Ballymurphy, Belfast: Safety
Safety
Ballymurphy sees more crime than the Northern Ireland average, but it's pretty typical for an urban neighbourhood across the UK. The good news is things are improving.
In 2024 and 2025, the neighbourhood recorded around 388 crimes a year — roughly 32 per month. That's higher than Northern Ireland's average of around 24 per month, but nowhere near as high as busier areas like Clonard. Early figures for 2026 show a noticeable drop in monthly crime, which is encouraging.
Anti-social behaviour and violent crime account for most recorded incidents here, which matches the wider Belfast picture. Vehicle crime and burglary are both low.
Source: police-recorded crime for Ballymurphy ward (Police Service of Northern Ireland, data.police.uk), Jan 2024–Aug 2026; residents from Census 2021. This summary may predate the latest data release; the table below has the current figures.
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Crime rate comparison
Crimes per 1,000 residents, Jan–Dec 2025. Ballymurphy ward: Police Service of Northern Ireland data via data.police.uk; residents from Census 2021. Averages are for all wards in the area over the same months. Planna's safety index uses the latest 12 months instead, so it can differ.
2024
2025
Jan–Aug 2026
Ballymurphy ward
Crimes/1,000 residents
75.4
Lower than
UK average (England, Wales & N. Ireland)
98.8
Similar to
Northern Ireland average
70.8
Neighbouring wards
Higher than
Ballygomartin
38.6
Lower than
Falls Park
171.7
Lower than
Beechmount
132
Lower than
Clonard
167.4
Similar to
Turf Lodge
79
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Types of Crime
Share of police-recorded crimes in Ballymurphy ward and the Northern Ireland average, Jan–Dec 2025.
This ward
Regional average
- Violent offences36%31%
- Anti-social behaviour24%33%
- Criminal damage and arson11%10%
- Drugs11%6%
- Other crime6%2%
- Other theft6%6%
- Vehicle crime2%2%
- Burglary2%2%
- Possession of weapons2%1%
- Public order1%1%
- Robbery1%<1%
