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Middlesbrough Counts — Middlesbrough, in numbers.Local help →

Middlesbrough, in numbers

Crime and safety

Middlesbrough council area. Every figure carries its own date.

What the recorded figures show, and what they cannot tell us.

Recorded crime and population

A larger population can mean more recorded offences even when the number of offences per resident falls. Read the total and the rate together.

Middlesbrough · 2025/26 · Territorial police-recorded offences excluding fraud; British Transport Police excluded by CSP source. Source classifications retained.

Recorded offences

23,419

Offences per 1,000 residents

150

Population used for the rate

About 156,200

2024 mid-year population

The source rounds this population to the nearest 100. The rate shown is the official published rate.

Show the figures and workings

The rate is recorded offences divided by the population, multiplied by 1,000. Where the source rounds its population figure, we retain its published rate rather than recalculate it from that rounded figure. This counts offences, not the percentage of residents who were victims.

Checked counts and population-based rates
PeriodOffencesPopulation usedPer 1,000 residents
2025/2623,419About 156,200 (2024)150

These figures match the source area for this period. That does not establish a comparable history for today’s council boundaries.

Official source and method →
Can we test the population theory over 30 years?

Only where the offence definitions, recording practices and area boundaries are comparable. Changes in reporting, police recording and the types of crime matter too. We do not join incompatible series or invent missing years.

Only the latest independently checked observation is displayed. A comparable long-run crime-and-population trend has not been established.

  • 2002/03: Series starts after April 2002 recording-standard introduction; not comparable to pre-2002 records.
  • 2013/14: Offence grouping revision; source back-series retained. Recording practice changes also affect comparisons.
  • 2017/18: Burglary classification changed; broad total retained but detailed groups need review.
  • 2023/24: Burglary subcategories and recording-rule changes require interpretation review.

A comparable 30-year crime-and-population trend has not been established for this area.

For example, if offences rose by 10% while population rose by 20%, offences per resident would fall by about 8%. This is an illustration, not a finding about this area.

People commuting or visiting can also affect offences recorded in a place. The resident population is a useful common denominator, but does not count everyone present.

What could help? Follow the types and locations of repeated problems, check residents’ experiences, and assess the response. Area population totals do not identify who commits offences.

Local issues and proposed responses →

Police-recorded locations for Middlesbrough council area. Locations are approximate; these are not all crimes or a measure of personal risk.

24,655 mapped crimes

September 2025 to August 2026. Compared with 22,645 in the previous 12 months. Anti-social behaviour is counted separately.

Mapped crime over time

September 2024 to August 2026

Middlesbrough council area · mapped crimes

Reviewed figures: September 2024 to August 2026. This reviewed record covers fewer than 30 years, so the chart opens on all of it.

Shown on this chart: 1,969 mapped crimes in September 2024; 2,232 mapped crimes in August 2026. These are recorded counts; check the coverage notes before comparing periods.

The line joins consecutive published observations.

Monthly crime and anti-social behaviour
Recorded locations by month · Middlesbrough
MonthMapped crimeAnti-social behaviour
September 20241,969444
October 20242,015450
November 20241,751331
December 20241,655272
January 20251,799317
February 20251,706349
March 20251,950479
April 20251,823523
May 20251,989497
June 20251,998531
July 20252,040515
August 20251,950643
September 20251,908485
October 20252,041532
November 20251,865358
December 20251,840305
January 20261,885333
February 20261,861387
March 20262,245372
April 20262,017375
May 20262,132368
June 20262,270289
July 20262,359351
August 20262,232357
Crime categories in the latest complete year
September 2025 to August 2026 · Middlesbrough
CategoryMapped crimes
violent crime9,447
criminal damage arson3,139
shoplifting3,100
public order2,286
vehicle crime1,296
other theft1,218
drugs1,105
burglary1,008
other crime857
robbery640
possession of weapons285
bicycle theft146
theft from the person128
What these numbers include

Approximate published locations, not every crime or personal risk.

Anti-social behaviour is separate. Transport police and unusable locations excluded.

An empty ward count means no mapped rows in the complete required force files; it does not prove that no crime occurred.

These are retrieved mapped records, not a guarantee of complete crime reporting. Approximate locations and unmapped incidents limit comparisons.

Missing ward-months invalidate totals and changes. Busy centres attract visitors, so residential population is not a measure of the number of people exposed.

Police data and method →

What could improve local safety →