Crime in the Lancashire Police area: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (63,905), anti-social behaviour (34,360) and criminal damage and arson (12,467) made up 68% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 12th of the 41 police force areas covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

The year to August 2026 had the least recorded crime in the Lancashire Police area of any year here (163,902 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 20%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, the Lancashire Police area recorded notably more anti-social behaviour (40% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (75% below) and robbery (45% below). On the year before, anti-social behaviour fell from 54,641 to 34,360.

What each category covers: crime categories.

128,460 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in the Lancashire Police area in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 80.2 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was almost unchanged on the year ending March 2025 (128,999), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 43 territorial police force areas of England and Wales, the Lancashire Police area had the 15th highest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 41 force areas with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).

Offences recorded in the Lancashire Police area, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 22,321 offences (17% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for violence with injury (1.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.23 times), robbery of business property (0.49 times) and trafficking of drugs (0.51 times).

The largest rises on the year were in possession of drugs (+24%) and miscellaneous crimes against society (+13%). The largest falls were in non-residential burglary (−16%) and vehicle offences (−13%). 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 the Lancashire Police area 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. The Lancashire Police area's rate was above the England and Wales rate in 8 of those 14 years and below it in 6. 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, Blackpool had the highest rate (145.8 per 1,000) and Ribble Valley the lowest (39.2). 2.0% of the crimes recorded in the area that year were not assigned to a district, so the district figures add up to less than the force total.

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 police force areas have a higher crime rate than the Lancashire Police area; the highest is the West Yorkshire Police area (118.9 per 1,000) and the lowest the North Yorkshire Police area (72.3).

Of the 14 areas within the Lancashire Police area, Blackpool had the highest crime rate (183.0 per 1,000) and Ribble Valley the lowest (50.3), 4 times apart.

Of the 129,542 crimes in the Lancashire Police area with a recorded outcome, 27% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 4.3% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 34,360 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

The Lancashire Police area has an estimated population of 1,601,645 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has less social housing (13%, against 17%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up the Lancashire Police area average decile 4.9 (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.