Crime and Safety in Derry City
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Derry City is the most dangerous major town in Londonderry, and is the most dangerous overall out of Londonderry's 21 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Derry City in 2026 is 60 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Londonderry's overall crime rate, coming in 53% higher than the Londonderry rate of 40 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Derry City is the 49th safest major town, and the 1,180th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In January 2026, Derry City had the worst crime rate in Londonderry for robbery, with 2 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.02 per 1,000 daytime population. March 2026 was also a bad month for Derry City residents, when it was again Londonderry's most dangerous area for robbery, recording 2 crimes at a rate of 0.02 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Derry City are violence and sexual offences, with 3,373 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 31. This is 2.9% lower than 2025's figure of 3,472 offences and a difference of 0.91 from 2025's crime rate of 32. Derry City's least common crime is bicycle theft, with 14 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 12% from 2025's figure of 16 crimes.
Derry City 2026 Crime Scorecard
Most Dangerous
Major Towns, Londonderry
68% higher, regional crime rate
Northern Ireland
16% lower, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Derry City is 68% higher than Northern Ireland and 16% lower than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Derry City Crime Rate Over Time
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| Northern Ireland | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Derry City Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Derry City represent the time frame between January 2016 and April 2026. Each point on the map represents an area where crimes have been recorded locally.
Use Crime Map
Hover over a point to see a breakdown of crime types recorded at that location. You can also filter by individual crime types, or use a combinations of offences to visualise the data you need.
See How Derry City Compares
You can compare Derry City's crime statistics against any other town, village, or city from across the country. Search for a location's name below to see how they stack up.
Introduction to Derry City's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Derry City up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Derry City's 1,731 postcodes using three area sizes for comparison:
- Within a Five-Minute Walk
- Within a Ten-Minute Walk
- Within a Fifteen-Minute Walk
Individual crime risk scores and index figures are for the 12-month period ending April 2026 unless otherwise stated.
CrimeRate Insights
Looking into a specific address in Derry City? CrimeRate Insights reports convert raw numbers into practical insight for any location, from single addresses and postcodes, up to major towns and cities.
Crime rates don’t happen by themselves; they follow people and patterns. Where crowds gather - near pubs and late-night venues, around the station, by supermarkets and forecourts - incidents naturally concentrate.
That doesn’t mean an area is "bad"; it usually means footfall is higher.
Your report explores these factors in a calm, non-judgemental way, putting the numbers in context and helping you spot what’s typical for places like this.
Crime Risk Scores
Derry City • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Derry City has a crime risk score of 455. This is based on analysis of 1,731 nearby areas within Derry City, with "most" referring to roughly two thirds of the nearby locations.
Crime risk scores are on a scale of 1 to 1,000 and consider the severity of the crimes involved, as determined by sentencing guidelines. A score of 1 represents the lowest risk, and 1,000 the highest risk. This approach ensures that - unlike overall crime rate figures - bicycle theft is not given the same importance in Derry City's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Derry City, crime risk scores are typically around 455, while in Londonderry they are average 345.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 515 (315 for Londonderry), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 550 (Londonderry 281).
Trends in Crime Risk
Derry City
Calculated via Seasonal and Trend decomposition using Loess, the Seasonality Adjusted line represents the original data with seasonality subtracted, and the Trend line has been plotted unadjusted. Overall trend direction has been identified using the Mann-Kendall trend test, and rate calculated from the slope of the best-fit line identified from linear regression.
The 10-year trend indicates an increase of 19% in Derry City's crime risk score. This is potentially a strong signal of how the crime risk is evolving. Cross-referencing with major cultural events and Covid's impact during this time is advised.
Looking at the previous five years, the trend in Derry City's crime risk score is down by 13%. While potentially a good indicator of the overall risk trend, analysis may offer further insight when combined with the checks mentioned above.
Over the last year, Derry City's crime risk score has shown a downward trend of approximately 12%, indicating that the risk profile is going down. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Derry City
The CrimeRate Index shows how crime rates compare against the national average.
1.0 equals the average
2.0 is double
3.0 triple
0.5 is half and
0.25 a quarter.
