Crime and Safety in Thornaby
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Thornaby is the most dangerous medium-sized town in North Yorkshire, and is among the top 20 most dangerous overall out of North Yorkshire's 699 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Thornaby in 2026 is 128 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to North Yorkshire's overall crime rate, coming in 85% higher than the North Yorkshire rate of 69 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Thornaby is among the top 5 most dangerous medium-sized towns, and the 164th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In February 2026, Thornaby had the worst crime rate in North Yorkshire for shoplifting, with 97 crimes reported and a crime rate of 3.0 per 1,000 daytime population. March 2026 was also a bad month for Thornaby residents, when it was again North Yorkshire's most dangerous area for shoplifting, recording 147 crimes at a rate of 4.6 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Thornaby are violence and sexual offences, with 1,329 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 41. This is 0.99% higher than 2025's figure of 1,316 offences and a difference of 0.53 from 2025's crime rate of 41. Thornaby's least common crime is theft from the person, with 13 offences recorded in 2026, an increase of 8% from 2025's figure of 12 crimes.
Thornaby 2026 Crime Scorecard
Most Dangerous
Medium-Sized Towns, North Yorkshire
50% higher, regional crime rate
Yorkshire and The Humber
77% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Thornaby is 50% higher than Yorkshire and The Humber and 77% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Thornaby Crime Rate Over Time
| Thornaby | |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Thornaby Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Thornaby 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 Thornaby Compares
You can compare Thornaby'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 Thornaby's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Thornaby up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Thornaby's 634 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 Thornaby? 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
Thornaby • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Thornaby has a crime risk score of 663. This is based on analysis of 634 nearby areas within Thornaby, 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 Thornaby's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Thornaby, crime risk scores are typically around 663, while in North Yorkshire they are average 443.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 731 (427 for North Yorkshire), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 782 (North Yorkshire 423).
Trends in Crime Risk
Thornaby
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 Thornaby'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.
The five-year trend may be static; no significant trend was identified in Thornaby's crime risk scores during this timeframe.
The risk score trend over the last year has not shown any statistically meaningful movement up or down.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Thornaby
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
Thornaby • 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.
Shoplifting offences have a crime rate of 35 reports per 1,000 people in Thornaby, which is 4.89 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 1,124 crime reports logged by Cleveland Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Cleveland Police recorded 536 reports of Criminal Damage and Arson in Thornaby, resulting in a crime rate of 17 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 2.64.
The crime rate for Robbery is 1.60 times the national average at 1.89 reports per 1,000. This is from 61 crime reports reported to Cleveland Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Thornaby
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.
Shoplifting offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 8.41 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 1.38 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 509% over this timeframe.
Theft From the Person offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.50 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Theft From the Person CrimeRate Index was 0.23 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 117% over this timeframe.
Robbery offences are trending upwards, though the CrimeRate Index three years ago is too low to measure, and the trend should be reviewed with caution.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Thornaby
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Public Order offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.17 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 1.91 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 39% over this timeframe.
Drugs offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.83 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 1.05 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 21% over this timeframe.
Burglary offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.17 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Burglary CrimeRate Index was 3.43 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 66% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Thornaby • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Thornaby | North Yorkshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 1,022 | 31.62 | 2.24 | 25,539 | 19.31 | 1.37 | 77,875 | 12.35 | 0.87 |
