Police recorded crime across Northern Ireland fell 1.3% in the year to June 2026, to 93,560 offences, PSNI’s lowest annual total since 1998. Crime fell in eight of eleven policing districts. Causeway Coast & Glens, home to Advanced Overwatch, was one of only three areas where it rose, up 3.1%.
Last reviewed: 5 August 2026.
Each month, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) publishes police recorded crime figures for the whole of Northern Ireland and for each of its eleven policing districts. The latest release, covering the twelve months from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, was published on 30 July 2026. We read it so you don’t have to, and pulled out what actually changed, without the drama.
The headline number: crime is at its lowest level since records began
PSNI recorded 93,560 crimes across Northern Ireland in the year to June 2026, down from 94,751 the year before. That’s a fall of 1,191 offences, or 1.3%, and PSNI describes it as one of the lowest annual totals since the current data series started in April 1998. Crime recorded per head of population also held steady at 49 offences per 1,000 people, the same rate as the previous year.
Most of that fall came from violence with injury (down 674 offences, a 5.0% drop), criminal damage (down 571 offences, 4.1%) and violence without injury (down 521 offences, 3.0%). Burglary, vehicle offences and bicycle theft all fell too, with bicycle theft down the furthest at 27.9%.
A handful of categories moved the other way. Stalking and harassment rose 5.5%, drug offences rose 1.3%, and possession of weapons offences rose 16.7%. Robbery overall rose 13.2%, but almost all of that came from one specific category: robbery of business property, which PSNI says rose 79.1% (from 86 to 154 offences) because of a Home Office rule change in April 2025 that widened what counts as a robbery of business property, not because shops and businesses are actually being targeted more often.
Which districts saw crime rise, and which fell furthest
This is the part that matters most if you’re weighing up security for your own home or business: the national number hides real differences between areas. Of Northern Ireland’s eleven policing districts, only three recorded more crime in the year to June 2026 than the year before.
Lisburn & Castlereagh City saw the largest percentage rise, up 5.8%, from 5,159 offences to 5,458, an increase of 299.
Causeway Coast & Glens, the district covering Coleraine, Portrush, Portstewart, Ballymoney and Limavady, and where Advanced Overwatch is based, rose 3.1%, from 5,282 offences to 5,446, an increase of 164. It’s a modest rise in percentage terms, but it puts the district on the wrong side of a national trend that fell almost everywhere else.
Ards & North Down was the third and final district to rise, up 2.5%, from 5,560 offences to 5,697, an increase of 137.
At the other end, Derry City & Strabane recorded the largest percentage fall of any district, down 6.8%, from 9,714 offences to 9,054, a drop of 660. And Belfast City, which by far records the highest volume of crime of any district in Northern Ireland, was essentially flat, down 0.7% from 31,653 to 31,420, a fall of 233.
Police recorded crime by policing district, year to June 2026
| Policing district | Jul 2024 to Jun 2025 | Jul 2025 to Jun 2026 | Change | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast City | 31,653 | 31,420 | -233 | -0.7% |
| Lisburn & Castlereagh City | 5,159 | 5,458 | +299 | +5.8% |
| Ards & North Down | 5,560 | 5,697 | +137 | +2.5% |
| Newry, Mourne & Down | 7,758 | 7,729 | -29 | -0.4% |
| Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon | 8,954 | 8,634 | -320 | -3.6% |
| Mid Ulster | 4,491 | 4,447 | -44 | -1.0% |
| Fermanagh & Omagh | 3,734 | 3,645 | -89 | -2.4% |
| Derry City & Strabane | 9,714 | 9,054 | -660 | -6.8% |
| Causeway Coast & Glens | 5,282 | 5,446 | +164 | +3.1% |
| Mid & East Antrim | 6,029 | 5,699 | -330 | -5.5% |
| Antrim & Newtownabbey | 6,417 | 6,320 | -97 | -1.5% |
| Northern Ireland | 94,751 | 93,560 | -1,191 | -1.3% |
What this means if you’re in Causeway Coast & Glens
A 3.1% rise across an entire policing district doesn’t tell you anything about your own street, and PSNI’s own figures come with a caveat worth taking seriously: recorded crime reflects what gets reported and recorded, not necessarily a straightforward change in what’s actually happening. More active reporting, or more proactive policing in a given area, can move the recorded number without a matching real-world shift.
What the figures do tell you is that Causeway Coast & Glens went against the regional trend this year, while most of Northern Ireland’s other districts saw falls. If you’ve been putting off a review of your home or business security, a modest local rise against a falling national picture is a reasonable prompt to actually do it, rather than a reason to panic.
A free security review, no obligation
If the local figures have you thinking about your own set-up, we offer a free, no-obligation site survey across Northern Ireland, covering CCTV, intruder alarms, access control, fire alarm systems and emergency lighting, designed, installed and maintained by our own engineers. Call 028 7087 8077 or visit advancedoverwatch.com to book yours.
Advanced Overwatch, 1st Floor Beresford House, 2 Beresford Road, Coleraine, BT52 1GE.
SSAIB Certified Company: NIRE127. ISO 9001, 14001, 27001 and 45001 Certified.
Source: Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Statistics Branch, “Police Recorded Crime in Northern Ireland: Update to 30th June 2026”, published 30 July 2026, covering the twelve months from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: PSNI, www.psni.police.uk.
Related Questions
Which parts of Northern Ireland saw crime rise in the year to June 2026?
According to PSNI, only three of Northern Ireland’s eleven policing districts recorded more crime in the year to June 2026 than the year before: Lisburn & Castlereagh City (up 5.8%, from 5,159 to 5,458 offences), Causeway Coast & Glens (up 3.1%, from 5,282 to 5,446 offences) and Ards & North Down (up 2.5%, from 5,560 to 5,697 offences). All eight remaining districts, including Belfast City, recorded a fall.
Is crime in Northern Ireland going up or down overall?
Down. PSNI recorded 93,560 crimes across Northern Ireland in the year to June 2026, a fall of 1,191 offences (1.3%) on the previous 12 months, and one of the lowest annual totals since the current data series began in April 1998. Falls were led by violence with injury, criminal damage and violence without injury. A small number of categories rose, including stalking and harassment, drug offences and possession of weapons offences.
Why did business robbery figures jump nearly 80% in Northern Ireland?
Not because robberies of shops and businesses actually rose by that much. PSNI’s own bulletin attributes the increase, from 86 to 154 offences (+79.1%), to a Home Office Counting Rules clarification issued in April 2025, which widened the definition of when a theft with violence or a threat against a shop worker, security guard or bystander must be recorded as a robbery of business property rather than another offence type. It is a recording-practice change, not a signal that businesses are being targeted more often.
