Photo: Brian Young · CC BY 3.0Clifton records anti-social behaviour at 2.7 times the rate of a typical town its size
Compared with the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, it records less crime per resident than 21%. Recorded violent and sexual offences ran at 26.1 per 1,000 residents a year, and burglary, vehicle crime and damage at 11.7.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Clifton
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Clifton has the 973rd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Distington, Hockliffe and St Just, higher than Friday Bridge, Colney Heath and Finberry. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind Clifton’s C+
A fairly firm grade. Built on 116 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Clifton against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Clifton runs highest on anti-social behaviour (14.7 per 1,000 against 5.3) and violence & sexual offences (26.4 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 27 | 26.4 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 15 | 14.7 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 5 | 4.9 | 3.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 5 | 4.9 | 2.4 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 4 | 3.9 | 1.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 1 | 1 | 2.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 1 | 0.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 1 | 1 | 1.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 0 | 0 | 1.6 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 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.
Of 1,214 towns its size, Clifton is 973rd from the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | Waddington Lancashire | 1,005 | 4 | 4 | 1 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 29 | Bonds Lancashire | 1,237 | 5.4 | 3.2 | 1.4 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 43 | Old Langho Lancashire | 1,072 | 7.8 | 1.9 | 1.6 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 158 | Rufford Lancashire | 1,562 | 10 | 4.5 | 1.3 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 970 | Friday Bridge Cambridgeshire | 1,411 | 25 | 12.5 | 2.6 | C+ |
| 971 | Colney Heath Hertfordshire | 1,059 | 21.1 | 16.7 | 5.7 | C+ |
| 972 | Finberry Kent | 1,571 | 32.9 | 4.9 | 2.3 | C+ |
| 973 | Clifton Lancashire | 1,022 | 26.1 | 11.7 | 2.9 | C+ |
| 974 | Burnhope County Durham | 1,465 | 22.5 | 15.5 | 1.1 | C+ |
| 975 | Billy Row County Durham | 1,254 | 25.5 | 12.5 | 3.5 | C+ |
| 976 | Codmore Hill West Sussex | 1,288 | 27.2 | 10.9 | 12.4 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 1214 | Ingoldmells Lincolnshire | 1,928 | 259 | 64.7 | 57.2 | 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 Clifton, and others in Lancashire.
Crime in Clifton 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 9 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 1 shoplifting and theft report, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
28 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 29 the year before
“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 -3% (towns its size +3%), anti-social behaviour -48% (towns its size -1%).
No one died in a collision on Clifton’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 3 collisions with injuries inside Clifton in five years. 0 people were killed or seriously injured.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Clifton is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Clifton’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Clifton had 0.
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 Clifton’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Clifton
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | 1,022 | 26.1 | 11.7 | C+ |
| Newton-with-Scales | 1,510 | 21 | 10.4 | B− |
| Cottam | 5,507 | 37.4 | 16.1 | C− |
| Freckleton | 4,478 | 22 | 10.2 | B− |
| Kirkham | 8,939 | 35.3 | 13.7 | C− |
| Hutton | 2,140 | 23.4 | 7.9 | B− |
| Longton | 10,912 | 14 | 5.6 | A− |
| Wesham | 4,474 | 28.8 | 8.6 | C+ |
Clifton records more graded crime per resident than 5 of its 7 neighbours; only Cottam and Kirkham record more. Newton-with-Scales, 1.1 miles away, records 21 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Clifton’s 26.1.
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 Clifton 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 Clifton
Is Clifton safe?
Police recorded 26.1 violent and sexual offences and 11.7 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Clifton’s built-up area). That earns a C+ for safety: less crime per resident than 39% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Clifton is 973rd from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Clifton?
Police recorded 28 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 29 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Clifton?
Violence & sexual offences: 27 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (5) and public order (5), with 15 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Clifton 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 Clifton’s 26.1 and 11.7, 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.