Money Supermarket Survey Reveals UK Burglary Hotspots

The popular price comparison website, Money Supermarket, published the results of its recent survey to reveal the UK’s burglary hotspots as well as the not-so-hot spots.

Conducted on the basis of the number of burglaries reported by its customers over the last five years, the findings are not a massive surprise when compared to the Office of National Statistics and the Home Office crime data.

MoneySuperermarket.com analysed the data from over 1.84 million home insurance quotes produced between January 2015 and December 2016. The results were reported as the number of burglaries (where property was stolen and reported by customers) for the five year period up to the date the quote was issued by postcode.

Expressed in numbers of burglaries per 1000 quotes, the UK average by postcode was reported as being 12.44 and the top 20 burglary hotspots for the UK being:

1. Redbridge, Ilford (IG4) – 54.7 per 1000
2. Totteridge, Whetstone & Oakleigh Park, North London (N20) – 52.6 per 1000
3. Hainault (South), Goodmayes (North), Chadwell Heath, Romford (RM6) – 51.5 per 1000
4. Kirkstall, North Leeds (LS5) – 48.3 per 1000
5. Clayhall, Ilford (IG5) – 45.9 per 1000
6. East Sheen and Mortlake, South London (SW14) – 43.7 per 1000
7. Dulwich, South London (SE21) – 43.5 per 1000
8. Bush Hill and Grange Park, North London – 42.8 per 1000
9. Herne Hill, South London (SE24) – 42.6 per 1000
10. West Norwood and Gypsy Hill, South London (SE27) – 42.5 per 1000
11. Muswell Hill, North London (N10) – 42.2 per 1000
12. East Cambridge (CB5) – 41.8 per 1000
13. Greenford, West London (UB5) – 41.6 per 1000
14. West Wickham, South London (BR4) – 41.2 per 1000
15. Barlow Moor, Manchester (M21) – 40.5 per 1000
16. Newbury Park, Ilford (IG2) – 39.4 per 1000
17. Gledhow, Leeds (LS8) – 39.3 per 1000
18. New Southgate, Bounds Green and Friern Barnet, North London (N11) – 39.2 per 1000
19. Barkingside, Ilford (IG6) – 39.0 per 1000
20. Sydenham and Crystal Palace, South London (SE26) – 38.8 per 1000

The data underlines an already established fact that burglaries are more predominant in urban settings than rural. This is mainly due to the fact that populations are more dense and, as most burglaries occur as a result of opportunism rather than being pre-planned, are more likely to occur spontaneously. Overall, London takes a big hit in the top twenty but residents in urban areas are twice as likely to be burgled than they are in rural locations.

Overall, incidences of claims of theft from property have fallen year on year with a reduction of 8% being reported for 2016. This is in line with the Crime Survey of England and Wales which supports a 71% reduction in domestic burglary since 1995.

Encouragingly, the MoneySupermarket.com results found 123 postcodes in the UK that had no reported burglaries. Whilst some of these are a result of being commercial areas the majority are rural locations such as Okehampton in Devon, Coleraine in Northern Ireland, Lamberburst in Kent and Llandrindod Wells in Wales.

There is no doubting that, whilst the results highlight an encouraging trend in the decline of burglary, there is always a risk of opportunistic thieves taking advantage of unsecured residential properties.
At Connect 4 Monitored Security, we take the safety of you, your family and your property seriously and we believe that real freedom starts with security. To find out how we can enhance your existing home security, contact us today to get a no-obligation assessment.