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Crime

Crime in Preston by area

Every neighbourhood we cover, ranked by crimes per 1,000 residents a year, from police.uk figures for June to August 2026. Highest first. Pick a type of crime to re-rank, or tap a column to sort.

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5,230crimes recordedJune to August 2026
+6%on the 3 months beforemore crime
Bartonlowest rate39.3 per 1,000 a year
118.9middle areacrimes per 1,000 a year

Darker means more crime per resident. Tap an area for its page.

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Most improved: Lea (-13%), Ribbleton (-4%) and Fishwick (-3%), compared with the three months before.

Every area, ranked

#Most common
1AvenhamPR1 · 9,413 residents 571.1▲ 11%violence
2FrenchwoodPR1 · 7,825 residents 306.2▼ 1%violence
3PrestonPR1 · 73,092 residents 192.4▲ 6%violence
4RibbletonPR2 · 13,661 residents 147.9▼ 4%violence
5FishwickPR1 · 13,728 residents 146.6▼ 3%violence
6PlungingtonPR1 · 18,454 residents 137.9▲ 1%violence
7DeepdalePR1 · 18,597 residents 137.4▼ 1%violence
8Ashton-on-RibblePR2 · 9,722 residents 118.9▲ 1%violence
9IngolPR2 · 7,223 residents 108▲ 13%violence
10FulwoodPR2 · 11,299 residents 88.1▲ 4%violence
11LeaPR2 · 4,980 residents 81.9▼ 13%violence
12GoosnarghPR3 · 1,890 residents 69.8▲ 14%violence
13CottamPR4 · 9,354 residents 67.6▲ 45%violence
14GrimsarghPR2 · 2,801 residents 55.7▲ 11%violence
15BroughtonPR3 · 2,466 residents 51.9▼ 30%violence
16BartonPR3 · 2,137 residents 39.3▲ 40%criminal damage

Change compares the last three months with the three before. A dash means too few crimes to compare fairly.

Why busy centres look worst

Crimes are counted where they happen, but residents are counted where they live. Town centres and shopping areas have lots of shops, bars and visitors and not many residents, so their rates come out high even though most people there are just passing through.

How we work it out

Each area is a circle round its middle, the same as on its MeBabber page. We count the crimes police.uk records inside the circle over the last three months and turn that into a yearly figure, then divide by the number of people who live inside the circle, from the 2021 Census. Police locations are moved slightly on purpose to protect victims, so treat small differences between neighbouring areas with a pinch of salt.

Sources: data.police.uk and the Office for National Statistics, both under the Open Government Licence. Figures update every month.

Crime in every area

Questions people ask

Which areas of Preston have the lowest crime?

Over June to August 2026, the areas with the fewest crimes per 1,000 residents were Barton, Broughton, Grimsargh, Cottam and Goosnargh.

Which areas of Preston have the highest crime?

Leaving aside the big shopping and industrial areas, where visitors and workers push the figures up, the highest rates over June to August 2026 were in Avenham, Frenchwood, Preston, Ribbleton and Fishwick.

Is crime going up or down in Preston?

Across Preston, 5,230 crimes were recorded over June to August 2026, 6% more than the three months before.

How is crime per 1,000 residents worked out?

We count the crimes police.uk records inside each area, turn the last three months into a yearly figure, and divide by the number of people who live there from the 2021 Census.