Crime in Wigan
Recorded crime in Wigan is about 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).
344,922 residents in 200 neighbourhoods.
- Safety
- 4/10Above average crime (data up to 2019)
- Living
- 6.8/10Good
Crime over 5 years
Not enough police data here for a 5-year trend.
What is recorded
Crime severity: about the England and Wales average. 84 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 52% of the harm here
- Burglary: 27% of the harm here
- Robbery: 6% of the harm here
Anti-social behaviour: 24 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
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 | 0.9 |
| Burglary | 9.0 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 27.2 |
| Drugs | 1.1 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.7 |
| Other crime | 2.2 |
| Other theft | 6.6 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.6 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 7.5 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 12.3 |
| Public order | 9.3 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.8 |
| Shoplifting | 5.3 |
What crimes are recorded in Wigan
Crimes recorded by the police, April 2025 to March 2026. 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 | 548 | 1.6 | Up 6% |
| Cars broken into | 696 | 2.0 | Down 3% |
| Vehicle tampering | 229 | 0.66 | About the same |
| Vandalism to homes | 1,240 | 3.6 | About the same |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 435 | 1.3 | Up 16% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 807 | 2.3 | Down 10% |
| Arson | 237 | 0.69 | Up 8% |
| Burglary of homes | 721 | 2.1 | Down 16% |
| Burglary of businesses | 314 | 0.91 | Down 5% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 0 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 253 | 0.73 | Up 2% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 253 | 0.73 | Up 38% |
| Robbery of people | 218 | 0.63 | Down 15% |
| Robbery of businesses | 108 | 0.31 | Up 77% |
| Violence with injury | 3,070 | 8.9 | Down 2% |
| Violence without injury | 5,530 | 16.0 | Up 6% |
| Stalking and harassment | 5,118 | 14.8 | Down 2% |
| Sexual offences | 1,236 | 3.6 | About the same |
| Shoplifting | 1,897 | 5.5 | About the same |
| Bicycle theft | 189 | 0.55 | Up 18% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 103 | 0.30 | Down 29% |
| Drug dealing | 464 | 1.3 | Down 26% |
| Drug possession | 811 | 2.4 | Up 20% |
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.
Greater Manchester Police area: 2,855 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.
Towns and cities in Wigan
Postcode districts in Wigan
Questions about crime in Wigan
- Is Wigan a safe place to live?
- Wigan scores 4 out of 10 for safety (above average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Police data here stops in June 2019.
- What is the most common crime in Wigan?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 27 per 1,000 residents a year. Police data here stops in June 2019.
- How many cars are stolen in Wigan?
- In Wigan, the police recorded 548 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.6 per 1,000 residents, up 6% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Wigan?
- 2,482 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Wigan in 2025/26, 7.2 per 1,000 residents, 1.5 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Wigan last year?
- No homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in Wigan in 2025/26, against 4 the year before.