Crime and Safety in Chorley, Lancashire
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Chorley is the third most dangerous medium-sized town in Lancashire, and is among the top 20 most dangerous overall out of Lancashire's 236 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Chorley in 2026 is 82 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Lancashire's overall crime rate, coming in 14% higher than the Lancashire rate of 72 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Chorley is the 47th most dangerous medium-sized town, and the 773rd most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In February 2026, Chorley was the worst medium-sized town in Lancashire for robbery, with 4 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.09 per 1,000 daytime population. March 2026 was also a bad month for Chorley residents, when it was Lancashire's most dangerous medium-sized town for theft from the person, recording 3 crimes at a rate of 0.07 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Chorley are violence and sexual offences, with 1,848 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 43. This is 9% higher than 2025's figure of 1,694 offences and a difference of 3.59 from 2025's crime rate of 40. Chorley's least common crime is bicycle theft, with 15 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 29% from 2025's figure of 21 crimes.
Chorley 2026 Crime Scorecard
Third Most Dangerous
Medium-Sized Towns, Lancashire
89% higher, regional crime rate
North West
14% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Chorley is 89% higher than the North West and 14% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Chorley Crime Rate Over Time
| Chorley | |
| North West | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Chorley Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Chorley represent the time frame between January 2016 and April 2026. Each point on the map represents an area where crimes have been recorded locally.
Use Crime Map
Hover over a point to see a breakdown of crime types recorded at that location. You can also filter by individual crime types, or use a combinations of offences to visualise the data you need.
See How Chorley Compares
You can compare Chorley's crime statistics against any other town, village, or city from across the country. Search for a location's name below to see how they stack up.
Introduction to Chorley's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Chorley up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Chorley's 963 postcodes using three area sizes for comparison:
- Within a Five-Minute Walk
- Within a Ten-Minute Walk
- Within a Fifteen-Minute Walk
Individual crime risk scores and index figures are for the 12-month period ending April 2026 unless otherwise stated.
CrimeRate Insights
Looking into a specific address in Chorley? CrimeRate Insights reports convert raw numbers into practical insight for any location, from single addresses and postcodes, up to major towns and cities.
Crime rates don’t happen by themselves; they follow people and patterns. Where crowds gather - near pubs and late-night venues, around the station, by supermarkets and forecourts - incidents naturally concentrate.
That doesn’t mean an area is "bad"; it usually means footfall is higher.
Your report explores these factors in a calm, non-judgemental way, putting the numbers in context and helping you spot what’s typical for places like this.
Crime Risk Scores
Chorley • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Chorley has a crime risk score of 573. This is based on analysis of 963 nearby areas within Chorley, with "most" referring to roughly two thirds of the nearby locations.
Crime risk scores are on a scale of 1 to 1,000 and consider the severity of the crimes involved, as determined by sentencing guidelines. A score of 1 represents the lowest risk, and 1,000 the highest risk. This approach ensures that - unlike overall crime rate figures - bicycle theft is not given the same importance in Chorley's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Chorley, crime risk scores are typically around 573, while in Lancashire they are average 494.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 550 (504 for Lancashire), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 547 (Lancashire 511).
Trends in Crime Risk
Chorley
Calculated via Seasonal and Trend decomposition using Loess, the Seasonality Adjusted line represents the original data with seasonality subtracted, and the Trend line has been plotted unadjusted. Overall trend direction has been identified using the Mann-Kendall trend test, and rate calculated from the slope of the best-fit line identified from linear regression.
No trend could be found in Chorley's crime risk scores over the last 10 years, and the trend may well be static.
The five-year trend may be static; no significant trend was identified in Chorley's crime risk scores during this timeframe.
Over the last year, Chorley's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 17%, indicating that the risk profile is going up. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Chorley
The CrimeRate Index shows how crime rates compare against the national average.
1.0 equals the average
2.0 is double
3.0 triple
0.5 is half and
0.25 a quarter.
Highest Crime Rates
Chorley • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Excluding other crime and other theft because their geographic location is often not relevant, anti-social behaviour as its definition is too wide, and bicycle theft for its specificity.
Violence and Sexual Offences have a crime rate of 43 reports per 1,000 people in Chorley, which is 1.42 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 1,848 crime reports logged by Lancashire Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Lancashire Police recorded 340 reports of Criminal Damage and Arson in Chorley, resulting in a crime rate of 7.93 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.26.
The crime rate for Possession of Weapons is 1.20 times the national average at 1.02 reports per 1,000. This is from 44 crime reports reported to Lancashire Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Chorley
Excluding other crime and other theft, anti-social behaviour, and bicycle theft, and calculated with the same STL method described in Trends in Crime Risk, using CrimeRate Index figures to identify crime types that are trending above or below the national average, and the analysis timeframe limited to the last three years.
