Buckshaw Village based security service firm Churchill Support Services have used official statistics to explore the most dangerous areas of their home county of Lancashire, finding hotspots and discovering which crimes are the most prevalent.
Across 2023, the data shows that there were 133,786 offences across the county, with 2 in every 5 offences being a violent crime (54,090 offences).
Churchill say they also discovered “equally concerning” figures in theft (38,333 incidents), criminal damage (14,776 incidents) and public order offences (7,887 incidents), all of which are at high levels when compared to other regions across the North West, and the UK as a whole.
But between the different areas of Lancashire, crime levels do differ, as does the make-up of which offences are most common, so Churchill have now released a list of the 25 most dangerous areas in Lancashire and named their most common offences.
How were the most dangerous places in Lancashire decided?
Churchill sourced their figures from the official Police UK website, and coupled these with official data from the Office of National Statistics on population and area size.
They then represent the amount of crime in any given area as a ratio of the number of crimes per 1,000 residents, as this takes into account key variables like population and ensures that the data is easier to compare.
Where are the 25 most dangerous places?
Take a look at the below picture gallery which lists the 25 most dangerous places in Lancashire in ascending order.
13. Bamber Bridge & Walton-le-Dale
The latest crime rate is 115.7 crimes per 1,000 residents, and this includes 668 antisocial behaviour offences, 560 violent crime offences, and 177 criminal damage offences. | Google Maps
14. Preston
The latest crime rate is 124.5 crimes per 1,000 residents, and this includes 2,810 antisocial behaviour offences, 2,456 violent crime offences, and 963 shoplifting offences. Preston also has one of Lancashire’s highest rates of drug crime (237 offences) – roughly equalling 1 drug offence every 37 hours. | Google Maps
15. Morecambe
The latest crime rate is 125.2 crimes per 1,000 residents, and this includes 1,387 violent crime offences, 1,350 antisocial behaviour offences and 485 criminal damage offences. | Google Maps
16. Oswaldtwistle
The latest crime rate is 127.5 crimes per 1,000 residents, and this includes 482 violent crime offences, 342 antisocial behaviour offences and 117 vehicle crime offences. | Google Maps
17. Darwen
The latest crime rate is 129.5 crimes per 1,000 residents, and this includes 1,249 violent crime offences, 1,020 antisocial behaviour offences and 485 criminal damage offences. | Google Maps
18. Burnley
The latest crime rate is 129.9 crimes per 1,000 residents, and this includes 4,161 violent crime offences, 3,334 theft and 1,305 criminal damage offences. | Google Maps