Crime in Chorley district: statistics, rates and trends
9,473 crimes were recorded in Chorley district in the 12 months to August 2026, 78.4 per 1,000 residents. That is lower than the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and down 4% on the year before.
Table of Contents
- Crime map
- Crime in Chorley district at a glance
- Crime trends in Chorley district
- Types of crime in Chorley district
- Home Office recorded crime in Chorley district
- Chorley district compared with nearby districts
- Areas within Chorley district
- Streets with the most crime in Chorley district
- What happened after crimes were reported in Chorley district
- Demographics of Chorley district
- Fly-tipping in Chorley
- Questions about crime in Chorley district
- About this data
Crime map
Violence and sexual offences (4,006), anti-social behaviour (1,944) and criminal damage and arson (708) made up 70% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 186th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lower half.
| Measure | Chorley district | Lancashire | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crimes, the 12 months to August 2026 | 9,473 | 119,662 | 5,618,064 |
| Crimes per 1,000 residents | 78.4 | 92.4 | 96.7 |
| Change on previous 12 months | -4% | -8% | -1% |
| Population | 120,839 | 1,294,914 | 58,127,638 |
The year to August 2026 had the least recorded crime in Chorley district of any year here (9,473 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 13%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.
| Period | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year to August 2026 | 9,473 | 78.4 | 96.7 |
| Year to August 2025 | 9,889 | 81.8 | 97.2 |
| Year to August 2024 | 10,371 | 85.8 | 97.9 |
| Year to August 2023 | 10,152 | 84.0 | n/a |
| Year to August 2022 | 11,137 | 92.2 | 102.0 |
| Year to August 2021 | 11,931 | 98.7 | 101.4 |
| Year to August 2020 | 11,956 | 98.9 | 102.7 |
| Year to August 2019 | 10,350 | 85.7 | 101.7 |
| Year to August 2018 | 10,842 | 89.7 | 100.8 |
Month by month
| Month | Crimes |
|---|---|
| August 2026 | 797 |
| July 2026 | 794 |
| June 2026 | 885 |
| May 2026 | 838 |
| April 2026 | 817 |
| March 2026 | 738 |
| February 2026 | 624 |
| January 2026 | 750 |
| December 2025 | 815 |
| November 2025 | 785 |
| October 2025 | 794 |
| September 2025 | 836 |
No category with at least 20 crimes was notably above the England and Wales rate, and theft from the person (81% below) and robbery (66% below) were well below it. On the year before, theft from the person rose from 24 to 38 and possession of weapons rose from 78 to 103, while anti-social behaviour fell from 3,140 to 1,944 and vehicle crime fell from 376 to 288.
| Crime type | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 | Change on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 4,006 | 33.2 | 34.2 | +15% |
| Anti-social behaviour | 1,944 | 16.1 | 15.4 | -38% |
| Criminal damage and arson | 708 | 5.9 | 6.7 | +10% |
| Shoplifting | 537 | 4.4 | 8.5 | +22% |
| Other theft | 510 | 4.2 | 6.4 | -1% |
| Public order | 480 | 4.0 | 6.7 | +20% |
| Other crime | 303 | 2.5 | 2.1 | +17% |
| Vehicle crime | 288 | 2.4 | 5.0 | -23% |
| Burglary | 252 | 2.1 | 3.6 | -8% |
| Drugs | 214 | 1.8 | 3.3 | +22% |
| Possession of weapons | 103 | 0.9 | 1.0 | +32% |
| Robbery | 56 | 0.5 | 1.4 | +14% |
| Theft from the person | 38 | 0.3 | 1.7 | +58% |
| Bicycle theft | 34 | 0.3 | 0.8 | -15% |
What each category covers: crime categories.
7,076 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Chorley district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 58.6 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was up 3% on the year ending March 2025 (6,895), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Chorley district had the 74th lowest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 302 districts with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).
Of the crimes recorded in the Lancashire Police area in the year ending March 2026, 2.0% were not assigned to a district. Those crimes are counted in the force and England and Wales totals but in no district, so the figure for Chorley district is an undercount.
