Primrose Cottage · Photo: Geoff Holland · CC BY-SA 2.0Seaton Sluice records shoplifting at 5.2 times the rate of a typical town its size
It has less crime per resident than 61% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. The overall Safety Grade is B (#3 of 20 in Northumberland), which means close to the middle of UK towns, judged on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Behind the grade sit 19.5 violent and sexual offences and 9.9 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 people a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Seaton Sluice
About the middle for a town its size
Of 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Seaton Sluice has the 443rd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Stanford in the Vale, Eye and Croston, higher than Newport, St Martins and Wadhurst. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Seaton Sluice’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 249 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Seaton Sluice against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Seaton Sluice runs highest on shoplifting (9.5 per 1,000 against 1.8) and anti-social behaviour (18.3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 54 | 18.3 | 8.8 |
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 45 | 15.2 | 22.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 28 | 9.5 | 1.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 13 | 4.4 | 4.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 9 | 3 | 3.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 8 | 2.7 | 2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 7 | 2.4 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 6 | 2 | 1.9 |
| Other crime | not graded | 6 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Robbery | Violent | 3 | 1 | 0.2 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Drugs | not graded | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| 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 Seaton Sluice’s neighbourhoods rank in England
0% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 0% 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.
Seaton Sluice’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.
Crime in Seaton Sluice 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 9 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.
Seaton Sluice against towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 51 | Corbridge Northumberland | 2,888 | 10.8 | 4.2 | 6.1 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 214 | Rothbury Northumberland | 2,025 | 14.1 | 8 | 2.1 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 440 | Newport Essex | 2,945 | 20.8 | 8.5 | 3.6 | B |
| 441 | St Martins Shropshire | 2,692 | 24 | 5.3 | 5.1 | B |
| 442 | Wadhurst East Sussex | 3,408 | 18.1 | 11.2 | 5.7 | B |
| 443 | Seaton Sluice Northumberland | 2,957 | 19.5 | 9.9 | 15 | B |
| 444 | Barnt Green Worcestershire | 3,821 | 15.1 | 14.3 | 6.7 | B |
| 445 | Moira Leicestershire | 3,198 | 19.3 | 10.1 | 6.2 | B |
| 446 | Tonna West Glamorgan | 2,665 | 22.8 | 6.6 | 3.1 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 529 | Ellington Northumberland | 2,131 | 18.2 | 14.9 | 15.2 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 561 | Haltwhistle Northumberland | 3,646 | 25.8 | 9.2 | 7.5 | 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 Seaton Sluice, and others in Northumberland.
Violent crime held steady over the year
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 2,500 to 10,000 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 +1% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +7% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft +13% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour -19% (towns its size +0%).
One person died in collisions on Seaton Sluice’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 12 collisions with injuries inside Seaton Sluice in five years, in which one person died. 2 people were killed or seriously injured: 1 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, so with numbers this small a single collision changes the picture; Seaton Sluice’s one death is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Seaton Sluice’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; Seaton Sluice had 2.
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 Seaton Sluice’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Seaton Sluice
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seaton Sluice | 2,957 | 19.5 | 9.9 | B |
| New Hartley | 1,764 | 20.8 | 10.2 | B− |
| Seaton Delaval | 8,012 | 30 | 12.9 | C |
| Whitley Bay | 36,876 | 21.7 | 11 | B− |
| Seghill | 2,799 | 41 | 13.9 | C− |
| Blyth | 39,731 | 49.3 | 23.2 | D |
| Shiremoor | 6,965 | 27.8 | 13.7 | C |
| Backworth | 4,483 | 34.6 | 17.2 | C− |
Seaton Sluice records less graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table.
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 Seaton Sluice 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 Seaton Sluice
Is Seaton Sluice safe?
Police recorded 19.5 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 Seaton Sluice’s built-up area). That earns a B for safety: less crime per resident than 57% of UK towns. Among 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Seaton Sluice is 443rd from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Seaton Sluice?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 7%, shoplifting and theft rose 13% and anti-social behaviour fell 19%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Seaton Sluice?
Violence & sexual offences: 45 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (28) and criminal damage & arson (13), with 54 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Seaton Sluice compare with South Shields?
South Shields records 49.1 violent and sexual offences and 22.9 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Seaton Sluice’s 19.5 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.