Crime in Houghton-le-Spring
Recorded crime in Houghton-le-Spring is 0.9 times the Sunderland average and 1.1 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 13%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Houghton-le-Spring: about 14,808 residents in 17 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 3/10Above average crime
- Living
- 7.2/10Good
- 5-year change
- −13%fewer crimes
- vs the council
- 0.9×the Sunderland average
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Houghton-le-Spring.
Crime over 5 years
Down 13% in 5 years Recorded crimes within 1.5 km of Houghton-le-Spring, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 0.9× the Sunderland average (1.1× the England and Wales average). 90 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 57% of the harm here
- Burglary: 23% of the harm here
- Other theft: 5% of the harm here
Anti-social behaviour: 28 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crimes recorded in Sunderland (the whole council area)
April 2025 to March 2026, for the whole Sunderland council area, not only Houghton-le-Spring. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 478 | 1.7 | Down 11% |
| Cars broken into | 501 | 1.7 | Down 46% |
| Vandalism (homes, other buildings and vehicles) | 2,597 | 9.0 | Down 2% |
| Burglary of homes | 818 | 2.8 | Down 7% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 5 | - | - |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare.
How often crimes lead to a charge in DH4
In DH4, the postcode district at the centre of Houghton-le-Spring, 8% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%).
- Charged or summonsed
- Caution or other action
- Suspect found, not prosecuted
- No suspect identified
- Still open
Show as a table
| Type | Crimes | Charged or summonsed | Caution or other action | Suspect found, not prosecuted | No suspect identified | Still open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 1,032 | 5% | 3% | 14% | 27% | 51% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 325 | 4% | 2% | 4% | 74% | 17% |
| Shoplifting | 257 | 28% | 3% | 1% | 54% | 14% |
| Public order | 190 | 7% | 2% | 11% | 37% | 43% |
| Burglary | 182 | 6% | 0% | 3% | 81% | 10% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 155 | 3% | 0% | 1% | 85% | 11% |
| Other theft | 149 | 3% | 1% | 6% | 67% | 23% |
| Other crime | 111 | 7% | 5% | 8% | 23% | 57% |
| Drugs | 75 | 13% | 21% | 3% | 20% | 43% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 34% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Sunderland, 2023 to 2025: 329 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 73 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 16 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.1 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 22% of them killed or seriously injured someone (Great Britain 26%).
Collisions on public roads that the police recorded where someone was hurt, counted where they happened, so busy through roads and town centres with few residents come out high. Serious and slight use the Department for Transport's adjusted severity, comparable between police forces. Source: Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Crime by type
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, most serious first, not counting anti-social behaviour.
| Type | Per 1,000 a year |
|---|---|
| Robbery | 0.5 |
| Burglary | 8.1 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 31.5 |
| Drugs | 1.8 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.8 |
| Other crime | 2.8 |
| Other theft | 8.2 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.4 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 5.7 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 15.6 |
| Public order | 9.2 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.5 |
| Shoplifting | 5.1 |
Postcode districts in Houghton-le-Spring
Nearby towns
Council: Sunderland
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for Houghton-le-Spring.
Questions about crime in Houghton-le-Spring
- Is Houghton-le-Spring a safe place to live?
- Houghton-le-Spring scores 3 out of 10 for safety (above average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 0.9 times the Sunderland average.
- Is crime going up or down in Houghton-le-Spring?
- Down 13% over 5 years, from 1,285 recorded crimes a year to 1,123.
- What is the most common crime in Houghton-le-Spring?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 31 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How does crime in Houghton-le-Spring compare with Sunderland?
- Crime severity in Houghton-le-Spring is 0.9 times the Sunderland average.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Houghton-le-Spring?
- In DH4, the postcode district at the centre of Houghton-le-Spring, 8% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 47% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Houghton-le-Spring?
- Of 182 burglaries reported in DH4, the postcode district at the centre of Houghton-le-Spring between September 2024 and August 2025, 6% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 81% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Houghton-le-Spring?
- In Sunderland, the council area Houghton-le-Spring is in, the police recorded 478 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.7 per 1,000 residents, down 11% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Houghton-le-Spring?
- 2,597 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in Sunderland, the council area Houghton-le-Spring is in, 9.0 per 1,000 residents, 1.9 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Houghton-le-Spring last year?
- 5 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in 2025/26, in Sunderland, the council area Houghton-le-Spring is in, against 3 the year before. Police data does not say where in the area they happened.