Crime in Hartlepool district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (5,377), shoplifting (2,370) and anti-social behaviour (2,282) made up 62% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 8th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest tenth.

Recorded crime in Hartlepool district peaked in the year to August 2018 (17,818 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2025 (15,852). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 10%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Hartlepool district recorded notably more shoplifting (2.9 times the national rate), other crime (2.5 times the national rate) and criminal damage and arson (2.4 times the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (77% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 168 to 285 and criminal damage and arson rose from 1,308 to 1,576, while anti-social behaviour fell from 2,935 to 2,282 and bicycle theft fell from 90 to 72.

What each category covers: crime categories.

13,174 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Hartlepool district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 134.2 per 1,000 residents, higher than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was almost unchanged on the year ending March 2025 (13,223), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Hartlepool district had the 8th 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).

Offences recorded in Hartlepool district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was shoplifting, with 2,331 offences (18% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for shoplifting (2.9 times the national rate), arson (2.9 times the national rate) and robbery of business property (2.6 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.32 times) and trafficking of drugs (0.65 times).

The largest rises on the year were in theft from the person (+60%) and arson (+28%). The largest falls were in trafficking of drugs (−42%) and non-residential burglary (−23%). Robbery of business property and shoplifting are not compared with the year ending March 2025: from April 2025 the Home Office Counting Rules were clarified so that a theft from a shop in which violence is used or threatened against staff or anyone else is recorded as robbery of business property rather than shoplifting (ONS).

Recorded crime in Hartlepool district since the year ending March 2013

The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2013 to 2026. Hartlepool district's rate was above the England and Wales rate in every one of those 14 years. Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).

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

Of the 4 districts in the Cleveland Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Hartlepool district had the 2nd 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.

1 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Hartlepool district; the highest is Middlesbrough district (186.8 per 1,000) and the lowest Gateshead district (95.0).

Of the 13 areas within Hartlepool district, Burn Valley had the highest crime rate (322.4 per 1,000) and Rural West the lowest (42.5), 8 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 21% of the crime recorded in Hartlepool district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (776).

Of the 13,778 crimes in Hartlepool district with a recorded outcome, 33% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 7.7% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 2,282 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Hartlepool district has an estimated population of 98,180 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more social housing (23%, against 17%), more residents with no qualifications (23%, against 18%) and more households without a car (30%, against 23%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Hartlepool district average decile 3.8 (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.