Offences recorded in Chorley district, the year ending March 2026
The largest category was violence without injury, with 1,251 offences (18% of the total). No category with at least 20 offences had a rate a quarter or more above the England and Wales rate. Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.14 times), trafficking of drugs (0.17 times) and bicycle theft (0.31 times).
The largest rises on the year were in possession of drugs (+86%) and robbery of personal property (+32%). The largest falls were in trafficking of drugs (−45%) and bicycle theft (−42%). Robbery of business property and shoplifting are not compared with the year ending March 2025: from April 2025 the Home Office Counting Rules were clarified so that a theft from a shop in which violence is used or threatened against staff or anyone else is recorded as robbery of business property rather than shoplifting (ONS).
| Offence | Offences | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 | Index (E&W = 1.00) | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence without injury | 1,251 | 10.4 | 13.2 | 0.78 | +10% |
| Stalking and harassment | 1,056 | 8.7 | 10.1 | 0.87 | +6% |
| Violence with injury | 1,033 | 8.5 | 8.1 | 1.05 | +9% |
| Criminal damage | 675 | 5.6 | 6.8 | 0.82 | +7% |
| Other theft offences | 496 | 4.1 | 6.5 | 0.63 | −13% |
| Shoplifting | 477 | 3.9 | 8.1 | 0.49 | – |
| Public order offences | 424 | 3.5 | 7.0 | 0.50 | +10% |
| Vehicle offences | 322 | 2.7 | 5.0 | 0.53 | −12% |
| Miscellaneous crimes against society | 271 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 1.07 | +23% |
| Other sexual offences | 253 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 0.92 | −4% |
| Possession of drugs | 216 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 0.72 | +86% |
| Residential burglary | 171 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 0.57 | −37% |
| Rape | 100 | 0.83 | 1.2 | 0.69 | −8% |
| Possession of weapons | 76 | 0.63 | 1.00 | 0.63 | −4% |
| Non-residential burglary | 70 | 0.58 | 1.1 | 0.52 | −32% |
| Robbery of personal property | 45 | 0.37 | 0.91 | 0.41 | +32% |
| Arson | 33 | 0.27 | 0.38 | 0.72 | 0% |
| Bicycle theft | 32 | 0.26 | 0.85 | 0.31 | −42% |
| Theft from the person | 31 | 0.26 | 1.8 | 0.14 | +19% |
| Trafficking of drugs | 24 | 0.20 | 1.2 | 0.17 | −45% |
| Robbery of business property | 19 | 0.16 | 0.47 | 0.33 | – |
| Homicide | 1 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 1.03 | – |
| Death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving | 0 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 0.00 | −100% |
Recorded crime in Chorley district since the year ending March 2019
The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2019 to 2026. Chorley district's rate was below the England and Wales rate in every one of those 8 years. The series starts in the year ending March 2019 because the share of crimes in the Lancashire Police area not assigned to a district moved from 0.5% in the year ending March 2018 to 1.7% in the year ending March 2019, which changes district totals without any change in crime.
Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).
| Year ending March | Offences | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 7,076 | 58.6 | 83.2 |
| 2025 | 6,895 | 57.1 | 84.5 |
| 2024 | 7,373 | 61.0 | 86.2 |
| 2023 | 7,475 | 61.9 | 89.2 |
| 2022 | 7,683 | 63.6 | 85.4 |
| 2021 | 6,572 | 54.4 | 74.1 |
| 2020 | 7,631 | 63.2 | 84.7 |
| 2019 | 8,468 | 70.1 | 84.1 |
Districts in the Lancashire Police area, the year ending March 2026
Of the 14 districts in the Lancashire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Chorley district had the 6th lowest rate.
