Crime in Rawtenstall
Recorded crime in Rawtenstall is 1.1 times the Rossendale average and about the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has risen 12%. 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 Rawtenstall: about 11,111 residents in 11 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 4/10Above average crime
- Living
- 7.5/10Good
- 5-year change
- +12%more crimes
- vs the council
- 1.1×the Rossendale average
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 1.5 km of the centre of Rawtenstall.
Crime over 5 years
Up 12% in 5 years Recorded crimes within 1.5 km of Rawtenstall, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 1.1× the Rossendale average (about the England and Wales average). 80 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 64% of the harm here
- Burglary: 16% of the harm here
- Other theft: 6% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 64% 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: 37 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crimes recorded in Rossendale (the whole council area)
April 2025 to March 2026, for the whole Rossendale council area, not only Rawtenstall. 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 | 141 | 1.9 | About the same |
| Cars broken into | 80 | 1.1 | About the same |
| Vandalism (homes, other buildings and vehicles) | 374 | 5.1 | Down 15% |
| Burglary of homes | 154 | 2.1 | Up 29% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 1 | - | - |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare.
How often crimes lead to a charge in BB4
In BB4, the postcode district at the centre of Rawtenstall, 6% 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) | 1,257 | 4% | 10% | 66% | 12% | 6% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 322 | 3% | 8% | 32% | 54% | 3% |
| Other theft | 261 | 1% | 3% | 30% | 56% | 9% |
| Public order | 174 | 6% | 9% | 51% | 26% | 7% |
| Burglary | 166 | 7% | 2% | 12% | 73% | 5% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 145 | 3% | 0% | 13% | 77% | 6% |
| Shoplifting | 142 | 18% | 8% | 17% | 49% | 8% |
| Drugs | 97 | 16% | 39% | 12% | 2% | 30% |
| Other crime | 97 | 12% | 10% | 53% | 10% | 14% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 7% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Rossendale, 2023 to 2025: 99 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 32 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 5 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.4 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 33% 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 | 0.6 |
| Burglary | 5.1 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 31.8 |
| Drugs | 1.5 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.6 |
| Other crime | 1.8 |
| Other theft | 8.9 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.4 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 4.7 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 8.4 |
| Public order | 5.8 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.3 |
| Shoplifting | 10.2 |
Postcode districts in Rawtenstall
Nearby towns
Council: Rossendale
Questions about crime in Rawtenstall
- Is Rawtenstall a safe place to live?
- Rawtenstall scores 4 out of 10 for safety (above average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 1.1 times the Rossendale average.
- Is crime going up or down in Rawtenstall?
- Up 12% over 5 years, from 894 recorded crimes a year to 1,001.
- What is the most common crime in Rawtenstall?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 32 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How does crime in Rawtenstall compare with Rossendale?
- Crime severity in Rawtenstall is 1.1 times the Rossendale average.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Rawtenstall?
- In BB4, the postcode district at the centre of Rawtenstall, 6% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 32% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Rawtenstall?
- Of 166 burglaries reported in BB4, the postcode district at the centre of Rawtenstall between September 2024 and August 2025, 7% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 73% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Rawtenstall?
- In Rossendale, the council area Rawtenstall is in, the police recorded 141 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.9 per 1,000 residents, about the same as the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Rawtenstall?
- 374 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in 2025/26, in Rossendale, the council area Rawtenstall is in, 5.1 per 1,000 residents, 1.1 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Rawtenstall last year?
- 1 homicide (murder or manslaughter) was recorded in 2025/26, in Rossendale, the council area Rawtenstall is in, against 1 the year before. Police data does not say where in the area they happened.