Drugs offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.00 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 0.24 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 317% over this timeframe.
Robbery offences are trending upwards, though the CrimeRate Index three years ago is too low to measure, and the trend should be reviewed with caution.
Public Order offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.83 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.97 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 14% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Chorley
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Possession of Weapons offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 2.00 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Possession of Weapons CrimeRate Index was 1.71 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 17% over this timeframe.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.20 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Criminal Damage and Arson CrimeRate Index was 0.98 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 22% over this timeframe.
Shoplifting offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.95 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 0.72 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 32% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Chorley • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Chorley | Lancashire | North West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 1,163 | 27.13 | 1.92 | 44,091 | 25.12 | 1.78 | 68,604 | 7.93 | 0.56 |
| Bicycle Theft | 15 | 0.33 | 0.54 | 935 | 0.54 | 0.74 | 2,963 | 0.35 | 0.48 |
| Burglary | 119 | 2.78 | 0.89 | 5,672 | 3.22 | 1.03 | 13,151 | 1.50 | 0.48 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 340 | 7.93 | 1.26 | 12,487 | 7.11 | 1.13 | 34,232 | 3.94 | 0.63 |
| Drugs | 130 | 3.03 | 0.98 | 4,150 | 2.37 | 0.77 | 23,463 | 2.70 | 0.87 |
| Other Crime | 89 | 2.07 | 1.12 | 4,141 | 2.36 | 1.28 | 11,008 | 1.28 | 0.69 |
| Other Theft | 212 | 4.94 | 0.87 | 9,088 | 5.17 | 0.91 | 24,256 | 2.79 | 0.49 |
| Possession of Weapons | 44 | 1.02 | 1.20 | 1,753 | 1.01 | 1.19 | 4,543 | 0.53 | 0.62 |
| Public Order | 258 | 6.02 | 1.04 | 8,532 | 4.86 | 0.84 | 36,702 | 4.23 | 0.73 |
| Robbery | 34 | 0.80 | 0.74 | 1,207 | 0.69 | 0.58 | 3,301 | 0.38 | 0.32 |
| Shoplifting | 274 | 6.40 | 0.90 | 9,243 | 5.26 | 0.74 | 27,614 | 3.18 | 0.45 |
| Theft From the Person | 24 | 0.56 | 0.39 | 663 | 0.38 | 0.25 | 1,948 | 0.23 | 0.15 |
| Vehicle Crime | 134 | 3.13 | 0.73 | 6,294 | 3.57 | 0.83 | 14,353 | 1.67 | 0.39 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 1,848 | 43.11 | 1.42 | 62,045 | 35.33 | 1.16 | 178,380 | 20.58 | 0.68 |
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Total Crime by Year
Chorley | Lancashire | North West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 3,521 | 82.12 | 1.15 | 126,210 | 71.87 | 1.00 | 375,914 | 43.36 | 0.60 |
| 2025 | 3,200 | 74.89 | 1.02 | 125,027 | 71.71 | 0.97 | 373,106 | 43.34 | 0.59 |
| 2024 | 3,696 | 87.75 | 1.17 | 125,021 | 72.60 | 0.96 | 380,165 | 44.52 | 0.59 |
| 2023 | 3,618 | 87.16 | 1.11 | 126,579 | 74.37 | 0.94 | 418,544 | 49.63 | 0.63 |
| 2022 | 3,627 | 87.89 | 1.16 | 128,887 | 76.97 | 1.00 | 410,255 | 49.27 | 0.64 |
| 2021 | 3,265 | 79.59 | 1.17 | 122,462 | 73.89 | 1.08 | 363,499 | 44.00 | 0.64 |
| 2020 | 3,374 | 83.03 | 1.13 | 132,867 | 80.49 | 1.09 | 388,434 | 47.29 | 0.64 |
| 2019 | 3,887 | 95.85 | 1.26 | 159,649 | 97.36 | 1.28 | 412,412 | 50.39 | 0.66 |
| 2018 | 3,070 | 75.56 | 1.07 | 125,020 | 76.64 | 1.08 | 361,592 | 44.45 | 0.63 |
| 2017 | 2,777 | 68.22 | 1.09 | 103,791 | 64.02 | 1.00 | 303,042 | 37.41 | 0.59 |
| 2016 | 939 | 23.07 | 1.23 | 30,635 | 18.97 | 0.99 | 87,310 | 10.80 | 0.57 |
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Chorley Compared to Nearby Medium-Sized Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Medium-Sized Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accrington | 4,118 | 105.43 | 28% more dangerous |
| Morecambe | 3,635 | 100.93 | 23% more dangerous |
| Fleetwood | 2,565 | 88.68 | 8% more dangerous |
| Chorley | 3,521 | 82.12 | - |
| Nelson | 3,037 | 77.45 | 6% safer |
| Darwen | 2,408 | 75.79 | 8% safer |
| Skelmersdale | 2,836 | 72.49 | 12% safer |
| Saint Anne's on the Sea | 2,025 | 63.74 | 22% safer |
| Leyland | 2,712 | 61.77 | 25% safer |
| Lytham St Anne's | 2,371 | 50.15 | 39% safer |
| Ormskirk | 1,023 | 36.16 | 56% safer |
Comparing Chorley to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 3.1% safer |
| Chorley | 82.12 | - |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 0.69% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 2.4% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 19% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 27% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 28% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 30% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 30% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 31% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 52% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
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You can find out more, or get a CrimeRate Insights report that includes further analysis.
