Crime in King's Lynn
Recorded crime in King's Lynn is 2.7 times the King's Lynn and West Norfolk average and 2.0 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 13%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
Within 1.5 km of the centre of King's Lynn: about 14,533 residents in 15 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 1/10High crime
- Living
- 6.8/10Good
- 5-year change
- −13%fewer crimes
- vs the council
- 2.7×the King's Lynn and West Norfolk average
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 1.5 km of the centre of King's Lynn.
Crime over 5 years
Down 13% in 5 years Recorded crimes within 1.5 km of King's Lynn, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 2.7× the King's Lynn and West Norfolk average (2.0× the England and Wales average). 177 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 70% of the harm here
- Drugs: 7% of the harm here
- Burglary: 7% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 70% of the harm here. It is a broad police category: most of these crimes are assaults without injury, harassment and threats, often indoors between people who know each other, and only a small part are sexual or serious violent offences. Police data does not say which, so each one is weighted at the England and Wales average for the category, which can overstate a quiet residential area.
Anti-social behaviour: 39 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crimes recorded in King's Lynn and West Norfolk (the whole council area)
April 2025 to March 2026, for the whole King's Lynn and West Norfolk council area, not only King's Lynn. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 107 | 0.68 | Up 5% |
| Cars broken into | 80 | 0.51 | Down 47% |
| Vandalism (homes, other buildings and vehicles) | 597 | 3.8 | Down 8% |
| Burglary of homes | 118 | 0.76 | Down 21% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 0 | - | - |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare.
How often crimes lead to a charge in PE30
In PE30, the postcode district at the centre of King's Lynn, 20% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%).
- Charged or summonsed
- Caution or other action
- Suspect found, not prosecuted
- No suspect identified
- Still open
Show as a table
| Type | Crimes | Charged or summonsed | Caution or other action | Suspect found, not prosecuted | No suspect identified | Still open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 2,306 | 14% | 10% | 68% | 5% | 2% |
| Shoplifting | 569 | 52% | 11% | 19% | 17% | 1% |
| Public order | 446 | 16% | 12% | 60% | 11% | 2% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 436 | 12% | 10% | 35% | 42% | 1% |
| Other theft | 265 | 5% | 7% | 40% | 44% | 4% |
| Drugs | 222 | 41% | 45% | 10% | 1% | 3% |
| Other crime | 129 | 19% | 8% | 63% | 6% | 5% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 128 | 27% | 1% | 26% | 40% | 7% |
| Bicycle theft | 106 | 16% | 8% | 28% | 41% | 7% |
| Burglary | 89 | 24% | 3% | 24% | 47% | 2% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 76 | 38% | 12% | 49% | 0% | 1% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 2% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
King's Lynn and West Norfolk, 2023 to 2025: 273 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 92 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 21 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.7 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 34% of them killed or seriously injured someone (Great Britain 26%).
Collisions on public roads that the police recorded where someone was hurt, counted where they happened, so busy through roads and town centres with few residents come out high. Serious and slight use the Department for Transport's adjusted severity, comparable between police forces. Source: Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Crime by type
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, most serious first, not counting anti-social behaviour.
| Type | Per 1,000 a year |
|---|---|
| Robbery | 1.1 |
| Burglary | 4.8 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 72.8 |
| Drugs | 10.6 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 2.5 |
| Other crime | 4.4 |
| Other theft | 11.0 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 1.9 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 3.4 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 17.3 |
| Public order | 18.6 |
| Bicycle theft | 5.5 |
| Shoplifting | 23.2 |
Postcode districts in King's Lynn
Nearby towns
Council: King's Lynn and West Norfolk
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for King's Lynn.
Questions about crime in King's Lynn
- Is King's Lynn a safe place to live?
- King's Lynn scores 1 out of 10 for safety (high crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 2.7 times the King's Lynn and West Norfolk average.
- Is crime going up or down in King's Lynn?
- Down 13% over 5 years, from 2,930 recorded crimes a year to 2,540.
- What is the most common crime in King's Lynn?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 73 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How does crime in King's Lynn compare with King's Lynn and West Norfolk?
- Crime severity in King's Lynn is 2.7 times the King's Lynn and West Norfolk average.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in King's Lynn?
- In PE30, the postcode district at the centre of King's Lynn, 20% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 15% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in King's Lynn?
- Of 89 burglaries reported in PE30, the postcode district at the centre of King's Lynn between September 2024 and August 2025, 24% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 47% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in King's Lynn?
- In King's Lynn and West Norfolk, the council area King's Lynn is in, the police recorded 107 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 0.7 per 1,000 residents, up 5% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in King's Lynn?
- 597 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in King's Lynn and West Norfolk, the council area King's Lynn is in, 3.8 per 1,000 residents, 0.8 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in King's Lynn last year?
- No homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in 2025/26, in King's Lynn and West Norfolk, the council area King's Lynn is in, against 1 the year before.