The most burgled boroughs in London and the safest ones

Four London boroughs rank among the top 10, while Birmingham and Leeds also feature on the list.

Online specialist insurance brokers at InsureMy analysed burglaries per capita from January 2022 to March 2023 in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to establish which places are the most and least burgled.

Police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded 250,690 burglaries in 2022, marking a 7% increase from the previous year’s figure of 235,280. The average number of reported burglaries in 2022 was 4.2 per 1,000 people, compared to 3.9 in 2021.

London boroughs make up nearly half of the top 10 with Westminster taking the dubious honour of the capital’s most burgled spot with a burglary rate of 10.85, the second highest in the UK. Scoring a crime rate of 7.85, Southwark is the second London borough on the list coming in at sixth in the comprehensive standings.
Hackney comes in at eight in the UK with a burglary rate of 7.63. Camden follows as the final London borough in the top ten with a rate of 7.30.

While London boroughs populate much of the top ten, it’s interesting to know that boroughs of Bexley and Kingston Upon Thames find themselves at the low end of the scale with burglary rates of 3.10 and 3.72 respectively, indicating their relative level of safety in the capital.

Although London residents are likely to believe they live in a crime hotspot, the study found that Middlesbrough Constabulary recorded the most home invasions in this period with a burglary rate of 11.45, the highest in the UK.

Leeds ranks third as the most burgled place in the U.K with a burglary rate of 8.86 with Birmingham in succession at fourth with 8.35.
Hull came in fifth with a burglary rate of 8.26 per 1,000 people. Sheffield proceeds sixth place Southwark, coming in at seventh with a rate of 7.78.

After Hackney in eighth, Wolverhampton comes in the penultimate spot of the top ten with a rate of 7.31, before Camden which comes in tenth.

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for  InsureMy said: “While these findings may be alarming for those residing in the top ten places, it’s imperative to know the risks we face where we live. People living in these places may feel it necessary to upgrade their home security measures and to ensure their insurance can protect them, their assets, and their belongings.”