Crime in Scarborough
Recorded crime in Scarborough is 3.0 times the North Yorkshire average and 1.9 times the England and Wales average. It is about the same as 5 years ago. 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 Scarborough: about 25,853 residents in 22 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 1/10High crime
- Living
- 8.4/10Good
- 5-year change
- 0%about the same
- vs the council
- 3.0×the North Yorkshire average
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Scarborough.
Crime over 5 years
About the same as 5 years ago Recorded crimes within 1.5 km of Scarborough, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 3.0× the North Yorkshire average (1.9× the England and Wales average). 155 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 70% of the harm here
- Burglary: 10% of the harm here
- Drugs: 6% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 70% of the harm here. It is a broad police category: most of these crimes are assaults without injury, harassment and threats, often indoors between people who know each other, and only a small part are sexual or serious violent offences. Police data does not say which, so each one is weighted at the England and Wales average for the category, which can overstate a quiet residential area.
Anti-social behaviour: 77 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crimes recorded in North Yorkshire (the whole council area)
April 2025 to March 2026, for the whole North Yorkshire council area, not only Scarborough. 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 | 454 | 0.71 | Down 8% |
| Cars broken into | 423 | 0.67 | Down 23% |
| Vandalism (homes, other buildings and vehicles) | 2,384 | 3.8 | Down 4% |
| Burglary of homes | 610 | 0.96 | About the same |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 2 | - | - |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare.
How often crimes lead to a charge in YO11
In YO11, the postcode district at the centre of Scarborough, 19% 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) | 1,699 | 12% | 3% | 65% | 4% | 16% |
| Shoplifting | 589 | 35% | 12% | 12% | 36% | 4% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 399 | 19% | 2% | 37% | 38% | 5% |
| Public order | 299 | 21% | 5% | 58% | 5% | 10% |
| Other theft | 188 | 7% | 1% | 41% | 43% | 9% |
| Drugs | 184 | 41% | 23% | 23% | 2% | 12% |
| Other crime | 80 | 15% | 3% | 53% | 6% | 24% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 79 | 14% | 0% | 27% | 53% | 6% |
| Burglary | 70 | 24% | 1% | 26% | 39% | 10% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 69 | 43% | 4% | 42% | 4% | 6% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 11% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
North Yorkshire, 2023 to 2025: 1,109 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 375 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 98 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.7 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 34% 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 | 1.2 |
| Burglary | 6.1 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 68.1 |
| Drugs | 7.9 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 1.9 |
| Other crime | 2.3 |
| Other theft | 10.3 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 1.1 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 3.3 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 18.1 |
| Public order | 14.0 |
| Bicycle theft | 1.5 |
| Shoplifting | 19.7 |
Postcode districts in Scarborough
Nearby towns
Council: North Yorkshire
Questions about crime in Scarborough
- Is Scarborough a safe place to live?
- Scarborough scores 1 out of 10 for safety (high crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 3.0 times the North Yorkshire average.
- Is crime going up or down in Scarborough?
- About the same as 5 years ago: 4,259 recorded crimes a year then, 4,271 now.
- What is the most common crime in Scarborough?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 68 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How does crime in Scarborough compare with North Yorkshire?
- Crime severity in Scarborough is 3.0 times the North Yorkshire average.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Scarborough?
- In YO11, the postcode district at the centre of Scarborough, 19% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 17% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Scarborough?
- Of 70 burglaries reported in YO11, the postcode district at the centre of Scarborough between September 2024 and August 2025, 24% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 39% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Scarborough?
- In North Yorkshire, the council area Scarborough is in, the police recorded 454 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 0.7 per 1,000 residents, down 8% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Scarborough?
- 2,384 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in North Yorkshire, the council area Scarborough is in, 3.8 per 1,000 residents, 0.8 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Scarborough last year?
- 2 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in 2025/26, in North Yorkshire, the council area Scarborough is in, against 3 the year before. Police data does not say where in the area they happened.