Crime and Safety in Great Harwood, Lancashire
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Great Harwood is among the top 10 most dangerous small towns in Lancashire, and is the 28th most dangerous overall out of Lancashire's 236 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Great Harwood in 2026 is 78 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Lancashire's overall crime rate, coming in 9% higher than the Lancashire rate of 72 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Great Harwood is the 161st most dangerous small town, and the 1,063rd most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In January 2026, Great Harwood had the worst crime rate in Lancashire for theft from the person, with 2 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.18 per 1,000 daytime population. March 2026 was also a bad month for Great Harwood residents, when it was again Lancashire's most dangerous area for theft from the person, recording 3 crimes at a rate of 0.27 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Great Harwood are violence and sexual offences, with 449 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 40. This is 0.66% lower than 2025's figure of 452 offences and a difference of 0.31 from 2025's crime rate of 41. Great Harwood's least common crime is bicycle theft, with 1 offence recorded in 2026, the same as 2025's figure of 1 crime.
Great Harwood 2026 Crime Scorecard
Top 10 Most Dangerous
Small Towns, Lancashire
80% higher, regional crime rate
North West
9% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Great Harwood is 80% higher than the North West and 9% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Great Harwood Crime Rate Over Time
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| North West | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Great Harwood Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Great Harwood 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 Great Harwood Compares
You can compare Great Harwood'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 Great Harwood's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Great Harwood up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Great Harwood's 257 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 Great Harwood? 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
Great Harwood • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Great Harwood has a crime risk score of 614. This is based on analysis of 257 nearby areas within Great Harwood, 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 Great Harwood's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Great Harwood, crime risk scores are typically around 614, while in Lancashire they are average 494.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 628 (504 for Lancashire), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 722 (Lancashire 511).
Trends in Crime Risk
Great Harwood
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 Great Harwood's crime risk scores over the last 10 years, and the trend may well be static.
Looking at the previous five years, the trend in Great Harwood's crime risk score is up by 3.0%. While potentially a good indicator of the overall risk trend, cross-referencing with major cultural events and Covid's impact during this time is advised.
Over the last year, Great Harwood's crime risk score has shown a downward trend of approximately 10%, indicating that the risk profile is going down. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Great Harwood
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
Great Harwood • 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.
Robbery offences have a crime rate of 0.63 reports per 1,000 people in Great Harwood, which is 2.17 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 7 crime reports logged by Lancashire Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Lancashire Police recorded 13 reports of Possession of Weapons in Great Harwood, resulting in a crime rate of 1.17 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.86.
The crime rate for Violence and Sexual Offences is 1.33 times the national average at 40 reports per 1,000. This is from 449 crime reports reported to Lancashire Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Great Harwood
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.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.17 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Criminal Damage and Arson CrimeRate Index was 1.02 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 15% over this timeframe.
Shoplifting offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.95 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 0.56 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 70% over this timeframe.
Vehicle Crime offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.03 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Vehicle Crime CrimeRate Index was 0.64 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 61% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Great Harwood
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Drugs offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.39 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 1.76 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 78% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Great Harwood • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Great Harwood | Lancashire | North West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 296 | 26.63 | 1.88 | 44,091 | 25.12 | 1.78 | 68,604 | 7.93 | 0.56 |
| Bicycle Theft | 1 | 0.09 | 1.29 | 935 | 0.54 | 0.74 | 2,963 | 0.35 | 0.48 |
| Burglary | 40 | 3.60 | 1.15 | 5,672 | 3.22 | 1.03 | 13,151 | 1.50 | 0.48 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 88 | 7.92 | 1.26 | 12,487 | 7.11 | 1.13 | 34,232 | 3.94 | 0.63 |
| Drugs | 13 | 1.17 | 0.57 | 4,150 | 2.37 | 0.77 | 23,463 | 2.70 | 0.87 |
| Other Crime | 22 | 1.98 | 1.42 | 4,141 | 2.36 | 1.28 | 11,008 | 1.28 | 0.69 |
