The UK’s biggest theft hotspots

June 19, 2023

The new study from Hiatt Hardware has analysed crime data across the UK’s local authority areas, based on their number of robberies, burglaries, vehicle offences and thefts from persons per 100,000 people to reveal the breaking and entering capitals of the country!

Revealed: The UK’s top 10 theft hotspots…

Rank	Town/City	Population	Robberies per 100,000 people	Burglaries per 100,000 people	Vehicle offences per 100,000 people	Thefts from persons per 100,000 people	Total breaking & entering score /10
1	Westminster	205,100	164.31	139.30	205.66	890.44	9.98
2	Kensington and Chelsea	143,900	41.07	93.47	192.56	134.54	9.71
3	Camden	210,400	60.27	96.34	162.36	233.08	9.61
4	Manchester	549,900	38.48	107.20	131.24	76.14	9.39
5	Middlesbrough	143,700	26.65	111.00	119.07	19.42	9.39
6	Islington	216,800	51.11	81.32	119.05	137.92	9.24
7	Hammersmith and Fulham	183,300	27.93	69.50	162.58	47.52	9.22
8	Blackpool	141,000	21.28	78.44	88.16	16.10	8.90
8	Leeds	809,000	16.17	73.16	89.52	20.31	8.81
10	Hackney	260,000	55.65	86.42	122.96	122.27	8.69

Westminster is officially the UK’s number one theft hotspot, with an almost complete score of 9.98/10. The London borough is home to some of the biggest tourist attractions in the world. Consequently, the large volume of visitors helps boost the number of theft-related crimes that occur. Thefts from people (often in the form of pickpocketing) occur at a rate of almost 900 per 10,000 people – this is over 600 more than anywhere else in the country!

Kensington and Chelsea is the second area of the country most at risk from theft-related crime, with a score of 9.71/10. Kensington and Chelsea is one of the wealthiest areas of the country, leaving plenty of motivation for would-be thieves and burglars. The average house price in the borough is just under £2.7 million, and an average of 93.47 burglaries occur per 10,000 people. It also scored very highly for vehicle offences, with almost 200 per 10,000 people, the second highest in the country.

Camden is the UK’s third theft hotspot, with a breaking and entering score of 9.61/10. Another London borough to complete the top three, Camden has the most robberies per 10,000 people (60.27) after Westminster, as well as the second-highest level of theft from a person, and over 60 bicycle thefts per 10,000 people.

FURTHER FINDINGS:

North Norfolk is the safest part of the country when it comes to theft-related incidents. There are only 1.06 robberies per 10,000 people, as well as just 1.84 thefts from a person per 10,000 people.
The highest rate of theft anxiety is in Manchester, where over 75 in 10,000 people searched Google for burglar alarms, indicating Mancunians are concerned about their houses being broken into.
London boroughs make up SIX of the top ten theft hotspots in the UK, making residents the most at risk of being stolen from nationally.

Nipun Agrawal, Director at Hiatt Hardware, advises:

“Low-quality or poorly secure locks on your property can make the lives of thieves far easier than they should be. Consequently, it is important to have good security locks on your doors – nightlatch locks and mortice deadlocks are two traditional styles that offer great protection for your external doors.”

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