| District | Offences | Per 1,000 | Index (E&W = 1.00) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackpool | 21,027 | 145.8 | 1.75 |
| Burnley | 10,660 | 107.4 | 1.29 |
| Preston | 16,068 | 98.7 | 1.19 |
| Hyndburn | 8,345 | 97.0 | 1.17 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 13,682 | 84.2 | 1.01 |
| Lancaster | 10,564 | 72.9 | 0.88 |
| Pendle | 7,041 | 70.6 | 0.85 |
| Rossendale | 4,835 | 66.2 | 0.80 |
| Chorley | 7,076 | 58.6 | 0.70 |
| Wyre | 6,933 | 58.4 | 0.70 |
| South Ribble | 6,580 | 56.7 | 0.68 |
| Fylde | 4,571 | 53.5 | 0.64 |
| West Lancashire | 5,934 | 48.6 | 0.58 |
| Ribble Valley | 2,576 | 39.2 | 0.47 |
Source: Home Office police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables (released 23 July 2026), gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. Financial years, excluding fraud; how they differ from the street-level figures: methodology.
4 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Chorley district; the highest is Preston (127.4 per 1,000) and the lowest Ribble Valley (50.3).
| District | Crimes | Per 1,000 | Rate vs Chorley district |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Ribble | 8,894 | 76.6 | -2% |
| Preston | 20,756 | 127.4 | +63% |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 17,854 | 109.8 | +40% |
| West Lancashire | 7,540 | 61.8 | -21% |
| Hyndburn | 10,693 | 124.3 | +58% |
| Fylde | 6,067 | 71.0 | -9% |
| St. Helens | 17,904 | 94.8 | +21% |
| Ribble Valley | 3,311 | 50.3 | -36% |
Of the 26 areas within Chorley district, Chorley South East & Heath Charnock had the highest crime rate (161.0 per 1,000) and Mawdesley the lowest (24.6), 7 times apart.
| Area | Type | Population | Crimes | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chorley South East & Heath Charnock | Neighbourhood | 10,439 | 1,681 | 161.0 |
| Charnock Richard | Town | 1,411 | 176 | 124.7 |
| Chorley North West | Neighbourhood | 7,801 | 901 | 115.5 |
| Chorley | Town | 41,631 | 4,805 | 115.4 |
| Wymott | Town | 3,083 | 353 | 114.5 |
| Chorley East | Neighbourhood | 8,963 | 1,010 | 112.7 |
| Clayton East, Brindle & Hoghton | Neighbourhood | 8,610 | 776 | 90.1 |
| Chorley North & Astley | Neighbourhood | 8,523 | 753 | 88.3 |
| Chorley South West | Neighbourhood | 8,030 | 599 | 74.6 |
| Clayton West & Cuerden | Neighbourhood | 9,034 | 598 | 66.2 |
| Adlington (Chorley) | Town | 10,149 | 653 | 64.3 |
| Adlington & Anderton | Neighbourhood | 8,024 | 514 | 64.1 |
| Croston, Mawdesley & Euxton South | Neighbourhood | 9,207 | 576 | 62.6 |
| Coppull | Town | 8,278 | 470 | 56.8 |
| Eccleston, Heskin & Charnock Richard | Neighbourhood | 7,539 | 415 | 55.0 |
| Buckshaw & Whittle | Neighbourhood | 11,846 | 613 | 51.7 |
| Euxton | Town | 16,762 | 845 | 50.4 |
| Whittle-le-Woods | Town | 4,923 | 236 | 47.9 |
| Brinscall | Town | 1,356 | 65 | 47.9 |
| Euxton | Neighbourhood | 7,642 | 300 | 39.3 |
| Chorley North East | Neighbourhood | 6,903 | 267 | 38.7 |
| Croston | Town | 3,097 | 113 | 36.5 |
| Eccleston | Town | 4,831 | 171 | 35.4 |
| Withnell | Town | 1,320 | 44 | 33.3 |
| Higher Wheelton | Town | 1,399 | 45 | 32.2 |
| Mawdesley | Town | 1,586 | 39 | 24.6 |
The 10 locations below account for 18% of the crime recorded in Chorley district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (292).