| Bicycle Theft | 14 | 0.42 | 0.84 | 991 | 0.75 | 1.03 | 4,306 | 0.68 | 0.93 |
| Burglary | 130 | 4.04 | 1.29 | 4,190 | 3.17 | 1.01 | 27,843 | 4.41 | 1.41 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 536 | 16.58 | 2.64 | 10,539 | 7.97 | 1.27 | 47,570 | 7.55 | 1.20 |
| Drugs | 119 | 3.68 | 1.19 | 3,416 | 2.57 | 0.83 | 19,757 | 3.14 | 1.02 |
| Other Crime | 140 | 4.33 | 2.34 | 2,687 | 2.02 | 1.09 | 18,290 | 2.91 | 1.57 |
| Other Theft | 214 | 6.64 | 1.17 | 5,582 | 4.24 | 0.75 | 36,443 | 5.78 | 1.02 |
| Possession of Weapons | 37 | 1.12 | 1.32 | 979 | 0.74 | 0.87 | 5,827 | 0.93 | 1.09 |
| Public Order | 284 | 8.79 | 1.52 | 6,911 | 5.23 | 0.90 | 47,514 | 7.55 | 1.30 |
| Robbery | 61 | 1.89 | 1.60 | 1,293 | 0.97 | 0.82 | 7,156 | 1.13 | 0.96 |
| Shoplifting | 1,124 | 34.85 | 4.89 | 10,906 | 8.26 | 1.16 | 48,695 | 7.71 | 1.08 |
| Theft From the Person | 13 | 0.39 | 0.38 | 327 | 0.26 | 0.17 | 3,568 | 0.57 | 0.37 |
| Vehicle Crime | 122 | 3.77 | 0.88 | 3,498 | 2.65 | 0.62 | 30,637 | 4.87 | 1.13 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 1,329 | 41.12 | 1.35 | 39,884 | 30.16 | 0.99 | 239,898 | 38.04 | 1.25 |
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Total Crime by Year
Thornaby | North Yorkshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 4,123 | 127.62 | 1.79 | 91,203 | 68.99 | 0.96 | 537,504 | 85.27 | 1.18 |
| 2025 | 3,304 | 101.95 | 1.40 | 88,823 | 67.87 | 0.92 | 553,826 | 88.44 | 1.19 |
| 2024 | 3,451 | 107.36 | 1.45 | 94,593 | 73.01 | 0.97 | 576,330 | 93.00 | 1.23 |
| 2023 | 3,871 | 121.83 | 1.56 | 102,456 | 79.98 | 1.01 | 611,034 | 99.55 | 1.26 |
| 2022 | 3,595 | 115.09 | 1.51 | 94,767 | 75.10 | 0.98 | 574,808 | 94.84 | 1.23 |
| 2021 | 3,115 | 99.45 | 1.46 | 79,483 | 63.67 | 0.93 | 501,180 | 83.02 | 1.21 |
| 2020 | 3,161 | 99.52 | 1.35 | 86,943 | 69.75 | 0.94 | 549,148 | 91.15 | 1.23 |
| 2019 | 3,365 | 104.62 | 1.40 | 86,912 | 69.81 | 0.92 | 568,297 | 94.66 | 1.24 |
| 2018 | 2,857 | 88.05 | 1.26 | 74,485 | 59.91 | 0.84 | 514,090 | 85.73 | 1.21 |
| 2017 | 2,514 | 77.09 | 1.23 | 68,352 | 54.99 | 0.86 | 456,998 | 76.46 | 1.20 |
| 2016 | 666 | 20.38 | 1.08 | 22,581 | 18.19 | 0.95 | 133,274 | 22.31 | 1.17 |
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Thornaby Compared to Nearby Medium-Sized Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Medium-Sized Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thornaby | 4,123 | 127.62 | - |
| Scarborough | 6,926 | 114.10 | 11% safer |
| Redcar | 3,869 | 95.44 | 25% safer |
Comparing Thornaby to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 38% safer |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 35% safer |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 34% safer |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 23% safer |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 18% safer |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 18% safer |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 17% safer |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 16% safer |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 16% safer |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 2.1% safer |
| Thornaby | 127.62 | - |
CrimeRate Pro
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You can find out more, or get a CrimeRate Insights report that includes further analysis.
Offences In and Around Thornaby's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Thornaby that are named and have had crimes recorded within their boundaries in the 12 months to Apr 2026.
| Name | ASB | Drugs | Public Order | Robbery | VSO | All Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Green | 5 | 1 | - | 1 | 10 | 12 |
| Thornaby Swimming Pool | 2 | - | 2 | - | 16 | 8 |
| The Littleboy Recreation Ground | 11 | - | 1 | - | 8 | 1 |
| The Harold Wilson Recreation Centre | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 26 |
Recent Crimes in Thornaby
The 20 most recent crime reports in Thornaby.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Staindale Road | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Raisdale Close | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Stirling Way | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Stirling Way | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Richmond Place | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Robbery | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Shopping Area | |
| April 2026 | Theft from the person | On or near Georgiana Close | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Heslop Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Stirling Way | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Heslop Street |
Methodology & Data Sources
Thornaby 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 Thornaby 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.
Thornaby Data Points
For Thornaby, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2023 release of their Parishes and Non Civil Parished Areas dataset, using the PARNCP23CD column value E04000283.
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 Thornaby's daytime - or "workday" - population of 31,051 from the ONS 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 Thornaby