Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0Per resident, Blackburn records more crime than 90% of UK towns
Recorded violence rose 8% in a year. On top of that, for its size, it sits below 41% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more on crime per resident. Blackburn grades D for safety on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026: #50 of 65 in Lancashire. Year on year, 44.5 violent and sexual offences and 18.3 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage occur per 1,000 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Blackburn
One ward carries much of the rate
Blackburn Central ward, where 31% of Blackburn’s shoplifting and theft is recorded, recorded 2,610 of Blackburn’s 16,676 violent and sexual offences in three years: 93.8 per 1,000 of its own residents a year. Across the rest of Blackburn the figure is 40.5. Where in Blackburn ↓
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 8% more violent crime per resident in Blackburn than in the year before; across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage fell 9% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
About the middle for a city its size
Of 52 UK towns and cities of 87,000 to 169,000 people, Blackburn has the 25th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Slough, Bedford and Harlow, higher than Chelmsford, Nuneaton and Exeter. Towns its size ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
39% of Blackburn’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 21% in the lowest-crime 30%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
The grade: D for Blackburn
A firm grade. Built on 23,546 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Blackburn against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
39% of Blackburn residents live in one of England’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
21% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 39% in the highest-crime 20%. The crime domain scores the risk of violence, burglary, theft and criminal damage where people live, so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
Blackburn’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) in the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (crime domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of England’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
Crime in Blackburn per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 17 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 13 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Blackburn runs highest on other crime (3.2 per 1,000 against 2.1), anti-social behaviour (23 per 1,000 against 17.5) and vehicle crime (5.8 per 1,000 against 4.9). Burglary and shoplifting sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 5,608 | 44.9 | 38.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 2,872 | 23 | 17.5 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 1,068 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 968 | 7.7 | 7.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 813 | 6.5 | 6.6 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 762 | 6.1 | 10.3 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 730 | 5.8 | 4.9 |
| Drugs | not graded | 463 | 3.7 | 3.8 |
| Other crime | not graded | 395 | 3.2 | 2.1 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 341 | 2.7 | 3.4 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 159 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 101 | 0.8 | 1.4 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 54 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 36 | 0.3 | 0.9 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more.
Lowest recorded crime in Clayton-le-Dale & Salesbury, Billinge & Beardwood and St Oswald's; highest in Blackburn Central
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton-le-Dale & Salesbury | 936 | 3.2 | 3.6 | |
| Billinge & Beardwood | 9,485 | 14.1 | 7.5 | |
| St Oswald's | 2,116 | 16.2 | 9.9 | |
| Wilpshire & Ramsgreave | 2,632 | 17.9 | 10.8 | |
| Livesey with Pleasington | 7,366 | 23.5 | 12 | |
| Bastwell & Daisyfield | 9,021 | 27.5 | 12.7 | |
| Blackburn South & Lower Darwen | 7,571 | 31.4 | 16.8 | |
| Roe Lee | 9,251 | 25.9 | 25.4 | |
| Little Harwood & Whitebirk | 9,319 | 36.8 | 16.2 | |
| Wensley Fold | 9,505 | 43.1 | 14.7 | |
| Blackburn South East | 10,288 | 49 | 17.4 | |
| Ewood | 9,581 | 49.5 | 23.2 | |
| Mill Hill & Moorgate | 8,344 | 59 | 21.7 | |
| Audley & Queen's Park | 10,905 | 64.9 | 19.9 | |
| Shear Brow & Corporation Park | 9,362 | 68.2 | 20.1 | |
| Blackburn Central | 9,276 | 93.8 | 34.8 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Car parks | 1,906 | 33% violent |
| Shopping areas | 1,515 | 48% shoplifting & theft |
| Supermarkets | 1,282 | 41% shoplifting & theft |
| Petrol stations | 1,105 | 30% shoplifting & theft |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 511 | 41% violent |
| Bus and coach stations | 201 | 39% anti-social behaviour |
| College and university buildings | 95 | 42% violent |
| Police stations | 80 | 56% anti-social behaviour |
| Parks and open spaces | 34 | 65% anti-social behaviour |
| Hospitals | 30 | 43% violent |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so Blackburn Central records 2.3× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Blackburn. police.uk places each crime at an anonymous map point; some are named for the kind of place (a supermarket, a car park), and each row adds up every place of that kind in Blackburn. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Blackburn’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Police in Blackburn identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 61% of Blackburn’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 11% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (60% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 7% of violent and 7% of household crimes reached court.
