Find out about changes to our services and Christmas opening times on our Festive information page. To find out when your bin will be collected over the festive period, visit Changes to County Durham bin collections at Christmas.

Due to maintenance, the following systems will be unavailable from 11.45am on Tuesday 24 December until 8.00am on Thursday 2 January: our online Council Tax, business rates and housing benefit services, and our welfare assistance form. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Personal security

The chance that you or your family will be a victim of crime is very low. However, we are aware that for some people the fear of crime is very real.

Take sensible precautions

The best way to cut the risk of becoming a victim of crime is by taking sensible precautions. You may already be doing this as part of your everyday lives without realising it:

Plan your route before setting off. You will be safer in brighter, well-lit, busy areas.
Tell friends, family or people you work with where you are going and what time you will be back.
Take time to think about what you would do in an emergency and have a rough plan in your mind.