BARROW has been labelled 'the second most dangerous medium-sized town in Cumbria' by a crime data analyser. 

A medium-sized town is defined as a settlement with a population between 25,000 and 59,999. The most dangerous, according to CrimeRate, is Workington and the safest is Kendal. 

Barrow's crime rate in 2023 was 104 crimes per 1,000 people, the site states, which is 43 per cent higher than the Cumbrian average of 72 per 1,000 daytime population. 

CrimeRate gives neighbourhoods a 'crime risk score,' and gave Barrow Central and Hindpool the highest score (701) and Barrow Island and Walney the lowest (494). 

Hindpool has been the subject of a recent police crackdown, which involved bringing in some officers from Merseyside Police to tackle criminality in the area. 

The crackdown is called Clear Build Hold, but known locally as Happy Hopeful Hindpool. Chief Inspector Natalie Jukes said: "Hindpool was chosen as we have seen the damaging effects that a small number of criminals have on the wider community here.

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"Through working with our partner agencies and pooling out efforts to tackle these criminals, not just through enforcement, but by concentrating on providing help and support, we hope to see a long-term reduction in future offending in the area."

Last month, the police carried out 25 stop searches across one week which saw cash, drugs and weapons seized. 

Cumbria Police also announced a zombie knife amnesty ahead of new new legislation banning the weapon on September 24. 

The most common crimes in Barrow, according to CrimeRate, are violence and sexual offences - with 2,612 such offences during 2023. This is 18 per cent lower than 2022's figure of 3,176 offences. Barrow's least common crime is theft from the person (17), although this is a 55 per cent increase from 2022's figure of 11 crimes, the site states. 

For England, Wales and Northern Ireland as a whole, Barrow is the '85th' most dangerous medium-sized town, according to the website.  

CrimeRate uses open data from the Police UK website. The website publishes data releases on all types of crime in a location once a month with a two-month delay.