With 11.57 burglaries per 1,000 people, compared to a national average of 7.9, Westminster is officially the city in the UK where residents are most likely to have their homes broken into.
Research by phone and contents insurance provider, SO-SURE, has helped to uncover the most common places for residential burglaries in the UK as well as some important information around how thieves access homes.
According to the ONS Crime in England and Wales Report June 2021, between June 2020 and June 2021, the UK saw 216,751 burglaries. This figure had gone down slightly due to national lockdowns, however London made up 46,635 of these burglaries, a figure that equates to 22% of all burglaries in the UK.
When it comes to gaining access to properties, the study found that 76% of burglars accessed the property through the front door, 20% of homes were accessed through a window and a shocking 15% of burglaries took place after the thief had come through an door that had been left unlocked.
The study also uncovered the fact that 71% of households in the UK don’t have a house alarm, 48% don’t have external light sensors on their home and 67% don’t have security bolts on their doors.
With Christmas time fast approaching, the risk of burglary is increasing. This Christmas, the UK is set to spend an extra £1.4 billion on gifts, with the spend per person going from £476 in 2020 to £548 in 2021. This means there is an increased risk of homes being broken into, especially if presents are kept in view of windows.
It wasn’t just areas of London where the burglary rate was higher, the North-East city of Middlesbrough was second in the list at 10.07 per 1,000 people, and West Yorkshire had two cities, coming sixth and seventh, with Leeds (8.23) and Bradford (8.21).
Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime Team commented on the findings “Both the Mayor and the Met Commissioner recognise that burglary has been on the rise across London after the easing of the COVID restrictions and in last two years, the Mayor has committed £85 million of new funding to go towards tackling violent crime and burglary in the capital”.
“This has allowed more resources to be invested in the police response to burglary, in addition, local police will continue to focus on work to prevent burglary and target those responsible. The increased funding will also support more proactive policing to both prevent and detect burglary”.