Highest Crime Rates
Derry City • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Excluding other crime and other theft because their geographic location is often not relevant, anti-social behaviour as its definition is too wide, and bicycle theft for its specificity.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences have a crime rate of 9.50 reports per 1,000 people in Derry City, which is 1.51 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 1,019 crime reports logged by Police Service of Northern Ireland during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Police Service of Northern Ireland recorded 408 reports of Drugs in Derry City, resulting in a crime rate of 3.80 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.23.
The crime rate for Violence and Sexual Offences is 1.03 times the national average at 31 reports per 1,000. This is from 3,373 crime reports reported to Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Derry City
Excluding other crime and other theft, anti-social behaviour, and bicycle theft, and calculated with the same STL method described in Trends in Crime Risk, using CrimeRate Index figures to identify crime types that are trending above or below the national average, and the analysis timeframe limited to the last three years.
Public Order offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.08 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.13 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 38% over this timeframe.
Theft From the Person offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.25 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Theft From the Person CrimeRate Index was 0.15 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 67% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Derry City
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.21 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 1.24 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 2.4% over this timeframe.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.26 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Criminal Damage and Arson CrimeRate Index was 1.59 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 21% over this timeframe.
Robbery offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.30 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Robbery CrimeRate Index was 0.33 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 9% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Derry City • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Derry City | Londonderry | Northern Ireland | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 2,599 | 24.26 | 1.72 | 5,528 | 17.92 | 1.27 | 43,885 | 17.62 | 1.25 |
| Bicycle Theft | 14 | 0.14 | 0.26 | 30 | 0.10 | 0.15 | 428 | 0.15 | 0.21 |
| Burglary | 140 | 1.29 | 0.41 | 282 | 0.91 | 0.29 | 2,573 | 1.02 | 0.33 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 1,019 | 9.50 | 1.51 | 1,865 | 6.05 | 0.96 | 12,926 | 5.19 | 0.83 |
| Drugs | 408 | 3.80 | 1.23 | 803 | 2.59 | 0.84 | 7,582 | 3.03 | 0.98 |
| Other Crime | 217 | 2.04 | 1.10 | 453 | 1.47 | 0.79 | 3,080 | 1.23 | 0.66 |
| Other Theft | 532 | 4.97 | 0.87 | 1,003 | 3.27 | 0.57 | 7,842 | 3.15 | 0.55 |
| Possession of Weapons | 71 | 0.67 | 0.79 | 138 | 0.45 | 0.53 | 1,231 | 0.52 | 0.61 |
| Public Order | 80 | 0.78 | 0.13 | 143 | 0.48 | 0.08 | 869 | 0.36 | 0.06 |
| Robbery | 29 | 0.29 | 0.29 | 34 | 0.12 | 0.11 | 468 | 0.19 | 0.16 |
| Shoplifting | 445 | 4.14 | 0.58 | 975 | 3.18 | 0.45 | 8,273 | 3.32 | 0.47 |
| Theft From the Person | 36 | 0.35 | 0.24 | 45 | 0.15 | 0.10 | 295 | 0.12 | 0.08 |
| Vehicle Crime | 107 | 0.99 | 0.23 | 228 | 0.73 | 0.17 | 2,067 | 0.83 | 0.19 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 3,373 | 31.46 | 1.03 | 6,212 | 20.11 | 0.66 | 41,940 | 16.83 | 0.55 |
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Total Crime by Year
Derry City | Londonderry | Northern Ireland | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 6,471 | 60.42 | 0.85 | 12,211 | 39.61 | 0.55 | 89,574 | 35.94 | 0.50 |
| 2025 | 7,140 | 66.60 | 0.91 | 12,771 | 41.39 | 0.56 | 93,985 | 37.72 | 0.51 |
| 2024 | 8,016 | 74.65 | 1.00 | 14,151 | 45.87 | 0.61 | 100,335 | 40.25 | 0.53 |
| 2023 | 7,929 | 73.65 | 0.94 | 15,072 | 48.62 | 0.62 | 107,639 | 42.99 | 0.54 |
| 2022 | 7,499 | 68.30 | 0.89 | 14,412 | 45.81 | 0.60 | 103,005 | 40.88 | 0.53 |
| 2021 | 6,880 | 61.89 | 0.91 | 13,305 | 41.87 | 0.61 | 91,280 | 36.14 | 0.53 |
| 2020 | 6,621 | 59.44 | 0.81 | 12,900 | 40.54 | 0.55 | 97,350 | 38.54 | 0.52 |
| 2019 | 5,860 | 52.48 | 0.70 | 11,903 | 37.36 | 0.49 | 96,251 | 38.09 | 0.50 |
| 2018 | 5,861 | 52.35 | 0.75 | 11,769 | 36.88 | 0.52 | 93,560 | 37.05 | 0.52 |
| 2017 | 5,902 | 52.65 | 0.83 | 11,829 | 36.93 | 0.58 | 95,010 | 37.52 | 0.59 |
| 2016 | 2,122 | 18.93 | 1.00 | 4,146 | 12.91 | 0.68 | 31,832 | 12.57 | 0.66 |
