Map reveals areas in the UK with the worst crime rates

The UK's biggest police force did not even make the top five.


Map reveals areas in the UK with the worst crime rates + ' Main Photo'
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of crimes per 1,000 people for each police force in England and Wales (Picture: Getty)

The UKs top crime hotspots have been revealed, with our interactive map letting you see how dangerous your area is.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of crimes per 1,000 people for each police force in England and Wales.

Figures for the year to March 2024 show Cleveland Police dealing with the highest rate of offences in proportion to its population.

The force recorded 132.4 crimes per 1,000 people – higher than the average across the whole of England and Wales, which is 110.5.

Cleveland also has the second highest rate of knife crime in the country, at 154 per 100,000 people, with one in every 20 crimes dealt with by the force involving serious violence.

West Yorkshire (121.7), Greater Manchester (117.7), South Yorkshire (111.1) and West Midlands Police (111.1) round out the top five.

The UK’s biggest police force – the Metropolitan Police – ranks sixth with a crime rate of 105.1 per 1,000 people.

Where are most crimes recorded?

Cleveland 132.4 per 1,000 people West Yorkshire 121.7 Greater Manchester 117.7 South Yorkshire 111.1 West Midlands 111.1 Metropolitan Police 105.1 Humberside 105 Durham 100.8 Merseyside 100.8 Northumbria 98.5

The ONS figures show the number of crimes reported across England and Wales in the 12 months covered by the survey fell slightly, from 6.74 million in 2022/23 to 6.66 million in 2023/24.

There has been a sharp increase in violent crimes and sexual offences since in the past decade, they added, while shoplifting offences in particular have continued to hit record levels.

Separate figures also showed that the percentage of crimes solved in England and Wales was just 5.7% in 2023.

The clearance rate of sexual offences was just 3.6%.

Victims are also having to wait longer to see justice, with crown court backlogs meaning cases took an average of 676 days to reach a conclusion from the time the offence was committed.

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