Crime in Gateshead district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (5,426), anti-social behaviour (3,849) and shoplifting (2,406) made up 61% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 112th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

The year to August 2026 had the least recorded crime in Gateshead district of any year here (19,271 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 32%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Gateshead district recorded notably more other crime (65% above the national rate), shoplifting (40% above the national rate) and criminal damage and arson (25% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (58% below) and bicycle theft (56% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 216 to 274 and other crime rose from 593 to 709, while drugs fell from 600 to 306 and possession of weapons fell from 230 to 119.

What each category covers: crime categories.

17,797 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Gateshead district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 87.8 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, Gateshead district had the 87th 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).

Of the crimes recorded in the Northumbria Police area in the year ending March 2026, 1.4% were not assigned to a district. Those crimes are counted in the force and England and Wales totals but in no district, so the figure for Gateshead district is a slight undercount.

No change on the year or longer series is given for Gateshead district: comparable figures start in the year ending March 2026, because the share of crimes in the Northumbria Police area not assigned to a district moved from 0.3% in the year ending March 2025 to 1.4% in the year ending March 2026, which changes district totals without any change in crime.

Offences recorded in Gateshead district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was shoplifting, with 2,275 offences (13% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for robbery of business property (1.9 times the national rate), arson (1.9 times the national rate) and non-residential burglary (1.4 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.31 times), bicycle theft (0.45 times) and possession of drugs (0.61 times).

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

Of the 6 districts in the Northumbria Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Gateshead district had the 3rd 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.

6 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Gateshead district; the highest is Hartlepool district (163.6 per 1,000) and the lowest Northumberland (78.0).

Of the 32 areas within Gateshead district, Bridges had the highest crime rate (217.6 per 1,000) and Dunston Hill and Whickham East the lowest (36.0), 6 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 21% of the crime recorded in Gateshead district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (1,214).

Of the 15,422 crimes in Gateshead district with a recorded outcome, 41% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 0.8% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 3,849 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Gateshead district has an estimated population of 202,760 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more social housing (25%, against 17%) and more households without a car (32%, against 23%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Gateshead district average decile 4.3 (1 = most deprived), more 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.