Offences In and Around Chorley's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Chorley that are named and have had crimes recorded within their boundaries in the 12 months to Apr 2026.
| Name | ASB | Drugs | Public Order | Robbery | VSO | All Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Garden | 3 | - | - | - | 3 | 4 |
| Coronation Pleasure Ground | 8 | - | 3 | - | 20 | 21 |
| Tatton Recreation Ground | 14 | 2 | 2 | - | 23 | 12 |
| Rangletts Recreation Ground | 6 | - | - | - | 18 | 9 |
| Yarrow Valley Country Park | 30 | 2 | 7 | - | 46 | 20 |
| Astley Park | 39 | 7 | 5 | - | 60 | 38 |
| Chorley Cemetery | 1 | - | - | - | 9 | 3 |
| Southlands Sports Centre | 17 | 2 | 1 | - | 18 | 8 |
Recent Crimes in Chorley
The 20 most recent crime reports in Chorley.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Aniline Street | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Shireburn Drive | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Aniline Street | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Delamere Place | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Aniline Street | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Cannon Street | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Elbow Street | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Elbow Street | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Ashfield Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Elbow Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Balmoral Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Mason Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Elbow Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Long Meadow | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Cannon Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Long Meadow | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near The Spinney | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Stansted Road |
Methodology & Data Sources
Chorley Crime Report
Data Sources & Processing
Every month, CrimeRate processes crime reports from data.police.uk, the UK's official provider of open crime report data. Each crime report includes anonymised coordinates, most often "snapped" to the middle of the nearest street, or to the nearest major landmark. The reports also include the month and year the crime was reported, as well as the type of crime.
Data releases on data.police.uk happen once a month, with a two-month delay. This means that, for example, crimes reported in Chorley during June 2026 will typically become available in August 2026. The latest release is for Apr 2026 and was released in Jun 2026. To provide current and historical crime statistics, CrimeRate processed 61,669,232 crime reports for the latest release.
Chorley Data Points
For Chorley, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2023 release of their Parishes and Non Civil Parished Areas dataset, using the PARNCP23CD column value E43000094.
Due to the 2021 Census being conducted during a UK-wide Coronavirus lockdown, the daytime population figures released so far cannot be relied on for purposes such as comparing crime rates. Instead, CrimeRate uses Chorley's daytime - or "workday" - population of 36,340 from the ONS 2011 Census for calculations throughout the site.
All geographic boundaries use the full resolution - extent of the realm versions where provided to avoid missing crime reports near coastlines and rivers - the banks of the Thames in particular - that would otherwise not be included when using the clipped to the coastline datasets.
Calculating Crime Rates
CrimeRate locates the UK region, county, and town/city/village locality for each crime report, and calculates the crime rate by taking the sum of all crime reports, dividing it by the locality's daytime / "workday" population, and multiplying the result by 1,000 to get the crime rate per 1,000.
Crime Risk Score Calculations
CrimeRate calculates crime counts for local, nearby, and wider areas for every postcode in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The postcodes locations are deduplicated by a process that ensures distinct points are approximately 50 metres apart. This process removes the bias that would otherwise come from counting the same crimes several times in heavily populated areas.
Using a custom algorithm developed in-house, CrimeRate applies a crime severity weighting to each area's crime counts, based on the type of crime reported. This increases or decreases the crime count, or zeroes it out entirely, depending on the crime type. A separate crime severity rate is then calculated, standardised, and scaled to fit the crime risk score range of 1 to 1,000, with 1 being the lowest score, and 1,000 the highest.
Crime risk scores undergo further analysis per town, city, and village plus other areas including police forces and neighbourhoods. CrimeRate uses percentiles to work out the most common range of crime risk scores in each locality. This includes identifying the high and low bounds where approximately 68% of scores fall, and finding the median (50th percentile) for easy reference.
The crime types with a weight of zero are: Anti-Social Behaviour; Bicycle Theft; Other Crime; Other Theft; and Shoplifting. The highest weights to are assigned to Violence & Sexual Offences, and the lowest to Vehicle Crime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crime in Chorley