DARLINGTON is the biggest hotspot for hate crime and domestic violence in County Durham, according to recent figures.

According to Durham Constabulary, the town has consistently had the highest number of hate crimes and ‘incidents with a domestic qualifier’ since 2011.

During the past four years, the force logged 9,893 incidents relating to domestic violence in Darlington and 181 hate crimes.

In comparison, the next highest area for domestic violence was Peterlee with 6,213 incidents while Durham had the second highest amount of hate crimes, at 112.

Barnard Castle had the lowest amount of incidents relating to both hate crime and domestic violence between 2011 and 2014 – just four incidents of hate crime were logged by police and 602 incidents relating to domestic violence.

To an extent, the striking figures – revealed through a Freedom of Information request – could be attributed to population size.

However, County Durham and Darlington’s Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg acknowledged an overall upward trend in reporting of incidents related to both issues and said the figures could represent a positive change.

Saying he was committed to tacking both hate crime and domestic violence, he said: “While I’m all for lowering crime, I’m actually happy to see a rise in reporting as it shows that people are gaining confidence in the way police will handle these situations.

“The figures are slightly higher for Darlington than population proportions would suggest but we have been trying to encourage people to report these things and it’s easier to get the message out in Darlington as it’s just one town.”

He added: “We’re committed to battling domestic abuse and hate crimes in all forms – they are crimes that affect the most vulnerable people in our communities.

“If we tackle these issues successfully, we’ll see a further rise in reports which is a positive thing.

“I’d like to see it rise further as I want people with problems to feel confident coming to the police.”