Burnley has a crime rate of 134.59 per 1,000 residents — below the national average for England and Wales, placing it among the lower-crime areas in the UK at #301 of 331 local authorities. Crime levels vary significantly across Burnley's wards; some neighbourhoods are considerably safer than the city average. See the ward breakdown and hotspot map on this page for a detailed local picture.

What is the crime rate in Burnley?

As of April 2026, Burnley has an annual crime rate of 134.59 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,245 recorded offences in the latest reporting period. This figure is sourced from Police.uk open data and normalised using ONS Census 2021 population estimates to allow accurate comparisons between areas.

How does Burnley rank nationally for crime?

Burnley ranks #301 out of 331 local authorities in England and Wales by annual crime rate per 1,000 residents. A rank of #1 indicates the highest crime rate nationally. Rankings are recalculated each month as new Police.uk data becomes available, covering all recorded crimes across the area.

What is the most common crime in Burnley?

The most common crime type in Burnley is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 458 incidents in April 2026 — 36.8% of all recorded crime in the area. Data is sourced from Police.uk and covers all crimes recorded by the responsible police force across the Burnley local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Lancashire Constabulary Police

Crime in Burnley: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Burnley is among the safer areas in England and Wales, recording 1,245 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 13.1 per 1,000 residents. This places Burnley at #301 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 36.8% of all offences recorded. Crime is up 3.1% compared to the same period last year.

warning Crime is significantly above the UK average for this area.

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Key Statistics

monitoring134.59 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment1,245 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #301 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_upCrime up 3.1% year-on-year

Data Sources:Police.ukONS Census 2021HM Land Registry Period: April 2026 • Updated monthly

Total Crimes

1,245

trending_up +11.5% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

134.59per 1k

High Risk

National Safety

#301of 331

Top 3% Riskiest UK

Lancashire

#12rank

Ranked by annual rate

12-Month Crime Trend

Monthly Totals

Interactive Crime Map

District View

Live Points

Crime Incident

Area Boundary

Incident Distribution

Top Locations

Location Reference	Crime Breakdown	Primary Count
On or near Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 57	57
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 18 Shoplifting: 10 Public order: 5	18
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 27	27
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 18 Violence and sexual offences: 6	18
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 20	20
On or near Petrol Station Map	Other theft: 8 Public order: 3	8
On or near Edmund Street Map	Shoplifting: 10	10
On or near Priory Court Map	Violence and sexual offences: 8 Other theft: 2	8
On or near Bronte Avenue Map	Violence and sexual offences: 7 Criminal damage and arson: 2	7
On or near Coal Street Map	Violence and sexual offences: 8	8

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

1,245 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

458

36.8%

Anti-social Behaviour

178

14.3%

Shoplifting

150

12.0%

Criminal Damage & Arson

102

8.2%

Burglary

5.1%

Public Order

5.1%

Other Theft

4.3%

Vehicle Crime

4.0%

Drug Offences

3.5%

Other Crime

2.8%

Robbery

2.1%

Weapons Possession

1.0%

Theft from Person

0.5%

Bicycle Theft

0.3%

Crime Analysis: Burnley

Burnley recorded 1,245 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 134.59 per 1,000 residents — one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, placing it in the top quarter nationally (#301 of 331 local authorities).

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Burnley (36.8%). Anti-social Behaviour (14.3%) and Shoplifting (12.0%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Burnley has risen slightly — by 3.1%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Lancashire Constabulary through the Police.uk open data platform and cross-referenced with ONS 2021 Census population estimates to produce the per-resident rates above. Data typically appears 1–2 months after the end of the recording period.

Stop & Search

April 2026

7,041

Total Stops

11.0%

Arrest Rate

253

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

4,326

Offensive weapons

1,125

Article for use in theft

723

Stolen goods

294

Articles for use in criminal damage

Firearms

Fireworks

Outcome

A no further action disposal5,394

Arrest771

Community resolution534

Not recorded147

Penalty Notice for Disorder111

Summons / charged by post75

Khat or Cannabis warning6

Caution (simple or conditional)3

Gender

Male5,745

Female852

Other6

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

75.8%

White

21.5%

Asian

2.3%

Black

0.5%

Other

Stop & search data published by Lancashire Constabulary under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: police.uk.

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

15 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Trinity	175	290.2
2	Bank Hall	141	199.1
3	Gawthorpe	93	141.9
4	Daneshouse with Stoneyholme	217	138.4
5	Coal Clough with Deerplay	68	130.9

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Cliviger with Worsthorne	14	2.8
shield	Lanehead	29	3.6
shield	Briercliffe	38	6.8
shield	Whittlefield with Ightenhill	41	7.0
shield	Hapton with Park	56	7.7

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +11.5%

Year-on-Yeartrending_up +3.1%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.2%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 331 local authorities in England & Wales.

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