Photo: Mike Pennington · CC BY-SA 2.0Carnforth sees more violent crime per resident than three in five UK towns
Police recorded 92 cases of anti-social behaviour in Carnforth in the 12 months to August 2026, a rate of 15.7 per 1,000 against a typical 8.8. Its Safety Grade, C+ (#25 of 65 in Lancashire), rests on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026: close to the middle of UK towns. Behind the grade sit 26.5 violent and sexual offences and 10.0 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 people a year. Violent crime barely moved 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 Carnforth
About the middle for a town its size
Of 628 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000 people, Carnforth has the 361st lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Somerton, Hextable and Ynysybwl, higher than Hemsby, Marske-by-the-Sea and Dalton-in-Furness. Towns its size ↓
Many neighbourhoods rank low for crime nationally
The government’s Indices of Deprivation 2025 rank every neighbourhood in England on recorded crime. 18% of Carnforth’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 0% in one of the highest-crime 20%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Carnforth’s C+ for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 642 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Carnforth against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Police in Carnforth identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 49% of Carnforth’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 6% 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 4% of violent and 0% 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. 180 crimes.
1 in 6 Carnforth residents lives in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
23% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 0% 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.
Carnforth’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.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Carnforth runs highest on anti-social behaviour (15.7 per 1,000 against 8.8), shoplifting (3.2 per 1,000 against 1.8) and other theft (5.1 per 1,000 against 3.2).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 170 | 29 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 92 | 15.7 | 8.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 41 | 7 | 4.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 30 | 5.1 | 3.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 20 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 19 | 3.2 | 1.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 17 | 2.9 | 1.9 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 17 | 2.9 | 2 |
| Other crime | not graded | 12 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 2 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 1 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
“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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Carnforth places 361st of 628 towns its size, the least crime first
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 29 | Bolton-le-Sands Lancashire | 6,728 | 12.6 | 5.3 | 3.8 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 66 | Carleton Lancashire | 4,793 | 12.3 | 9 | 2.2 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 114 | Eccleston Lancashire | 4,543 | 14.9 | 9.1 | 3.4 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 358 | Hemsby Norfolk | 5,724 | 27.1 | 9.3 | 4.4 | C+ |
| 359 | Marske-by-the-Sea North Yorkshire | 7,576 | 25.3 | 11.2 | 16 | C+ |
| 360 | Dalton-in-Furness Cumbria | 7,551 | 27.2 | 9.3 | 5.3 | C+ |
| 361 | Carnforth Lancashire | 5,852 | 26.5 | 10 | 9.7 | C+ |
| 362 | Cotgrave Nottinghamshire | 7,794 | 27.4 | 9.2 | 6 | C+ |
| 363 | Deepcar South Yorkshire | 5,644 | 24.4 | 12.3 | 5.8 | C+ |
| 364 | Grove Oxfordshire | 7,942 | 29.6 | 7.1 | 7.6 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 628 | City of London London | 7,820 | 252.8 | 111.5 | 710 | 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 Carnforth, and others in Lancashire.
Violent crime held steady over the year
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 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 +3% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +44% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft -4% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour -26% (towns its size +0%).
Crime in Carnforth 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 13 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 9 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 Carnforth’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 33 collisions with injuries inside Carnforth in five years. 12 people were killed or seriously injured: 1 on foot and 4 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Carnforth is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, Carnforth had 41.0 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (16.7).
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 Carnforth’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Carnforth
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnforth | 5,852 | 26.5 | 10 | C+ |
| Warton (Lancaster) | 1,801 | 11.1 | 6.9 | A |
| Bolton-le-Sands | 6,728 | 12.6 | 5.3 | A |
| Halton | 2,652 | 14.3 | 8 | A− |
| Silverdale | 1,056 | 10.1 | 6.6 | A |
| Caton | 2,552 | 14 | 6.5 | A− |
| Burton-in-Kendal | 1,341 | 11.4 | 2.5 | A+ |
| Morecambe | 32,745 | 50.8 | 24.4 | D |
Carnforth records more graded crime per resident than 6 of its 7 neighbours; only Morecambe records more. Warton (Lancaster), 1.4 miles away, records 11.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Carnforth’s 26.5.
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 Carnforth 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 Carnforth
Is Carnforth safe?
Police recorded 26.5 violent and sexual offences and 10 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Carnforth’s built-up area). That earns a C+ for safety: less crime per resident than 42% of UK towns. Among 628 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000 people, Carnforth is 361st from the least crime. 18% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Carnforth?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 44%, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour fell 26%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Carnforth?
Violence & sexual offences: 170 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (41) and other theft (30), with 92 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Carnforth compare with Lancaster?
Lancaster records 39.3 violent and sexual offences and 22.6 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Carnforth’s 26.5 and 10, 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.