Since the beginning of this year, the Uk is experiencing an unprecedented cost of living crisis due to rising prices, and social instability has also increased.
Two months ago (June 2022), London Mayor Sadiq Khan warned that the cost-of-living crisis could lead to more violent crime, the most common of which is theft and robbery.
Compared with other types of crimes, the harm of burglary, although not so great, can also bring great pain and insecurity to ordinary families.
Recently, the UK Crime Stats, a UK crime data research website, collected official UK police data from May 2021 to May 2022, listing the top 10 most rampant areas of burglary in the UK.
The ranking by number of cases, from most to least, is as follows:
- 1st place: Birmingham B29 6 Zip Code Area - 267 burglaries/year
- Tied for 2nd place: Leeds LS9 6 Zip Zone, Birmingham B29 7 Zip Zone, Middlesbrough TS1 4 Zip Zone – 217 burglaries/year
- 5th place: Barnsley S63 9 Zip Area, South Yorkshire – 209 burglaries/year
- 6th place: Southampton SO15 2 ZIP Zone – 202 burglaries/year
- Tied for 7th place: Belfast BT7 1 Zip Zone, Birmingham B23 7 Zip Zone – 195 burglaries/year
- 9th place: Croydon, South London CR0 2 Zip Zone – 193 burglaries/year
- No. 10: Croydon, South London CR0 1 Zip Code – 191 burglaries/year
In the face of such rampant burglary, how should people living in the UK protect themselves from it?
Below, we first take a look at these top ten theft hotspots, and share some anti-theft tips for your reference.
The 10 most rampant areas of the UK for burglary
1st place: Birmingham B29 6 Zip Code Area
The data shows that the B29 6 postcode area of Birmingham reported 267 burglaries in a single year, the most frequent cases of such crime in the UK in the past year.
It is worth mentioning that Birmingham's Selly Oak Park is located in this zip area, which is also inhabited by a considerable number of students.
The Birmingham Post directly stated: "Selly Oak is the most frequent place for theft in Birmingham, with an average daily burglary in 2020, 2021 and 2022. ”
Tied for 2nd place: Leeds LS9 6 Zip Zone / Birmingham B29 7 ZIP Zone / Middlesbrough TS1 4 ZIP Zone
Leeds LS9 6 zip area reported 217 burglaries in a single year.
Located just west of Leeds city centre, harehills Lane, known as "Leeds' most dangerous street," has seen numerous cases of violence, sexual assault and alcoholism.
Birmingham's B29 7 zip code district reported 217 burglaries in a single year. There are a large number of townhouse streets in the area, adjacent to the number one Selly Oak district.
The TS1 4 zip code district in Middlesbrough reported 217 burglaries within a year.
As in the B29 7 postcode district of Birmingham mentioned above, the number of dwellings is large and dense, and there are many targets for thieves.
Earlier in 2022, the Confused.com website called it the UK's "most dangerous" area for thefts based on collected police data for the period 2017-2021.
5th place: Barnsley S63 9 Zip Code District, South Yorkshire
The S63 9 zip code district in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, reported 209 burglaries in a single year.
In March, a man carried out three burglaries in one day, making headlines in the local media.
6th place: Southampton SO15 2 Zip Area
Southampton's SO15 2 zip code district reported 202 burglaries within a year. Just walking distance from the city centre, it has many student residences, restaurants, bars and shops, as well as the famous Titanic Victims Memorial.
Tied for 7th place: Belfast BT7 1 Zip Zone /Birmingham B23 7 ZIP Zone
Both sites reported 195 burglaries in a single year.
9th place: Croydon, South London CR0 2 Zip Code
193 burglaries were reported within a year.
10th place: Croydon, South London CR0 1 zip area
191 burglaries were reported within a year.
In the face of burglary, how to prevent it before it happens? The former thief came to support him
The Times quoted official data as saying that the rate of burglary cases cracked by british police in 2021 was slightly higher than 5%. In England and Wales, the rate of burglary cracking has almost halved in seven years, up from nearly 9.4% in 2015.
In this way, for many ordinary people, it is particularly important to prevent burglary before it occurs.
To this end, the British media deliberately went to find some thieves who washed their hands in the golden basin and asked them for tips on family anti-theft.
Here are a few pieces of advice from former thieves:
1. Cameras and barking dogs can easily "dissuade" thieves
Thieves are opportunists, they tend not to rise to the occasion, barking dogs, homeowners placed and open cameras, sturdy and heavy doors will be the reason why thieves choose to pass your house, after all, they don't want to attract attention.
The following items can be used as a deterrent to thieves:
2. Don't show off your wealth, don't let thieves know that there is no one in the house recently
In 2017, British footballer John Terry posted photos of him on a ski holiday with his family on social media Instagram, which caught the attention of thieves and led to the theft of £400,000 worth of jewellery and brand-name merchandise from his home.
Prior to that, John Terry had often shared photos showing the front door and luxurious interior of his home online with millions of fans.
It can be said that if you are keen to display luxury goods on social media, while also exposing your location, you can easily become a target of theft.
For example, Kuwaiti men who recently flaunted their £3 million Bugatti Chiron sports car and expensive watches on social media have been targeted by the London Biker Gang.
Noel Smith, who has committed more than 200 thefts and robberies in the UK, said: "It's absolutely taboo to show off on social media that you're on vacation, it's the equivalent of inviting thieves to 'come to my house and steal'." ”
In addition, if the family is really on vacation recently, before leaving home, you can consider tending to the garden or building a lawn, creating the illusion that the home is not empty.
3. Install the anti-theft lock
"Most thieves want to be in and out of a house in five minutes." Therefore, if thieves find it very difficult and time-consuming to unlock, most of the time they will give up.
4. Do not place keys near the gate to prevent thieves from using the letter mouth
For convenience, some people like to leave the key on a table or shelf near the gate when they arrive home, and thieves can take advantage of this to hook the key away through a long hook that reaches through the mouth.
This way, they don't need to pry locks and can go straight into the house to steal things.
To prevent this, in addition to not leaving the key near the door, you can also install a small cage under the letterhead, as shown in the picture below.
5. Make good relationships with your neighbors
Having friendly and attentive neighbors can help notice the unusual behavior of strangers in the community, making thieves jealous.
British investors write at the end
The above is all the content of the burglar hotspots and anti-theft tips we share today, and I hope to give you a wake-up call in these extraordinary times.
Of course, if you really encounter burglary, don't panic, the first thing is to call the police.
In case of non-emergency, you can call 101 or the local police number according to the British advice; In case of emergency, you should still call the 999 emergency alarm and emergency number.