Westmorland and Furness Crime Rate June 2024 | Monthly Statistics

Westmorland and Furness recorded a crime rate of 7.0 per 1,000 residents in June 2024, placing it 14.6% below the UK average of 8.2. This figure, the lowest in the area’s recent monthly records, underscores the district’s generally lower crime profile compared to national benchmarks. The most prevalent category was violence and sexual offences, accounting for 41.5% of all reported crimes—a rate of 2.9 per 1,000, 5% above the UK average. This anomaly may be partly explained by the district’s mix of rural and coastal communities, where social isolation and transient populations can contribute to higher rates of interpersonal conflict. Anti-social behaviour, however, remained significantly below the UK average at 0.9 per 1,000, a 36% deficit. This contrast highlights the uneven distribution of crime across categories, with property crimes such as burglary and vehicle crime also falling below national levels. The seasonal context of June—a time when tourism begins to ramp up in coastal areas—may have influenced patterns, though no direct correlation is evident in the data. Drug-related crimes surged to 0.4 per 1,000, 90% above the UK average, a figure that demands closer scrutiny. This outlier suggests potential pressures in the local drug market or unmet needs within the community that may require targeted intervention. The overall crime rate, while lower than the UK average, reflects a balance between persistent categories like violence and emerging concerns such as drug offences, illustrating a nuanced picture of safety and security in Westmorland and Furness.

June 2024 saw a sharp increase in drug-related crimes, rising 46.4% from 69 to 101 incidents. This surge, 90% above the UK average, contrasts with a 50% drop in bicycle theft and a 29.2% decrease in burglary. The month also witnessed a 63% rise in vehicle crime, a category that typically aligns with seasonal shifts in rural areas where outdoor activity increases. Robbery incidents climbed by 80%, from five to nine, a figure that, while small in absolute terms, represents a significant proportional increase. The breakdown of crimes reveals a stark divergence from national trends: while anti-social behaviour and shoplifting remain well below UK averages, violence and sexual offences—accounting for 41.5% of total crimes—exceed the UK rate for that category by 5%. This mix of trends suggests a combination of local factors and broader patterns, with drug-related crimes emerging as a key concern for residents and local authorities.

The crime rate in Westmorland and Furness rose by 3.4% in June 2024 compared to the previous month, moving from 6.8 to 7.0 per 1,000 residents. This increase, though modest, reflects a broader pattern of fluctuation seen in rural and coastal areas during seasonal transitions. On a daily basis, the area experienced approximately 54 crimes per day in June, a figure that contextualises the pace of incidents for local residents. Over the course of the month, the crime rate translated to one reported crime for roughly every 142 residents, a metric that highlights the relative safety of the area compared to urban counterparts. With a population of 230,185, this monthly exposure rate provides a tangible sense of how crime is distributed across the district, particularly in areas with lower population density where incidents may be more visible per capita. The shift from May to June aligns with the start of the summer season, a period when tourism begins to influence local dynamics, though the data does not yet show a strong correlation between seasonal activity and crime trends in this region.