The latest outcome police.uk shows for each crime recorded in the first of the three years (September 2023 to August 2024), so most cases have closed. 7,724 crimes.
How crime in Blackburn has moved
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling three-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year. In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent +8% (towns its size +2%), homes and vehicles -9% (towns its size -5%), shoplifting and theft -13% (towns its size -3%), anti-social behaviour -37% (towns its size -2%).
Among 52 towns its size, Blackburn ranks 25th for the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kingston upon Thames London | 166,333 | 24.7 | 14 | 20.6 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 22 | Chelmsford Essex | 110,612 | 44.5 | 15.2 | 21 | D |
| 23 | Nuneaton Warwickshire | 88,818 | 42.7 | 18.5 | 15.9 | D |
| 24 | Exeter Devon | 126,181 | 47.6 | 14.5 | 25.3 | D |
| 25 | Blackburn Lancashire | 124,958 | 44.5 | 18.3 | 15.3 | D |
| 26 | Worcester Worcestershire | 105,439 | 44.8 | 18.2 | 22 | D |
| 27 | Maidstone Kent | 109,503 | 46.4 | 17 | 20.1 | D |
| 28 | Eastbourne East Sussex | 99,171 | 46.2 | 17.5 | 33 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 46 | Preston Lancashire | 94,502 | 60.8 | 26.8 | 27.7 | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 50 | Blackpool Lancashire | 149,087 | 79.1 | 26.3 | 24.8 | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 52 | Middlesbrough North Yorkshire | 148,232 | 70.8 | 40.1 | 30.1 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Blackburn, and others in Lancashire.
Six people died in collisions on Blackburn’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 1,165 collisions with injuries inside Blackburn in five years, in which six people died (3 were pedestrians). 372 people were killed or seriously injured: 107 on foot and 33 on a bicycle.
That is about what is typical for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: at their median rate (1.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Blackburn’s size would see about 7 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Blackburn’s own rate (1.0) is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, Blackburn had 59.5 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (30.3). 29% of them were on foot, against 31% across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Blackburn’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Blackburn
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn | 124,958 | 44.5 | 18.3 | D |
| Myerscough Smithy | 2,409 | 10.9 | 5.4 | A |
| Rishton | 6,653 | 43.9 | 19.5 | D |
| Darwen | 27,897 | 48 | 19.3 | D |
| Oswaldtwistle | 10,810 | 48.8 | 23 | D |
| Hoddlesden | 1,218 | 10.1 | 7.4 | A |
| Langho | 1,723 | 17 | 12.6 | B |
| Great Harwood | 11,022 | 39.8 | 17.1 | D |
Blackburn records more graded crime per resident than 4 of its 7 neighbours. Myerscough Smithy, 2.7 miles away, records 10.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Blackburn’s 44.5.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Blackburn sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Blackburn
Is Blackburn safe?
Police recorded 44.5 violent and sexual offences and 18.3 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Blackburn’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 10% of UK towns. Among 52 UK towns of 87,000 to 169,000 people, Blackburn is 25th from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Blackburn?
By council ward, Clayton-le-Dale & Salesbury, Billinge & Beardwood and St Oswald's record the least violent and household crime per resident: 3.2, 14.1 and 16.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 93.8 in Blackburn Central.
Is crime going up in Blackburn?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 8%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 9%, shoplifting and theft fell 13% and anti-social behaviour fell 37%. Across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Blackburn?
Violence & sexual offences: 5,608 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (1,068) and public order (968), with 2,872 reports of anti-social behaviour.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.