Crime in Knowsley district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (6,068), anti-social behaviour (1,907) and criminal damage and arson (1,433) made up 63% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 123rd of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

Recorded crime in Knowsley district peaked in the year to August 2021 (18,201 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2024 (14,891). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 8%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Knowsley district recorded notably more drugs (2.5 times the national rate) and criminal damage and arson (31% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (90% below) and vehicle crime (56% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 92 to 107.

What each category covers: crime categories.

13,305 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Knowsley district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 81.8 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was up 1% on the year ending March 2025 (13,144), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Knowsley district had the 105th highest 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).

Offences recorded in Knowsley district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 2,685 offences (20% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for possession of drugs (2.8 times the national rate), public order offences (1.3 times the national rate) and criminal damage (1.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.08 times), robbery of business property (0.28 times) and vehicle offences (0.41 times).

The largest rises on the year were in possession of weapons (+31%) and non-residential burglary (+29%). The largest falls were in residential burglary (−15%). 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).

Recorded crime in Knowsley district since the year ending March 2013

The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2013 to 2026. Knowsley district's rate was above the England and Wales rate in 4 of those 14 years and below it in 10. Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).

Districts in the Merseyside Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 5 districts in the Merseyside Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Knowsley district had the 3rd highest rate.

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.

2 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Knowsley district; the highest is Liverpool district (136.2 per 1,000) and the lowest West Lancashire (61.8).

Of the 20 areas within Knowsley district, Northwood had the highest crime rate (175.3 per 1,000) and Swanside the lowest (25.1), 7 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 16% of the crime recorded in Knowsley district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (1,073).

Of the 13,076 crimes in Knowsley district with a recorded outcome, 25% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 6.8% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 1,907 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Knowsley district has an estimated population of 162,565 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more social housing (25%, against 17%), more residents with no qualifications (26%, against 18%) and more households without a car (31%, against 23%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Knowsley district average decile 3.4 (1 = most deprived), more deprived than average.

Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.