St. Helens Crime Overview
St. Helens is the most dangerous city in the North West, and the 43rd most dangerous overall out of the UK's cities. The overall crime rate in St. Helens in 2020 was 74 crimes per 1,000 people.
In September 2020, St. Helens was the second-worst city in the North West for bicycle theft, with 18 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.10 per 1,000 inhabitants. October 2020 was also a bad month for St. Helens residents, when it was the North West's second-most dangerous city for possession of weapons, recording 25 crimes at a rate of 0.14 per 1,000 residents. St. Helens recorded 93 reports of vehicle crime during November 2020, making its crime rate of 0.51 the second-worst city for vehicle crime in the North West that month.
The most common crimes in St. Helens are violence and sexual offences, with 5,777 offences during 2020, giving a crime rate of 32. This is 1.9% lower than 2019's figure of 5,889 offences and a difference of 0.62 from 2019's crime rate of 33. St. Helens's least common crime is robbery, with 59 offences recorded in 2020, a decrease of 75% from 2019's figure of 103 crimes.
St. Helens Crime Map
Summary of Crimes in St. Helens This Year
| St. Helens | ||
|---|---|---|
| Crime | Count | Rate |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 4,344 | 24.06 |
| Bicycle Theft | 126 | 0.70 |
| Burglary | 708 | 3.92 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 1,538 | 8.52 |
| Drugs | 905 | 5.01 |
| Other Crime | 342 | 1.89 |
| Other Theft | 632 | 3.50 |
| Possession of Weapons | 162 | 0.90 |
| Public Order | 1,553 | 8.60 |
| Robbery | 59 | 0.33 |
| Shoplifting | 728 | 4.03 |
| Theft From the Person | 66 | 0.37 |
| Vehicle Crime | 751 | 4.16 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 5,777 | 31.99 |
St. Helens Crime Trends
| Crime Rate Per 1,000 Residents | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Trend |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 32 | 23 | 20 | 24 | Safer |
| Bicycle Theft | 0.79 | 0.73 | 0.60 | 0.70 | Safer |
| Burglary | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3.9 | Safer |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | Safer |
| Drugs | 2.8 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 5 | Getting worse |
| Other Crime | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.9 | Getting worse |
| Other Theft | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3.5 | Safer |
| Possession of Weapons | 0.45 | 0.53 | 0.68 | 0.90 | Getting worse |
| Public Order | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Getting worse |
| Robbery | 0.50 | 0.61 | 0.57 | 0.33 | Safer |
| Shoplifting | 6 | 6 | 4.9 | 4.0 | Safer |
| Theft From the Person | 0.55 | 0.71 | 0.86 | 0.37 | Safer |
| Vehicle Crime | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.2 | Safer |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 23 | 29 | 33 | 32 | Getting worse |
Comparing St. Helens to the UK's Major Cities
| Cities | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Coventry | 71.50 | 3.4% safer |
| St. Helens | 73.91 | - |
| Sheffield | 73.99 | 0.11% more dangerous |
| Kirklees | 74.23 | 0.43% more dangerous |
| Croydon | 77.18 | 4.2% more dangerous |
| Bradford | 79.19 | 7% more dangerous |
| London | 80.70 | 8% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 89.02 | 17% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 91.57 | 19% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 91.90 | 20% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 102.51 | 28% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 105.94 | 30% more dangerous |
Crime in St. Helens During Coronavirus Lockdowns
Looking at the months the UK was in lockdown in 2020 due to Covid-19, how did crime rates in St. Helens change compared to the same month in 2019? The biggest increase in lockdown crime came in June, when St. Helens saw a 217% increase in possession of weapons. St. Helens saw a large fall in theft from the person during May, when it fell by 93% compared to May in 2019. Rates of other theft and theft from the person both fell year-on-year for every month during St. Helens's lockdown.
| Crime | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-Social Behaviour | +1% | +100% | +100% | +39% | +1% | -3% | +8% | +27% | +19% |
| Bicycle Theft | -14% | +11% | -58% | +88% | +30% | +109% | +38% | +22% | - |
| Burglary | +19% | -8% | -14% | -46% | +27% | -33% | -29% | -39% | -58% |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | -17% | -36% | -18% | -2% | +16% | +3% | - | -18% | -4% |
| Drugs | +19% | +46% | +91% | +45% | +34% | -27% | +24% | +20% | +2% |
| Other Crime | +132% | +41% | +32% | +27% | +14% | +39% | +17% | +30% | +4% |
| Other Theft | -25% | -54% | -47% | -10% | -43% | -25% | -19% | -19% | -29% |
| Possession of Weapons | -33% | +44% | +80% | +217% | +40% | -45% | +42% | +150% | +33% |
| Public Order | -11% | +6% | +2% | +2% | +3% | +35% | +51% | +1% | +8% |
| Robbery | -44% | -25% | -54% | -55% | +180% | -67% | - | -88% | -25% |
| Shoplifting | +52% | -54% | -37% | -30% | -16% | -1% | -12% | -58% | +6% |
| Theft From the Person | -57% | -73% | -93% | -50% | -47% | -15% | -43% | -67% | -81% |
| Vehicle Crime | +15% | -30% | -20% | +16% | -42% | +25% | -31% | -8% | +37% |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | +4% | -10% | -6% | +2% | +18% | +16% | +17% | +9% | +1% |
Frequently Asked Questions About Crime in St. Helens
What police force serves St. Helens?
St. Helens's local territorial police force is the Merseyside Police.How dangerous is St. Helens?
St. Helens is the most dangerous city in the North West.What is St. Helens's most common crime?
The most common crimes in St. Helens are violence and sexual offences.What is the least common crime in St. Helens?
St. Helens's least common crime is robbery.Last updated: 01 Mar 2021