More than 3,300 crimes recorded in Lancashire care homes including violence, theft, homicide and sex offences

Data obtained by Legal Expert under Freedom of Information laws reveals Lancashire Police – who cover areas including Lancaster and Morecambe, Blackpool, Preston, Chorley and Blackburn – has recorded 3,376 crimes in the county’s care homes since 2019 with violence, criminal damage, theft and sexual offences the most prevalent.

The most common type of offence recorded by police was violence, including with and without injury, of which there were 1,947 instances.

These could include hitting, slapping, punching, kicking, hair-pulling, rough handling and scalding, according to the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

Criminal damage was the second most prevalent with 395 incidents on record since 2019. This does not include arson, of which there were 23 separate offences.

Theft offences were the third most common type of crime, of which 309 were logged including theft from a person and theft of a motor vehicle.

A total of 226 sexual offences have been recorded as taking place in a Lancashire care home setting in the past five years including 31 rape offences.

Three homicides were also logged by police, two in 2021/22 and another in 2023/24.

One of the most recent criminal cases in Lancashire care homes is that of 53-year-old Paul Whittaker who was jailed for three years in March 2023 for exposing himself to staff at five care homes in Burnley and Nelson between August 2021 and May 2022.

On six occasions, Whittaker attended five care homes whilst wearing female lingerie. He concealed his identity by covering his face with masks and caught the attention of staff at the homes before performing a sexual act in front of them, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

On March 22, he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and was issued with a indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and he must sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Lancashire Police figures however, show a marked improvement in the rate of crime in care homes across the county since 2019.

Legal Expert’s investigation found that rates were at their highest in five years during 2020/21 but since then, figures have been steadily decreasing.

Lancashire Police recorded a total of 806 criminal offences in care homes between 2020/21, up from 770 the previous year.

Figures then fell by 21% to 637 recorded crimes in 2021/22. A further 627 were logged the following year as well as 536 between 2023/24.

In the majority of cases (1,138), police confirmed they had identified a suspect of the crime but “evidential difficulties prevented further action.” This can include instances where the victim has withdrawn support for further police investigation for one reason or another.

The second most common police outcome of crimes in Lancashire care homes was that prosecution was prevented because the identified suspect was deemed too ill (mentally or physically) to prosecute, of which there were 580 instances in the last five years.

Lancashire Police confirmed 100 cases resulted in a charge, summons or postal requisition since 2019 as well as a further 14 cases still under investigation.

If you or a loved one has suffered harm that could have been prevented due to negligent actions in a care home, Legal Expert has a team of specialists on hand to offer free advice.

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