Photo: Alexander P Kapp · CC BY-SA 2.0Broughton stands out for burglary: 4.5 times the rate of a typical town its size
All told, Broughton grades C− for safety: more crime per resident than 80% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Of all the kinds of crime, burglary is where Broughton departs most from towns its size: 7.3 per 1,000 against 1.6. Violence recorded locally climbed 46% in a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Broughton
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 46% more violent crime per resident in Broughton than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage rose 7% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Broughton has the 493rd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Sherburn, St Dennis and Buckfastleigh, higher than Llanfoist, Craven Arms and Hall Green. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Broughton’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 381 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Broughton against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
How crime in Broughton has moved
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent +46% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles +7% (towns its size +0%), shoplifting and theft +0% (towns its size +4%), anti-social behaviour -26% (towns its size -1%).
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Broughton runs highest on burglary (7.3 per 1,000 against 1.6), vehicle crime (6.5 per 1,000 against 1.5) and other crime (4.5 per 1,000 against 1.1).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 104 | 42.1 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 46 | 18.6 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 25 | 10.1 | 3.2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 21 | 8.5 | 2.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 18 | 7.3 | 1.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 16 | 6.5 | 1.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 11 | 4.5 | 1.1 |
| Public order | not graded | 9 | 3.6 | 2.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 7 | 2.8 | 0.6 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 3 | 1.2 | 0 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 1 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 1 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
“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 of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
493rd of 550: Broughton among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | Parbold Lancashire | 2,409 | 7.8 | 4.3 | 5.3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 54 | Myerscough Smithy Lancashire | 2,409 | 10.9 | 5.4 | 3.5 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 60 | Read Lancashire | 2,049 | 10.3 | 6.5 | 5.4 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 130 | Caton Lancashire | 2,552 | 14 | 6.5 | 3.9 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 490 | Llanfoist Gwent | 2,007 | 36.2 | 14.3 | 31.9 | C− |
| 491 | Craven Arms Shropshire | 2,563 | 42.4 | 8.3 | 9.6 | C− |
| 492 | Hall Green West Yorkshire | 2,307 | 39.2 | 11.6 | 4.5 | C− |
| 493 | Broughton Lancashire | 2,468 | 31.1 | 20.4 | 9.1 | C− |
| 494 | Park Street and Frogmore Hertfordshire | 2,256 | 32.4 | 19.2 | 60 | C− |
| 495 | Hendreforgan Mid Glamorgan | 2,445 | 43.6 | 8.5 | 6.8 | C− |
| 496 | Aberfan Mid Glamorgan | 2,431 | 42.1 | 10 | 4.8 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 550 | Avonmouth Bristol | 2,643 | 82.9 | 54.6 | 60.4 | 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 Broughton, and others in Lancashire.
For every 1,000 residents, about 43 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026
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 24 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 11 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
No one died in a collision on Broughton’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 28 collisions with injuries inside Broughton in five years. 7 people were killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Broughton is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Broughton’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 2 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Broughton had 7.
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 Broughton’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Broughton
Broughton records more graded crime per resident than 4 of its 7 neighbours. Barton, 1.5 miles away, records 16.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Broughton’s 31.1.
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 Broughton 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 Broughton
Is Broughton safe?
Police recorded 31.1 violent and sexual offences and 20.4 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Broughton’s built-up area). That earns a C− for safety: less crime per resident than 20% of UK towns. Among 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Broughton is 493rd from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Broughton?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 46%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 7%, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour fell 26%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Broughton?
Violence & sexual offences: 104 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (25) and other theft (21), with 46 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Broughton compare with Preston?
Preston records 60.8 violent and sexual offences and 26.8 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Broughton’s 31.1 and 20.4, over the same three years.
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.