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Comparing Derry City to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Derry City | 60.42 | - |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 32% more dangerous |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 37% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 39% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 62% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 73% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 74% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 76% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 77% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 78% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 107% more dangerous |
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Recent Crimes in Derry City
The 20 most recent crime reports in Derry City.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Asylum Road | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Knockwellan Park | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Gloucester Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Asylum Road | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Asylum Road | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Bradley Park | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Bradley Park | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Benview Estate | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Fletcher Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Fletcher Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Gloucester Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Galliagh Park | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Fletcher Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Fletcher Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Fletcher Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Fletcher Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Fletcher Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Asylum Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Fletcher Avenue |
Methodology & Data Sources
Derry City Crime Report
Data Sources & Processing
Every month, CrimeRate processes crime reports from data.police.uk, the UK's official provider of open crime report data. Each crime report includes anonymised coordinates, most often "snapped" to the middle of the nearest street, or to the nearest major landmark. The reports also include the month and year the crime was reported, as well as the type of crime.
Data releases on data.police.uk happen once a month, with a two-month delay. This means that, for example, crimes reported in Derry City during July 2026 will typically become available in September 2026. The latest release is for Apr 2026 and was released in Jun 2026. To provide current and historical crime statistics, CrimeRate processed 61,669,232 crime reports for the latest release.
Derry City Data Points
For Derry City, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency in the 2015 release of their Settlements dataset, using the SA2015CD column value N11000243.
Due to the 2021 Census being conducted during a UK-wide Coronavirus lockdown, the daytime population figures released so far cannot be relied on for purposes such as comparing crime rates. Instead, CrimeRate uses Derry City's daytime - or "workday" - population of 88,451 from NISRA's 2011 Census for calculations throughout the site.
All geographic boundaries use the full resolution - extent of the realm versions where provided to avoid missing crime reports near coastlines and rivers - the banks of the Thames in particular - that would otherwise not be included when using the clipped to the coastline datasets.
Calculating Crime Rates
CrimeRate locates the UK region, county, and town/city/village locality for each crime report, and calculates the crime rate by taking the sum of all crime reports, dividing it by the locality's daytime / "workday" population, and multiplying the result by 1,000 to get the crime rate per 1,000.
Crime Risk Score Calculations
CrimeRate calculates crime counts for local, nearby, and wider areas for every postcode in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The postcodes locations are deduplicated by a process that ensures distinct points are approximately 50 metres apart. This process removes the bias that would otherwise come from counting the same crimes several times in heavily populated areas.
Using a custom algorithm developed in-house, CrimeRate applies a crime severity weighting to each area's crime counts, based on the type of crime reported. This increases or decreases the crime count, or zeroes it out entirely, depending on the crime type. A separate crime severity rate is then calculated, standardised, and scaled to fit the crime risk score range of 1 to 1,000, with 1 being the lowest score, and 1,000 the highest.
Crime risk scores undergo further analysis per town, city, and village plus other areas including police forces and neighbourhoods. CrimeRate uses percentiles to work out the most common range of crime risk scores in each locality. This includes identifying the high and low bounds where approximately 68% of scores fall, and finding the median (50th percentile) for easy reference.
The crime types with a weight of zero are: Anti-Social Behaviour; Bicycle Theft; Other Crime; Other Theft; and Shoplifting. The highest weights to are assigned to Violence & Sexual Offences, and the lowest to Vehicle Crime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crime in Derry City