Crime in Leigh
Recorded crime in Leigh is 1.5 times the Wigan average and 1.6 times the England and Wales average. The police force here stopped publishing data after June 2019. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences).
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Leigh: about 30,350 residents in 26 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 2/10High crime (data up to 2019)
- Living
- 7.0/10Good
- vs the council
- 1.5×the Wigan average
Crime in Wigan now
The police force here has published no street-level crime for Leigh since June 2019, so the map and scores below are from before then. These are the latest Home Office figures for the whole council area, April 2025 to March 2026.
85.8 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Wigan in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Greater Manchester Police did not assign 5.9% of the crimes it recorded in 2025/26 to a council area, so these figures are lower than the true count.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 500 | 1.4 | Down 3% |
| Cars broken into | 686 | 2.0 | Down 5% |
| Vehicle tampering | 227 | 0.66 | Down 2% |
| Vandalism to homes | 1,218 | 3.5 | Down 2% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 427 | 1.2 | Up 14% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 782 | 2.3 | Down 13% |
| Arson | 227 | 0.66 | Up 5% |
| Burglary of homes | 687 | 2.0 | Down 20% |
| Burglary of businesses | 296 | 0.86 | Down 10% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 0 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 235 | 0.68 | Down 4% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 231 | 0.67 | Up 27% |
| Robbery of people | 201 | 0.58 | Down 21% |
| Robbery of businesses | 102 | 0.30 | Up 70% |
| Violence with injury | 2,859 | 8.3 | Down 8% |
| Violence without injury | 5,275 | 15.3 | About the same |
| Stalking and harassment | 4,738 | 13.7 | Down 9% |
| Sexual offences | 1,033 | 3.0 | Down 13% |
| Shoplifting | 1,845 | 5.3 | Down 2% |
| Bicycle theft | 188 | 0.55 | Up 18% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 101 | 0.29 | Down 31% |
| Drug dealing | 402 | 1.2 | Down 32% |
| Drug possession | 748 | 2.2 | Up 12% |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare. These are council-area figures: police.uk street-level data, used for the map and the Safety score, only has the broad categories, and no source publishes murders or stabbings by street. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
Greater Manchester Police area: 2,831 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (3,425 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Wigan.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Leigh.
Postcode districts in Leigh
Nearby towns
Council: Wigan
Questions about crime in Leigh
- Is Leigh a safe place to live?
- Leigh scores 2 out of 10 for safety (high crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 1.5 times the Wigan average. Police data here stops in June 2019.
- What is the most common crime in Leigh?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 41 per 1,000 residents a year. Police data here stops in June 2019.
- How does crime in Leigh compare with Wigan?
- Crime severity in Leigh is 1.5 times the Wigan average. Police data here stops in June 2019.
- How many cars are stolen in Leigh?
- In Wigan, the council area Leigh is in, the police recorded 500 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.4 per 1,000 residents, down 3% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Leigh?
- 2,427 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in Wigan, the council area Leigh is in, 7.0 per 1,000 residents, 1.5 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Leigh last year?
- No homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in 2025/26, in Wigan, the council area Leigh is in, against 4 the year before.