Crime in Middlesbrough district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (9,448), anti-social behaviour (4,513) and criminal damage and arson (3,139) made up 59% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 4th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest tenth.

Recorded crime in Middlesbrough district peaked in the year to August 2022 (33,848 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2025 (28,011). 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, Middlesbrough district recorded notably more robbery (3.0 times the national rate), criminal damage and arson (3.0 times the national rate) and other crime (2.6 times the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (51% below). On the year before, shoplifting rose from 2,104 to 3,101 and robbery rose from 452 to 640, while bicycle theft fell from 185 to 146 and anti-social behaviour fell from 5,360 to 4,513.

What each category covers: crime categories.

23,419 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Middlesbrough district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 150.0 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 (23,262), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Middlesbrough district had the 4th 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 Middlesbrough district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 3,557 offences (15% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for criminal damage (2.7 times the national rate), robbery of personal property (2.7 times the national rate) and miscellaneous crimes against society (2.6 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.39 times).

The largest rises on the year were in rape (+23%) and miscellaneous crimes against society (+23%). The largest falls were in residential burglary (−26%) and theft from the person (−21%). 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 Middlesbrough 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. Middlesbrough 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, Middlesbrough district 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.

Middlesbrough district has a higher crime rate than all 8 of its nearest districts.

Of the 22 areas within Middlesbrough district, Central had the highest crime rate (503.0 per 1,000) and Marton West the lowest (41.4), 12 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 20% of the crime recorded in Middlesbrough district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (1,117).

Of the 24,659 crimes in Middlesbrough district with a recorded outcome, 38% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 8.2% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 4,513 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Middlesbrough district has an estimated population of 156,161 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more households without a car (33%, against 23%), more social housing (23%, against 17%) and more students (10.5%, against 7.9%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Middlesbrough district average decile 3.5 (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.