Preston has a crime rate of 120.45 per 1,000 residents — below the national average for England and Wales, placing it among the lower-crime areas in the UK at #284 of 331 local authorities. Crime levels vary significantly across Preston'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 Preston?

As of April 2026, Preston has an annual crime rate of 120.45 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,592 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 Preston rank nationally for crime?

Preston ranks #284 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 Preston?

The most common crime type in Preston is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 604 incidents in April 2026 — 37.9% 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 Preston local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Lancashire Constabulary Police

Crime in Preston: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Preston is among the safer areas in England and Wales, recording 1,592 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 9.76 per 1,000 residents. This places Preston at #284 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 37.9% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 15.7% compared to the same period last year.

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

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Key Statistics

monitoring120.45 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment1,592 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #284 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 15.7% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

1,592

trending_down -6.6% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

120.45per 1k

High Risk

National Safety

#284of 331

Top 8% Riskiest UK

Lancashire

#10rank

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 Nightclub Map	Violence and sexual offences: 32 Anti-social behaviour: 25 Criminal damage and arson: 4	32
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 30	30
On or near Grafton Road Map	Shoplifting: 22	22
On or near Market Street Map	Anti-social behaviour: 14 Public order: 3	14
On or near Shopping Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 8 Violence and sexual offences: 8	8
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 14 Criminal damage and arson: 2	14
On or near Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 15	15
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 14	14
On or near Supermarket Map	Anti-social behaviour: 10 Bicycle theft: 3 Theft from the person: 1	10
On or near Manor Crescent Map	Shoplifting: 10 Burglary: 1 Other theft: 1	10

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

1,592 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

604

37.9%

Anti-social Behaviour

227

14.3%

Criminal Damage & Arson

129

8.1%

Other Theft

128

8.0%

Shoplifting

115

7.2%

Public Order

109

6.8%

Vehicle Crime

5.0%

Drug Offences

3.5%

Other Crime

2.5%

Burglary

2.3%

Weapons Possession

1.3%

Bicycle Theft

1.3%

Robbery

1.2%

Theft from Person

0.6%

Crime Analysis: Preston

Preston recorded 1,592 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 120.45 per 1,000 residents — one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, placing it in the top quarter nationally (#284 of 331 local authorities).

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Preston (37.9%). Anti-social Behaviour (14.3%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (8.1%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Preston has fallen sharply — by 15.7%. 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

16 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	City Centre	389	213.5
2	St Matthew's	166	175.4
3	Brookfield	117	157.5
4	Plungington	143	140.9
5	Deepdale	105	113.1

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Greyfriars	30	3.6
shield	Sharoe Green	60	3.2
shield	Preston Rural North	26	3.7
shield	Cadley	17	2.0
shield	Garrison	43	4.4

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -6.6%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -15.7%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -2.6%

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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253 policing neighbourhoods

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