| Other Theft | 66 | 5.94 | 1.04 | 9,088 | 5.17 | 0.91 | 24,256 | 2.79 | 0.49 |
| Possession of Weapons | 13 | 1.17 | 1.86 | 1,753 | 1.01 | 1.19 | 4,543 | 0.53 | 0.62 |
| Public Order | 45 | 4.05 | 0.75 | 8,532 | 4.86 | 0.84 | 36,702 | 4.23 | 0.73 |
| Robbery | 7 | 0.63 | 2.17 | 1,207 | 0.69 | 0.58 | 3,301 | 0.38 | 0.32 |
| Shoplifting | 70 | 6.30 | 0.88 | 9,243 | 5.26 | 0.74 | 27,614 | 3.18 | 0.45 |
| Theft From the Person | 8 | 0.72 | 1.16 | 663 | 0.38 | 0.25 | 1,948 | 0.23 | 0.15 |
| Vehicle Crime | 47 | 4.23 | 0.98 | 6,294 | 3.57 | 0.83 | 14,353 | 1.67 | 0.39 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 449 | 40.37 | 1.33 | 62,045 | 35.33 | 1.16 | 178,380 | 20.58 | 0.68 |
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Total Crime by Year
Great Harwood | Lancashire | North West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 869 | 78.17 | 1.16 | 126,210 | 71.87 | 1.00 | 375,914 | 43.36 | 0.60 |
| 2025 | 830 | 74.80 | 1.10 | 125,027 | 71.71 | 0.97 | 373,106 | 43.34 | 0.59 |
| 2024 | 755 | 68.98 | 0.99 | 125,021 | 72.60 | 0.96 | 380,165 | 44.52 | 0.59 |
| 2023 | 925 | 86.21 | 1.15 | 126,579 | 74.37 | 0.94 | 418,544 | 49.63 | 0.63 |
| 2022 | 768 | 72.34 | 1.01 | 128,887 | 76.97 | 1.00 | 410,255 | 49.27 | 0.64 |
| 2021 | 828 | 78.20 | 1.23 | 122,462 | 73.89 | 1.08 | 363,499 | 44.00 | 0.64 |
| 2020 | 769 | 72.59 | 1.06 | 132,867 | 80.49 | 1.09 | 388,434 | 47.29 | 0.64 |
| 2019 | 979 | 92.31 | 1.28 | 159,649 | 97.36 | 1.28 | 412,412 | 50.39 | 0.66 |
| 2018 | 717 | 67.54 | 1.02 | 125,020 | 76.64 | 1.08 | 361,592 | 44.45 | 0.63 |
| 2017 | 629 | 59.28 | 1.03 | 103,791 | 64.02 | 1.00 | 303,042 | 37.41 | 0.59 |
| 2016 | 179 | 16.88 | 0.98 | 30,635 | 18.97 | 0.99 | 87,310 | 10.80 | 0.57 |
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Great Harwood Compared to Nearby Small Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Small Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Padiham | 1,079 | 93.50 | 20% more dangerous |
| Colne | 1,910 | 90.54 | 16% more dangerous |
| Oswaldtwistle | 1,039 | 88.75 | 14% more dangerous |
| Great Harwood | 869 | 78.17 | - |
| Clayton-le-Moors | 649 | 69.84 | 11% safer |
| Brierfield | 768 | 66.29 | 15% safer |
| Rawtenstall | 1,710 | 69.86 | 11% safer |
| Heysham | 1,114 | 65.63 | 16% safer |
| Kirkham | 508 | 54.82 | 30% safer |
| Clayton-le-Woods | 1,008 | 59.90 | 23% safer |
| Poulton-le-Fylde | 844 | 60.25 | 23% safer |
| Whitworth | 457 | 54.23 | 31% safer |
| Cleveleys | 600 | 54.12 | 31% safer |
| Haslingden | 945 | 56.12 | 28% safer |
| Burscough | 580 | 52.19 | 33% safer |
Comparing Great Harwood to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Great Harwood | 78.17 | - |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 1.8% more dangerous |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 6% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 8% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 25% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 34% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 34% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 36% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 37% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 38% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 60% 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 Great Harwood's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Great Harwood 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Park | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Churchfield Gardens | 3 | - | 1 | - | - | 9 |
| Great Harwood Cemetry | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 6 |
| Railway Terrace Allotments | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Lowerfold Park | 8 | - | - | - | 9 | 10 |
| Central Billiard Hall | 32 | 1 | 3 | - | 39 | 19 |
| Rushton Bowls Club | 8 | 2 | 1 | - | 28 | 11 |
| Skaespeare Avenue Allotments | 7 | - | 1 | - | 8 | 5 |
| Norden Allotments | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Mercer Hall Leisure Centre | 5 | 1 | 2 | - | 4 | 10 |
Recent Crimes in Great Harwood
The 20 most recent crime reports in Great Harwood.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Springfield Road | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Masefield Close | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Holgate Street | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Masefield Close | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near King Street | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Willow Street | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Lowerfold | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Wellington Street | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Park Street | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Station Road | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Station Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Mill Gardens | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near St John'S Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near George Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Reed Passage | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Empire Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Lomax Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near St John'S Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Queen Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near St John'S Street |
Methodology & Data Sources
Great Harwood 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 Great Harwood during July 2026 will typically become available in September 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.
Great Harwood Data Points
For Great Harwood, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2022 release of their Built Up Areas dataset, using the BUA22CD column value E63000811.
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 Great Harwood's daytime - or "workday" - population of 6,891 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 Great Harwood