Crime and Safety in Nelson, Lancashire
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Nelson is among the top 10 most dangerous medium-sized towns in Lancashire, and is the 25th most dangerous overall out of Lancashire's 236 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Nelson in 2026 is 77 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Lancashire's overall crime rate, coming in 8% higher than the Lancashire rate of 72 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Nelson is the 70th most dangerous medium-sized town, and the 1,010th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In August 2020, Nelson had the worst crime rate in Lancashire for shoplifting, with 32 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.89 per 1,000 daytime population. And in February 2026, Nelson was the worst medium-sized town in Lancashire for possession of weapons, with 7 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.18 per 1,000 daytime population. March 2026 was also a bad month for Nelson residents, when it was Lancashire's most dangerous medium-sized town for other theft, recording 31 crimes at a rate of 0.79 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Nelson are violence and sexual offences, with 1,498 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 38. This is 3.8% higher than 2025's figure of 1,443 offences and a difference of 1.38 from 2025's crime rate of 37. Nelson's least common crime is bicycle theft, with 10 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 9% from 2025's figure of 11 crimes.
Nelson 2026 Crime Scorecard
Top 10 Most Dangerous
Medium-Sized Towns, Lancashire
79% higher, regional crime rate
North West
8% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Nelson is 79% higher than the North West and 8% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Nelson Crime Rate Over Time
| Nelson | |
| North West | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Nelson Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Nelson 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 Nelson Compares
You can compare Nelson'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 Nelson's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Nelson up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Nelson's 872 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 Nelson? 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
Nelson • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Nelson has a crime risk score of 671. This is based on analysis of 872 nearby areas within Nelson, 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 Nelson's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Nelson, crime risk scores are typically around 671, while in Lancashire they are average 494.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 728 (504 for Lancashire), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 734 (Lancashire 511).
Trends in Crime Risk
Nelson
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 Nelson'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 Nelson's crime risk score is up by 8%. 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, Nelson's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 10%, 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
Nelson
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
Nelson • 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.
Possession of Weapons offences have a crime rate of 1.43 reports per 1,000 people in Nelson, which is 1.68 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 56 crime reports logged by Lancashire Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Lancashire Police recorded 1,498 reports of Violence and Sexual Offences in Nelson, resulting in a crime rate of 38 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.26.
The crime rate for Burglary is 1.20 times the national average at 3.75 reports per 1,000. This is from 147 crime reports reported to Lancashire Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Nelson
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.
Public Order offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.96 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.42 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 129% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.43 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 1.07 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 34% over this timeframe.
Shoplifting offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.00 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 0.16 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 525% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Nelson
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Drugs offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.87 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 1.29 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 33% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Nelson • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Nelson | Lancashire | North West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 1,055 | 26.93 | 1.91 | 44,091 | 25.12 | 1.78 | 68,604 | 7.93 | 0.56 |
| Bicycle Theft | 10 | 0.26 | 0.87 | 935 | 0.54 | 0.74 | 2,963 | 0.35 | 0.48 |
| Burglary | 147 | 3.75 | 1.20 | 5,672 | 3.22 | 1.03 | 13,151 | 1.50 | 0.48 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 288 | 7.34 | 1.17 | 12,487 | 7.11 | 1.13 | 34,232 | 3.94 | 0.63 |
| Drugs | 101 | 2.58 | 0.83 | 4,150 | 2.37 | 0.77 | 23,463 | 2.70 | 0.87 |
| Other Crime | 117 | 2.99 | 1.62 | 4,141 | 2.36 | 1.28 | 11,008 | 1.28 | 0.69 |
