Crime in Lancaster district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (5,077), anti-social behaviour (2,960) and criminal damage and arson (1,272) made up 66% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 108th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

The year to August 2026 had the least recorded crime in Lancaster district of any year here (14,063 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 21%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Lancaster district recorded notably more bicycle theft (55% above the national rate), anti-social behaviour (33% above the national rate) and criminal damage and arson (30% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (79% below) and robbery (54% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 72 to 90 and bicycle theft rose from 152 to 185, while anti-social behaviour fell from 4,667 to 2,960 and burglary fell from 794 to 664.

What each category covers: crime categories.

10,564 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Lancaster district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 72.9 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 3% on the year ending March 2025 (10,857), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Lancaster district had the 136th 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).

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 Lancaster district is an undercount.

Offences recorded in Lancaster district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 1,706 offences (16% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for non-residential burglary (1.6 times the national rate) and bicycle theft (1.4 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.18 times), trafficking of drugs (0.41 times) and robbery of personal property (0.42 times).

The largest rises on the year were in possession of drugs (+35%) and possession of weapons (+26%). The largest falls were in residential burglary (−26%) and vehicle offences (−22%). 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 Lancaster 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. Lancaster district's rate was above the England and Wales rate in 1 of those 8 years and below it in 7. 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).

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, Lancaster district had the 6th 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.

3 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Lancaster district; the highest is Blackpool district (183.0 per 1,000) and the lowest Ribble Valley (50.3).

Of the 38 areas within Lancaster district, Castle had the highest crime rate (419.3 per 1,000) and Upper Lune Valley the lowest (23.7), 18 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 14% of the crime recorded in Lancaster district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (374).

Of the 11,103 crimes in Lancaster district with a recorded outcome, 29% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 3.5% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 2,960 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Lancaster district has an estimated population of 145,006 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more students (14.1%, against 7.9%) and less social housing (10%, against 17%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Lancaster district average decile 5.5 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.

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