Crime in Derbyshire Dales: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (1,584), anti-social behaviour (574) and public order (391) made up 64% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 276th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lowest tenth.

Recorded crime in Derbyshire Dales peaked in the year to August 2020 (5,399 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2018 (3,629). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 11%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

No category with at least 20 crimes was notably above the England and Wales rate, and theft from the person (76% below) and vehicle crime (67% below) were well below it. On the year before, possession of weapons rose from 31 to 40 and burglary rose from 146 to 174.

What each category covers: crime categories.

3,230 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Derbyshire Dales in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 45.0 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Derbyshire Dales had the 19th lowest 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 Derbyshire Dales: comparable figures start in the year ending March 2026, because too many of the force's crimes in the year ending March 2025 were not assigned to a district.

Offences recorded in Derbyshire Dales, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was stalking and harassment, with 489 offences (15% of the total). No category with at least 20 offences had a rate a quarter or more above the England and Wales rate. Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.17 times), vehicle offences (0.29 times) and shoplifting (0.34 times).

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

Of the 9 districts in the Derbyshire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Derbyshire Dales had the lowest 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.

Every one of the 8 nearest districts has a higher crime rate than Derbyshire Dales.

Of the 33 areas within Derbyshire Dales, Matlock West had the highest crime rate (108.7 per 1,000) and Hulland the lowest (20.8), 5 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 21% of the crime recorded in Derbyshire Dales over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (282).

Of the 3,438 crimes in Derbyshire Dales with a recorded outcome, 30% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 4.1% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 574 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Derbyshire Dales has an estimated population of 71,757 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has an older population (29%, against 19%), more retired residents (32%, against 22%) and fewer students (4.4%, against 7.9%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Derbyshire Dales average decile 6.9 (1 = most deprived), less deprived than average.

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