Blackburn with Darwen’s crime rate dropped for the first time in two months in March, figures show.

Data from police.uk shows 1,515 crimes were committed in the borough in March – a drop from February when 1,555 crimes were recorded.

However, it was still higher than in the first month of 2024 when there were 1,476 recorded crimes.

Violence and sexual offences topped the list for the third month running.

READ MORE: Crime rate in Blackburn goes up for second consecutive month

Using the data, it is possible to map exactly where each crime took place in the borough and to determine how many instances of each crime there was.

Of the 14 crimes listed in the data, there were five increases, eight decreases, and one stayed the same.

Statistically, the biggest increase was in bicycle theft, doubling from one to two – however the biggest numerical increase was in anti-social behaviour, with 38 more reported crimes in March than there was in February.

The crimes changed as follows:

  • Violence and sexual offences – 534 (Feb) – 552 (Mar) – up 3.37 per cent
  • Anti-social behaviour – 333 (Feb) – 371 (Mar) – up 11.41 per cent
  • Criminal damage and arson – 111 (Feb) – 130 (Mar) – up 17.11 per cent
  • Shoplifting – 155 (Feb) – 100 (Mar) – down 35.48 per cent
  • Other theft – 94 (Feb) – 77 (Mar) – down 18.08 per cent
  • Public order – 81 (Feb) – 75 (Mar) – down 7.40 per cent
  • Vehicle crime – 98 (Feb) – 72 (Mar) – down 26.53 per cent
  • Burglary – 57 (Feb) – 45 (Mar) – down 21.05 per cent
  • Drugs – 28 (Feb) – 28 (Mar) – no change
  • Other crime – 34 (Feb) – 27 (Mar) – down 20.58 per cent
  • Possession of weapons – 13 (Feb) – 23 (Mar) – up 76.92 per cent
  • Robbery – 10 (Feb) – 9 (Mar) – down 10 per cent
  • Theft from person – 6 (Feb) – 4 (Mar) – down 33.33 per cent
  • Bicycle theft – 1 (Feb) – 2 (Mar) – up 100 per cent

 

The story was not the same in the other five East Lancashire boroughs, with increases in crime rates recorded in all.

The biggest was in the Ribble Valley, going up by 25 per cent from 252 crimes in February to 315 in March.

This was followed by Burnley, going up by 17.33 per cent from 1,044 crimes to 1,225; and then Rossendale by 16.94 per cent was 531 to 621.

Pendle’s crime rate went up by 10.88 per cent from 698 to 774, while Hyndburn had the smallest increase, going up by 0.33 per cent from 894 to 897.