Ilford has the worst record for burglary in the UK, according to a survey compiled by MoneySupermarket, although numbers of break-ins are falling.
The Guardian is reporting that the figures are based on insurance claims made over the past five years.
Even in the Redbridge/Gants Hill area, where the analysis found that 55 homes out of every 1,000 said they suffered a burglary in the past five years, the crime rate has fallen slightly from last year.
But it topped the table because the postcode district that was worst last year, Dulwich in south London, reported a 29% fall in burglaries. Neighbouring areas to Redbridge, including Barkingside, Goodmayes and Hainault also featured among the worst parts of Britain for break-ins.
Redbridge residents blamed the close proximity to motorways for the area’s high crime statistics, plus a drop in the number of police on local streets.
A spokesperson for Redbridge Council told the paper:
“In the last year Police figures show burglary has dropped 5% and since 2011/12 burglary has gone down by over 30%… MoneySuperMarket base their information on insurance claim quote figures. These figures do not reflect actual burglaries in the Borough or match figures held by the Police which means it’s difficult to make accurate comparisons.”
According to the Wanstead Safer Neighbourhood Team, in 2016 Wanstead was in the top three wards in Redbridge for theft of bikes, theft from and interference with vehicles. It was in the bottom three wards for assaults, harassment and offences of violence. It was average for burglary from dwellings.
You can see a Money Supermarket interactive burglary tool here.
I’ll quote another poster elsewhere (not me I might add) on this as it sums up my opinion succinctly.
“Every year they run this same story and every year it is completely misinterpreted.
It shows IG4 has the highest number of claims for burglary from people with contents insurance. This is completely different from a rate based on the whole local population.
Absolute numbers of burglaries rare likely to be higher in many less affluent areas where household insurance is less common.”
Is it surprising that crime has increased in Wanstead now that our police station has closed and we never see Police walking our streets