| Other Theft | 254 | 6.46 | 1.14 | 9,088 | 5.17 | 0.91 | 24,256 | 2.79 | 0.49 |
| Possession of Weapons | 56 | 1.43 | 1.68 | 1,753 | 1.01 | 1.19 | 4,543 | 0.53 | 0.62 |
| Public Order | 194 | 4.95 | 0.85 | 8,532 | 4.86 | 0.84 | 36,702 | 4.23 | 0.73 |
| Robbery | 33 | 0.85 | 0.79 | 1,207 | 0.69 | 0.58 | 3,301 | 0.38 | 0.32 |
| Shoplifting | 198 | 5.04 | 0.71 | 9,243 | 5.26 | 0.74 | 27,614 | 3.18 | 0.45 |
| Theft From the Person | 15 | 0.39 | 0.33 | 663 | 0.38 | 0.25 | 1,948 | 0.23 | 0.15 |
| Vehicle Crime | 126 | 3.21 | 0.75 | 6,294 | 3.57 | 0.83 | 14,353 | 1.67 | 0.39 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 1,498 | 38.20 | 1.26 | 62,045 | 35.33 | 1.16 | 178,380 | 20.58 | 0.68 |
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Total Crime by Year
Nelson | Lancashire | North West | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 3,037 | 77.45 | 1.09 | 126,210 | 71.87 | 1.00 | 375,914 | 43.36 | 0.60 |
| 2025 | 2,872 | 74.33 | 1.02 | 125,027 | 71.71 | 0.97 | 373,106 | 43.34 | 0.59 |
| 2024 | 2,564 | 67.96 | 0.91 | 125,021 | 72.60 | 0.96 | 380,165 | 44.52 | 0.59 |
| 2023 | 2,597 | 70.17 | 0.91 | 126,579 | 74.37 | 0.94 | 418,544 | 49.63 | 0.63 |
| 2022 | 2,945 | 80.25 | 1.06 | 128,887 | 76.97 | 1.00 | 410,255 | 49.27 | 0.64 |
| 2021 | 3,193 | 88.24 | 1.30 | 122,462 | 73.89 | 1.08 | 363,499 | 44.00 | 0.64 |
| 2020 | 3,084 | 86.34 | 1.18 | 132,867 | 80.49 | 1.09 | 388,434 | 47.29 | 0.64 |
| 2019 | 3,750 | 106.60 | 1.41 | 159,649 | 97.36 | 1.28 | 412,412 | 50.39 | 0.66 |
| 2018 | 2,781 | 80.27 | 1.15 | 125,020 | 76.64 | 1.08 | 361,592 | 44.45 | 0.63 |
| 2017 | 2,310 | 67.81 | 1.08 | 103,791 | 64.02 | 1.00 | 303,042 | 37.41 | 0.59 |
| 2016 | 704 | 20.79 | 1.12 | 30,635 | 18.97 | 0.99 | 87,310 | 10.80 | 0.57 |
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Nelson 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 | 36% more dangerous |
| Morecambe | 3,635 | 100.93 | 30% more dangerous |
| Fleetwood | 2,565 | 88.68 | 14% more dangerous |
| Chorley | 3,521 | 82.12 | 6% more dangerous |
| Nelson | 3,037 | 77.45 | - |
| Darwen | 2,408 | 75.79 | 2.1% safer |
| Skelmersdale | 2,836 | 72.49 | 6% safer |
| Saint Anne's on the Sea | 2,025 | 63.74 | 18% safer |
| Leyland | 2,712 | 61.77 | 20% safer |
| Lytham St Anne's | 2,371 | 50.15 | 35% safer |
| Ormskirk | 1,023 | 36.16 | 53% safer |
Comparing Nelson to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Nelson | 77.45 | - |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 2.7% more dangerous |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 7% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 9% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 26% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 35% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 36% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 37% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 38% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 39% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 61% 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 Nelson's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Nelson 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Garden Project | 3 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 1 |
| Wavelengths | 17 | 1 | 1 | - | 10 | 6 |
| Seedhill | - | - | - | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Lomeshaye Allotments | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Nelson Cemetery | 35 | 2 | 9 | - | 28 | 35 |
| Cemetery Allotment Site | 9 | - | 1 | - | 8 | 11 |
| Brunswick House | 13 | 2 | - | 1 | 14 | 5 |
| Seedhill Athletics and Fitness Centre | 11 | - | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Victoria Park | 12 | - | - | - | 4 | 2 |
| Marsden Park | 19 | - | 4 | - | 27 | 18 |
| Walverden Park | 41 | - | 4 | 2 | 54 | 43 |
Recent Crimes in Nelson
The 20 most recent crime reports in Nelson.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Ripon Street | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near School Street | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Lomeshaye Road | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Bott House Lane | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Bott House Lane | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Booth Street | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Pilgrim Street | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Priory Chase | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Ash Street | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Robbery | On or near Rigg Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Priory Chase | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Cravendale Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Lomeshaye Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near School Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Bott House Lane | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Hereford Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near School Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near School Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Cravendale Avenue |
Methodology & Data Sources
Nelson 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 Nelson 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.
Nelson Data Points
For Nelson, 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 E04005233.
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 Nelson's daytime - or "workday" - population of 29,992 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 Nelson