Nine areas of County Durham have been ranked among the 'most dangerous' locations in the North East, according to new crime figures. 

Churchill Support Services, a company specialising in security services, has released the results of a new study on the 25 most dangerous areas in the North East.

The firm pinpointed the major issues facing people across the region's landscape, including antisocial behaviour, violent crime, and shoplifting.

A spokesperson for Churchill Support Services said their research has "uncovered some startling conclusions, as well as a few sobering truths on places across the North East."

The nine 'most dangerous locations' in County Durham

The study shows that nine areas in County Durham are considered some of the most dangerous areas in the North East due to the number of crimes per 1,000 people in the area.

Newton Aycliffe, Willington, Ferryhill, Murton, Peterlee, Horden, Stanley, Easington, and Shildon all ranked high in the top 25 most dangerous areas in the North East list.

  • Newton Aycliffe (22nd) - Crime rate of 148.0 Per 1000 People and 3,814 offences
  • Willington (18th) - Crime rate of 159.2 Per 1000 People and 905 offences
  • Ferryhill (11th) - Crime rate of 174.2 Per 1000 People and 1,543 offences
  • Murton (10th) - Crime rate of 176.8 Per 1000 People and 1,281 crimes
  • Peterlee (9th) - Crime rate of 177.5 Per 1000 People and 3,505 total offences
  • Horden (8th) - Crime rate of 178.9 Per 1000 People and 6,807 offences
  • Stanley (6th) - Crime rate of 180.8 Per 1000 People and 3,513 crimes in total
  • Easington (5th) - Crime rate of 181.8 Per 1000 People and 1,266 total crimes
  • Shildon (4th) - Crime rate of 182.2 Per 1000 People and 1,758 individual offences 

The 25 Most Dangerous Areas Of the North East (2024)

While there are nine locations listed in County Durham as the 'most dangerous' in the North East, Churchill Support Services lists Thornaby, Eston and Ashington as having a worse crime level compared with any County Durham level. 

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A Churchill Support Services spokesperson said: "With every crime report we produce, we aim to be as fair, transparent and objective as possible. In the interests of ensuring full clarity, we’re utilising the latest data available through the Police UK website (which includes statistics from all Welsh police forces), alongside population data directly from the Office of National Statistics.

"We’ve then opted to represent those statistics as a ratio of the number of crimes per 1,000 people living in that area. Not only is this a much easier way to represent the key findings of our report, it also allows us to take into consideration key variables like area size and population."