| Location | Crimes |
|---|---|
| On or near Supermarket | 292 |
| On or near Petrol Station | 275 |
| On or near Parking Area | 219 |
| On or near Pump House Lane | 188 |
| On or near Shopping Area | 166 |
| On or near Dutch Barn Close | 164 |
| On or near Sports/Recreation Area | 112 |
| On or near Bus/Coach Station | 111 |
| On or near Willow Road | 92 |
| On or near Market Walk | 82 |
Of the 7,529 crimes in Chorley district with a recorded outcome, 23% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 4.4% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 1,944 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.
| Outcome | Crimes | Share | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unable to prosecute suspect | 3,097 | 41.1% | 34.5% |
| Investigation complete; no suspect identified | 1,759 | 23.4% | 35.3% |
| Under investigation | 994 | 13.2% | 11.5% |
| Local resolution | 424 | 5.6% | 3.1% |
| Status update unavailable | 354 | 4.7% | 4.7% |
| Awaiting court outcome | 332 | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Court result unavailable | 208 | 2.8% | 2.5% |
| Action to be taken by another organisation | 126 | 1.7% | 1.3% |
| Offender given a caution | 116 | 1.5% | 0.6% |
| Further investigation is not in the public interest | 48 | 0.6% | 0.5% |
| Offender given penalty notice | 31 | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| Further action is not in the public interest | 21 | 0.3% | 0.3% |
Chorley district has an estimated population of 120,839 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer students (4.9%, against 7.9%), fewer households without a car (15%, against 23%) and less private renting (14%, against 20%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Chorley district average decile 6.5 (1 = most deprived), less deprived than average.
| Measure | Chorley district | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 0 to 15 | 17.6% | 18.3% |
| Aged 65 and over | 20.9% | 18.9% |
| Residents 16+ in work | 59.4% | 57.2% |
| Residents 16+ unemployed | 2.4% | 3.4% |
| Residents 16+ retired | 24.8% | 21.6% |
| Residents 16+ who are students | 4.9% | 7.9% |
| Residents 16+ with Level 4 qualifications or above (degree, HND and similar) | 33.8% | 33.8% |
| Residents 16+ with no qualifications | 16.0% | 18.2% |
| Households with no car or van | 14.6% | 23.3% |
| Homes owned outright or with a mortgage | 72.8% | 62.5% |
| Social rented homes | 13.2% | 17.1% |
| Private rented homes | 13.9% | 20.3% |
| Average deprivation decile (1 = most deprived, 10 = least) | 6.5 | 5.5 (England) |
| Residents in the most deprived 10% of areas | 3.6% | 10.1% (England) |
941 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Chorley in 2024/25 (7.8 per 1,000 residents, against 21.1 across the councils in England that count all incidents), according to the council's return to Defra. Fly-tipping is not in the police figures on this page: fly-tipping in Chorley has the council's figures by place, type of waste and size, and its enforcement actions and fines.
Is Chorley district a safe place to live?
Chorley district recorded 78.4 crimes per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to August 2026, lower than the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and ranks 186th of the 302 districts on this site by crime rate (1 = highest).
What is the most common crime in Chorley district?
Violence and sexual offences was the most common category, with 4,006 reports in the 12 months to August 2026, followed by anti-social behaviour (1,944).
Is crime in Chorley district going up or down?
Recorded crime in Chorley district was down 4% on the year before: 9,473 crimes in the 12 months to August 2026 against 9,889 in the previous 12 months.
What is the population of Chorley district?
About 120,839 people (ONS mid-2024 estimate), 21% of them aged 65 or over (England and Wales: 19%).
Which police force covers Chorley district?
Chorley district is policed by Lancashire.
How many crimes did the police record in Chorley district in the year ending March 2026?
7,076 crimes, excluding fraud, in the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics: 58.6 per 1,000 residents, against 83.2 across England and Wales. In the year ending March 2025 the figure was 6,895.
Which offences are more common in Chorley district than across England and Wales?
None: no category with at least 20 offences had a rate a quarter or more above the England and Wales rate in the year ending March 2026. The largest category was violence without injury (1,251).
Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.