Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Morpeth records more crime per resident than nine in ten UK towns
With 142 cases in the 12 months to August 2026, public order reaches 9.8 per 1,000 residents in Morpeth, well above the typical 5.4. Graded on crimes police recorded inside the town’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026, it scores D for safety: #18 of 20 in Northumberland. Violence recorded locally dropped 15% in a year. Out of every 1,000 residents, 45.3 violent and sexual offences and 18.4 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage are reported annually.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Morpeth
One ward carries much of the rate
Morpeth North ward, where 52% of Morpeth’s shoplifting and theft is recorded, recorded 1,302 of Morpeth’s 1,888 violent and sexual offences in three years: 94.2 per 1,000 of its own residents a year. Across the rest of Morpeth the figure is 19.9. Where in Morpeth ↓
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 15% less violent crime per resident in Morpeth 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 21% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 350 UK towns of 10,000 to 19,000 people, Morpeth has the 306th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Conisbrough, Waltham Cross and Filton, higher than Risca, Elland and Chadwell St Mary. Towns its size ↓
Many neighbourhoods rank low for crime nationally
The government’s Indices of Deprivation 2025 rank every neighbourhood in England on recorded crime. 32% of Morpeth’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 22% in one of the highest-crime 20%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind Morpeth’s D
A firm grade. Built on 2,649 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Morpeth against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
A third of Morpeth residents live in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
42% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 22% 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.
Morpeth’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.
Of 350 towns its size, Morpeth is 306th from the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kesgrave Suffolk | 14,947 | 13 | 3.3 | 2.7 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 31 | Ponteland Northumberland | 10,149 | 20.4 | 6.2 | 9.3 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 179 | Prudhoe Northumberland | 10,285 | 28.4 | 13.6 | 9.1 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 196 | Hexham Northumberland | 10,945 | 31.9 | 12.3 | 14.9 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 202 | Berwick-upon-Tweed Northumberland | 13,181 | 32.2 | 12.4 | 12.8 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 303 | Risca Gwent | 15,194 | 44.2 | 18.7 | 8.7 | D |
| 304 | Elland West Yorkshire | 15,788 | 45 | 18 | 15.8 | D |
| 305 | Chadwell St Mary Essex | 10,680 | 39.5 | 24.1 | 7.3 | D |
| 306 | Morpeth Northumberland | 14,419 | 45.3 | 18.4 | 16.8 | D |
| 307 | Thorne South Yorkshire | 12,303 | 44.3 | 19.5 | 13.6 | D |
| 308 | Shirebrook Derbyshire | 11,571 | 50.2 | 14.7 | 12.4 | D |
| 309 | Wath upon Dearne South Yorkshire | 16,962 | 45.6 | 19.6 | 9.1 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 350 | Haverfordwest Dyfed | 12,088 | 91.4 | 28.6 | 32.3 | 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 Morpeth, and others in Northumberland.
Police in Morpeth identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 56% of Morpeth’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 24% 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 2% of violent and 3% 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. 1,017 crimes.
How crime in Morpeth 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 -15% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -21% (towns its size -2%), shoplifting and theft -37% (towns its size +1%), anti-social behaviour +23% (towns its size -4%).
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Morpeth runs highest on public order (9.8 per 1,000 against 5.4), other crime (3.2 per 1,000 against 1.8) and shoplifting (7.8 per 1,000 against 6.1). Drugs and other theft sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 506 | 35.1 | 30.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 214 | 14.8 | 12.4 |
| Public order | not graded | 142 | 9.8 | 5.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 113 | 7.8 | 6.1 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 108 | 7.5 | 6.2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 46 | 3.2 | 4.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 46 | 3.2 | 1.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 42 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 34 | 2.4 | 2.8 |
| Drugs | not graded | 23 | 1.6 | 1.9 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 5 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 5 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Robbery | Violent | 4 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 2 | 0.1 | 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.
Crime in Morpeth 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 13 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 12 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Lowest recorded crime in Morpeth Kirkhill, Morpeth Stobhill and Longhorsley; highest in Morpeth North
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morpeth Kirkhill | 4,972 | 17.2 | 11.4 | |
| Morpeth Stobhill | 4,301 | 22.6 | 11.8 | |
| Longhorsley | 539 | 23.5 | 13 | |
| Morpeth North | 4,607 | 94.2 | 30.2 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Car parks | 591 | 38% violent |
| Supermarkets | 46 | 37% shoplifting & theft |
| Hospitals | 42 | 69% violent |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so Morpeth North records 4.7× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Morpeth. 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 Morpeth. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Morpeth’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Two people died in collisions on Morpeth’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 43 collisions with injuries inside Morpeth in five years, in which two people died. 21 people were killed or seriously injured: 3 on foot and 4 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 Morpeth’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Morpeth’s own rate (2.8) is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, Morpeth had 29.1 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people (23.8).
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 Morpeth’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Morpeth
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morpeth | 14,419 | 45.3 | 18.4 | D |
| Pegswood | 3,302 | 26.2 | 14.6 | C |
| Stakeford | 8,197 | 30.7 | 13.4 | C |
| Bedlington | 16,186 | 41.3 | 16.2 | D |
| Ashington | 28,279 | 53.4 | 27.2 | D− |
| Widdrington Station | 2,495 | 30.3 | 13.3 | C |
| Ellington | 2,131 | 18.2 | 14.9 | B− |
| Cramlington | 28,846 | 31 | 14.4 | C |
Morpeth records more graded crime per resident than 6 of its 7 neighbours; only Ashington records more. Pegswood, 2 miles away, records 26.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Morpeth’s 45.3.
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 Morpeth 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 Morpeth
Is Morpeth safe?
Police recorded 45.3 violent and sexual offences and 18.4 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Morpeth’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 10% of UK towns. Among 350 UK towns of 10,000 to 19,000 people, Morpeth is 306th from the least crime. 32% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
What are the safest areas of Morpeth?
By council ward, Morpeth Kirkhill, Morpeth Stobhill and Longhorsley record the least violent and household crime per resident: 17.2, 22.6 and 23.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 94.2 in Morpeth North.
Is crime going up in Morpeth?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 15%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 21%, shoplifting and theft fell 37% and anti-social behaviour rose 23%. Across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Morpeth?
Violence & sexual offences: 506 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (142) and shoplifting (113), with 214 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Morpeth compare with Blyth?
Blyth records 49.3 violent and sexual offences and 23.2 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Morpeth’s 45.3 and 18.4, 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.