Crime in Cumberland: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (10,894), public order (2,472) and criminal damage and arson (2,264) made up 68% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 170th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lower half.

Recorded crime in Cumberland peaked in the year to August 2019 (28,006 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2025 (22,986). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 12%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Cumberland recorded notably more public order (32% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (83% below) and robbery (77% below). On the year before, vehicle crime rose from 441 to 520 and burglary rose from 497 to 586, while anti-social behaviour fell from 1,789 to 1,195.

What each category covers: crime categories.

20,837 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Cumberland in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 74.3 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Cumberland had the 131st highest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 302 districts with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).

No change on the year or longer series is given for Cumberland: comparable figures start in the year ending March 2026, because the share of crimes in the Cumbria Police area not assigned to a district moved from 2.2% in the year ending March 2025 to 0.6% in the year ending March 2026, which changes district totals without any change in crime.

Offences recorded in Cumberland, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 3,726 offences (18% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving (4.1 times the national rate) and possession of drugs (1.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for robbery of business property (0.15 times), theft from the person (0.16 times) and robbery of personal property (0.23 times).

Districts in the Cumbria Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 2 districts in the Cumbria Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Cumberland had the highest rate.

Source: Home Office police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables (released 23 July 2026), gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. Financial years, excluding fraud; how they differ from the street-level figures: methodology.

5 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Cumberland; the highest is Blackpool district (183.0 per 1,000) and the lowest Westmorland and Furness (72.0).

Of the 81 areas within Cumberland, Castle had the highest crime rate (454.9 per 1,000) and Thursby the lowest (15.6), 29 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 18% of the crime recorded in Cumberland over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (1,009).

Of the 21,860 crimes in Cumberland with a recorded outcome, 20% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 7.2% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 1,195 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Cumberland has an estimated population of 280,495 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer students (4.5%, against 7.9%), less private renting (14%, against 20%) and an older population (24%, against 19%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Cumberland average decile 4.9 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.

Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.