 | Blyth Northumberland | 39,731 | 49.3 | 23.2 | 28.1 | D |
| 149 | Willenhall West Midlands | 49,582 | 44.1 | 28.8 | 21.6 | D |
| 150 | Redcar North Yorkshire | 37,666 | 48.8 | 24.6 | 19.2 | D |
| 151 | Colwyn Bay Clwyd | 29,273 | 58.1 | 15.4 | 17.8 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 158 | Ashington Northumberland | 28,279 | 53.4 | 27.2 | 26.7 | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 174 | Great Yarmouth Norfolk | 28,979 | 105 | 32.9 | 33.7 | 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 Blyth, and others in Northumberland.
How crime in Blyth has moved
Northumbria Police published two months short or not at all (Jan 2026 and Feb 2026), so the line breaks there and those months are left out of the rates. “Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling six-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 -16% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -6% (towns its size -2%), shoplifting and theft +26% (towns its size +1%), anti-social behaviour +10% (towns its size -4%).
Lowest recorded crime in South Blyth, Kitty Brewster and Wensleydale; highest in Croft
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Blyth | 4,681 | 8 | 5.4 | |
| Kitty Brewster | 7,348 | 34.1 | 16.1 | |
| Wensleydale | 5,361 | 40 | 13.1 | |
| Plessey | 3,724 | 42.4 | 19.5 | |
| Isabella | 4,494 | 45.8 | 23.9 | |
| Cowpen | 4,160 | 56 | 23.5 | |
| Newsham | 4,991 | 52.6 | 29.4 | |
| Croft | 4,576 | 113.2 | 52.7 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Shopping areas | 963 | 52% shoplifting & theft |
| Supermarkets | 829 | 74% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 817 | 49% shoplifting & theft |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 324 | 43% violent |
| Petrol stations | 156 | 35% shoplifting & theft |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so Croft records 2.9× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Blyth. police.uk places each crime at an anonymous map point; some are named for the kind of place (a supermarket, a car park), and each row adds up every place of that kind in Blyth. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Blyth’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Crime in Blyth 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 19 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 28 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Police name a suspect about as often as across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 70% of Blyth’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 34% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (0% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 7% of violent and 6% of household crimes reached court.
The latest outcome police.uk shows for each crime recorded in the first of the three years (September 2023 to August 2024), so most cases have closed. 3,138 crimes.
Two people died in collisions on Blyth’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 190 collisions with injuries inside Blyth in five years, in which two people died (1 was a pedestrian). 53 people were killed or seriously injured: 13 on foot and 8 on a bicycle.
That is about what is typical for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: at their median rate (0.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Blyth’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Blyth’s own rate (1.0) is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, Blyth had 26.7 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people (23.8). 25% of them were on foot, against 30% across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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 Blyth’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Blyth
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blyth | 39,731 | 49.3 | 23.2 | D |
| New Hartley | 1,764 | 20.8 | 10.2 | B− |
| Bedlington | 16,186 | 41.3 | 16.2 | D |
| Cramlington | 28,846 | 31 | 14.4 | C |
| Seaton Sluice | 2,957 | 19.5 | 9.9 | B |
| Seaton Delaval | 8,012 | 30 | 12.9 | C |
| Stakeford | 8,197 | 30.7 | 13.4 | C |
| Seghill | 2,799 | 41 | 13.9 | C− |
Blyth records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. New Hartley, 2.4 miles away, records 20.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Blyth’s 49.3.
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
- Some months are short. Northumbria Police published January 2026 and February 2026 only in part or not at all. Those months are left out of the rates, which average the months that were published in full; the raw counts include what was published.
- 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 Blyth 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 Blyth
Is Blyth safe?
Police recorded 49.3 violent and sexual offences and 23.2 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Blyth’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 6% of UK towns. Among 174 UK towns of 28,000 to 54,000 people, Blyth is 148th from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Blyth?
By council ward, South Blyth, Kitty Brewster and Wensleydale record the least violent and household crime per resident: 8, 34.1 and 40 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 113.2 in Croft.
Is crime going up in Blyth?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 16%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 6%, shoplifting and theft rose 26% and anti-social behaviour rose 10%. Across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Blyth?
Violence & sexual offences: 1,427 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (849) and criminal damage & arson (423), with 1,061 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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.