Is West Lancashire safe?

West Lancashire has a crime rate of 61.49 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #80 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across West Lancashire'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 West Lancashire?

As of April 2026, West Lancashire has an annual crime rate of 61.49 per 1,000 residents, based on 634 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 West Lancashire rank nationally for crime?

West Lancashire ranks #80 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 West Lancashire?

The most common crime type in West Lancashire is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 279 incidents in April 2026 — 44.0% 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 West Lancashire local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Lancashire Constabulary Police

Crime in West Lancashire: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

West Lancashire recorded 634 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 5.4 per 1,000 residents. This places West Lancashire at #80 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 44.0% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 24.8% compared to the same period last year.

check_circle Crime is below average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring61.49 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment634 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #80 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 24.8% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

634

trending_up +3.3% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

61.49per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#80of 331

Ranked by annual rate

Lancashire

#2rank

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 Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 13	13
On or near Carfield Map	Violence and sexual offences: 7 Drugs: 2 Other crime: 2	7
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 8 Public order: 2	8
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 8	8
On or near Admiralty Close Map	Shoplifting: 7 Other theft: 1	7
On or near Enstone Map	Violence and sexual offences: 6	6
On or near Beechtrees Map	Burglary: 2 Public order: 2 Vehicle crime: 1	2
On or near Yewdale Map	Other theft: 2 Possession of weapons: 2	2
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 4	4
On or near Alexandra Road Map	Anti-social behaviour: 4	4

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

634 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

279

44.0%

Anti-social Behaviour

13.6%

Criminal Damage & Arson

10.1%

Public Order

6.3%

Other Theft

5.2%

Vehicle Crime

4.3%

Burglary

4.1%

Shoplifting

3.3%

Other Crime

3.2%

Drug Offences

2.5%

Weapons Possession

1.7%

Robbery

1.4%

Theft from Person

0.2%

Bicycle Theft

0.2%

Crime Analysis: West Lancashire

West Lancashire recorded 634 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 61.49 per 1,000 residents — broadly average for England and Wales, ranked #80 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in West Lancashire (44.0%). Anti-social Behaviour (13.6%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (10.1%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in West Lancashire has fallen sharply — by 24.8%. 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

25 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Birch Green	55	137.3
2	Digmoor	55	120.1
3	Moorside	51	104.1
4	Tanhouse	38	89.2
5	Burscough West	44	87.2

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Aughton Park	8	2.1
shield	Wrightington	11	2.1
shield	Parbold	9	2.5
shield	Newburgh	8	3.7
shield	Up Holland	29	3.1

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +3.3%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -24.8%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -2.5%

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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Police Force

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Lancashire Constabulary

253 policing neighbourhoods

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