Penrith, Cumbria Crime and Safety Statistics

Penrith Crime Overview

Penrith is among the top 5 most dangerous small towns in Cumbria, and is the 32nd most dangerous overall out of Cumbria's 287 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Penrith in 2020 was 67 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Cumbria's overall crime rate, coming in 0.29% higher than the Cumbria rate of 66 per 1,000 residents. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Penrith is the 238th most dangerous small town, and the 1,639th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.

In May 2017, Penrith had the worst crime rate in Cumbria for possession of weapons, with 3 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.19 per 1,000 inhabitants. August 2016 was also a bad month for Penrith residents, when it was Cumbria's most dangerous area for theft from the person, recording 3 crimes at a rate of 0.19 per 1,000 residents.

The most common crimes in Penrith are violence and sexual offences, with 503 offences during 2020, giving a crime rate of 32. This is 0.40% lower than 2019's figure of 505 offences and a difference of 0.12 from 2019's crime rate of 32. Penrith's least common crime is robbery, with 2 offences recorded in 2020, a decrease of 150% from 2019's figure of 5 crimes.

Compare Penrith to other towns and cities

See how Penrith shapes up compared to other locations around the country, including side-by-side comparisons of specific crime types, and separate charting of how Penrith and your comparison town's crime rates stack up against one another.

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Crime in Penrith Compared To Cumbria

Summary of Crimes in Penrith This Year

	Penrith		Cumbria
Crime	Count	Rate	Count	Rate	Rate Difference
Anti-Social Behaviour	348	21.91	9,799	19.60	11% more dangerous
Bicycle Theft	8	0.50	207	0.41	18% more dangerous
Burglary	43	2.71	1,645	3.29	21% safer
Criminal Damage and Arson	126	7.93	4,727	9.45	19% safer
Drugs	31	1.95	1,022	2.04	4.6% safer
Other Crime	18	1.13	655	1.31	16% safer
Other Theft	65	4.09	2,201	4.40	8% safer
Possession of Weapons	8	0.50	256	0.51	2.0% safer
Public Order	120	7.56	4,143	8.29	10% safer
Robbery	2	0.13	110	0.22	69% safer
Shoplifting	98	6.17	1,608	3.22	48% more dangerous
Theft From the Person	2	0.13	88	0.18	38% safer
Vehicle Crime	34	2.14	808	1.62	24% more dangerous
Violence and Sexual Offences	503	31.68	15,747	31.49	0.60% more dangerous

Penrith Compared to Nearby Small Towns

Small Town	Total Crimes	Crime Rate	Rate Difference
Ulverston	474	40.47	65% safer
Cockermouth	379	41.56	60% safer
Dalton Town with Newton	367	47.49	40% safer
Windermere	475	58.69	14% safer
Penrith	1,058	66.62	-
Maryport	900	79.71	16% more dangerous
Whitehaven	1,897	82.02	19% more dangerous
Egremont	653	84.06	21% more dangerous

Crime Over Time in Penrith

View crime percentage over time for

Penrith Crime Trends

	Crime Rate Per 1,000 Residents
Crime	2017	2018	2019	2020	Trend
Anti-Social Behaviour	21	22	17	22	Getting worse
Bicycle Theft	0.31	0.38	0.19	0.50	Getting worse
Burglary	4.5	2.6	4.7	2.7	Safer
Criminal Damage and Arson	8	13	10	8	Safer
Drugs	2.2	2.7	1.9	2.0	Safer
Other Crime	0.88	1.6	1.3	1.1	Safer
Other Theft	4.4	7	8	4.1	Safer
Possession of Weapons	0.63	0.57	0.57	0.50	Safer
Public Order	2.3	6	7	8	Getting worse
Robbery (inc. mugging)	0.13	0.19	0.31	0.13	Safer
Shoplifting	7	7	11	6	Safer
Theft From the Person (inc. pickpocketing)	0.69	0.76	0.63	0.13	Safer
Vehicle Crime	3.7	2.3	1.8	2.1	Safer
Violence and Sexual Offences	16	27	32	32	Getting worse

Changes In Penrith's Crime Rates Over Time

Comparing Penrith to the UK's Major Cities

Small Town	Crime Rate	Rate Difference
Penrith	66.62	-
Barnet	67.71	1.6% more dangerous
Coventry	77.41	14% more dangerous
Croydon	83.22	20% more dangerous
Sheffield	85.81	22% more dangerous
Bristol	86.21	23% more dangerous
Leicester	97.44	32% more dangerous
Birmingham	102.87	35% more dangerous
Liverpool	107.28	38% more dangerous
Bradford	133.02	50% more dangerous
Leeds	137.10	51% more dangerous

Crime in Penrith's Neighbourhoods

Neighbourhood	Crime Count	Crime Rate	Danger Rank
Penrith Central & West	798	106	First

Crime in Penrith During Coronavirus Lockdowns

Looking at the months the UK was in lockdown in 2020 due to Covid-19, how did crime rates in Penrith change compared to the same month in 2019? The biggest increase in lockdown crime came in March, when Penrith saw a 233% increase in public order. Penrith saw a large fall in shoplifting during June, when it fell by 96% compared to June in 2019.

Crime	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Anti-Social Behaviour	+14%	+178%	+188%	-48%	+4%	+21%	-24%	+74%	+50%	-6%
Burglary	+25%	-	-	-29%	+150%	-80%	-	-50%	-71%	-44%
Criminal Damage and Arson	+38%	-22%	-65%	-11%	-23%	-24%	+10%	-40%	-50%	-30%
Drugs	-	-	-	+67%	-67%	-33%	-	-	+50%	-50%
Other Crime	+100%	+150%	+100%	-	-	+100%	-50%	-	-	-
Other Theft	-30%	-80%	-64%	-75%	-40%	-47%	+13%	-44%	-75%	+25%
Possession of Weapons	-	-	-	-	-	-67%	-50%	-	-	-
Public Order	+233%	+60%	-29%	-27%	+64%	+25%	-33%	-45%	-35%	+57%
Shoplifting	-50%	-81%	-29%	-96%	-77%	-17%	-64%	+90%	-44%	+129%
Theft From the Person	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-50%	-
Vehicle Crime	-92%	+200%	-	-	-67%	-50%	-	+133%	-	-
Violence and Sexual Offences	-14%	-25%	-10%	+11%	+30%	+19%	-3%	+8%	+24%	-66%

Frequently Asked Questions About Crime in Penrith

What police force serves Penrith?

Penrith's local territorial police force is the Cumbria Constabulary.

How dangerous is Penrith?

Penrith is among the top 5 most dangerous small towns in Cumbria.

What is Penrith's most common crime?

The most common crimes in Penrith are violence and sexual offences.

What is the least common crime in Penrith?

Penrith's least common crime is robbery (inc. mugging).

Last updated: 07 May 2021

Crime and Safety in Penrith, Cumbria