Photo: Thomas Nugent · CC BY-SA 2.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Preston than in 98% of UK towns
Bicycle theft: police recorded 214 in Preston in the 12 months to August 2026, 2.3 per 1,000 residents against 0.9 in a typical town its size. From September 2023 to August 2026, crimes police recorded inside the town’s built-up area put it at D− for safety: #63 of 65 in Lancashire. Violence recorded locally climbed 6% in a year. In a usual year, 60.8 violent and sexual offences and 26.8 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage are logged per 1,000 inhabitants.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Preston
One ward carries much of the rate
City Centre ward, where 42% of Preston’s shoplifting and theft is recorded, recorded 5,070 of Preston’s 17,177 violent and sexual offences in three years: 144 per 1,000 of its own residents a year. Across the rest of Preston the figure is 48.9. Where in Preston ↓
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 6% more violent crime per resident in Preston 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 held steady (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 75 UK towns and cities of 66,000 to 128,000 people, Preston has the 67th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Wakefield, Stockton-on-Tees and Halifax, higher than West Bromwich, Scunthorpe and Rotherham. Towns its size ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
71% of Preston’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 5% 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.
Preston: D− for safety, and why
A firm grade. Built on 24,738 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Preston against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
71% of Preston residents live in one of England’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
5% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 71% 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.
Preston’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, Preston runs highest on bicycle theft (2.3 per 1,000 against 0.9), anti-social behaviour (38.7 per 1,000 against 17.5) and possession of weapons (2.3 per 1,000 against 1.1).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 5,540 | 58.6 | 38.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 3,653 | 38.7 | 17.5 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 1,257 | 13.3 | 7.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 1,250 | 13.2 | 10.3 |
| Public order | not graded | 946 | 10 | 7.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 924 | 9.8 | 6.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 668 | 7.1 | 4.9 |
| Drugs | not graded | 593 | 6.3 | 3.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 442 | 4.7 | 3.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 372 | 3.9 | 2.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 218 | 2.3 | 1.1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 214 | 2.3 | 0.9 |
| Robbery | Violent | 186 | 2 | 1.4 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 97 | 1 | 0.7 |
“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.
67th of 75: Preston among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metropolitan Newtownabbey Antrim and Newtownabbey | 67,599 | 21.3 | 9 | 8.3 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 42 | Blackburn Lancashire | 124,958 | 44.5 | 18.3 | 15.3 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 63 | Burnley Lancashire | 78,266 | 52.7 | 26.2 | 23.4 | D− |
| 64 | West Bromwich West Midlands | 103,099 | 54.4 | 24.7 | 17.4 | D− |
| 65 | Scunthorpe Lincolnshire | 81,286 | 58 | 24.6 | 26.4 | D− |
| 66 | Rotherham South Yorkshire | 71,535 | 61.7 | 25.5 | 25.7 | D− |
| 67 | Preston Lancashire | 94,502 | 60.8 | 26.8 | 27.7 | D− |
| 68 | Walsall West Midlands | 70,777 | 62.9 | 26.3 | 27.8 | D− |
| 69 | Barnsley South Yorkshire | 71,394 | 61 | 30.5 | 27.8 | D− |
| 70 | Hartlepool County Durham | 88,001 | 63.1 | 28.5 | 34.9 | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 75 | Doncaster South Yorkshire | 87,440 | 72.6 | 38.2 | 43.3 | 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 Preston, and others in Lancashire.
Crime in Preston 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 25 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 26 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Lowest recorded crime in Garrison, Cadley and Lea & Larches; highest in City Centre
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garrison | 4,111 | 23 | 13.1 | |
| Cadley | 2,668 | 28.1 | 13 | |
| Lea & Larches | 9,271 | 37.5 | 17.8 | |
| Fishwick & Frenchwood | 9,435 | 44.2 | 18.4 | |
| Ashton | 8,666 | 40.2 | 28.2 | |
| Brookfield | 7,986 | 47.8 | 22.2 | |
| Deepdale | 9,666 | 48.5 | 21.7 | |
| Ribbleton | 9,081 | 57.8 | 24.4 | |
| Plungington | 10,782 | 57.2 | 30.1 | |
| St Matthew's | 10,786 | 70.4 | 32.3 | |
| City Centre | 11,733 | 144 | 47.7 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Nightclubs | 2,157 | 36% violent |
| Shopping areas | 1,726 | 39% shoplifting & theft |
| Supermarkets | 1,665 | 48% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 1,182 | 36% anti-social behaviour |
| Petrol stations | 325 | 38% shoplifting & theft |
| Bus and coach stations | 321 | 52% anti-social behaviour |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 288 | 38% shoplifting & theft |
| College and university buildings | 152 | 39% violent |
| Parks and open spaces | 73 | 30% violent |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so City Centre records 2.9× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Preston. 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 Preston. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Preston’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Police in Preston identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 60% of Preston’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 12% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (52% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 11% 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. 8,449 crimes.
How crime in Preston 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 +6% (towns its size +2%), homes and vehicles -1% (towns its size -5%), shoplifting and theft -4% (towns its size -3%), anti-social behaviour -35% (towns its size -2%).
Nine people died in collisions on Preston’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 1,118 collisions with injuries inside Preston in five years, in which nine people died (3 were pedestrians). 393 people were killed or seriously injured: 117 on foot and 62 on a bicycle.
That is more than 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 Preston’s size would see about 5 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Preston’s own rate (1.9) is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, Preston had 83.2 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). 30% 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 Preston’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Preston
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston | 94,502 | 60.8 | 26.8 | D− |
| Fulwood | 34,693 | 32.1 | 12.7 | C |
| Penwortham | 20,489 | 24.8 | 8.8 | B− |
| Higher Walton | 1,607 | 17.6 | 6.4 | B+ |
| Cottam | 5,507 | 37.4 | 16.1 | C− |
| Broughton | 2,468 | 31.1 | 20.4 | C− |
| Bamber Bridge | 40,359 | 33.4 | 13.5 | C |
| Grimsargh | 2,594 | 25.1 | 7.1 | B− |
Preston records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Fulwood, 1.4 miles away, records 32.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Preston’s 60.8.
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 Preston 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 Preston
Is Preston safe?
Police recorded 60.8 violent and sexual offences and 26.8 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Preston’s built-up area). That earns a D− for safety: less crime per resident than 2% of UK towns. Among 75 UK towns of 66,000 to 128,000 people, Preston is 67th from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Preston?
By council ward, Garrison, Cadley and Lea & Larches record the least violent and household crime per resident: 23, 28.1 and 37.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 144 in City Centre.
Is crime going up in Preston?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 6%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage held steady, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour fell 35%. Across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, violent crime held steady.
Is Preston town centre safe at night?
police.uk placed 2,157 crimes and reports at or near nightclubs in three years, 36% of them violent, and City Centre ward records 144 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 of its residents a year. Over the last two years, violent crime peaked in May and was lowest in February.
What is the most common crime in Preston?
Violence & sexual offences: 5,540 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (1,257) and shoplifting (1,250), with 3,653 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.