THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACES

The chances of being a victim of crime varies greatly depending on where you live in England and Wales

- By RICHARD AULT

THE most dangerous places to live in England and Wales have been revealed by police data showing the areas where residents are most likely to be plagued by crime.

Last year, the 43 domestic police forces in England and Wales recorded more than 5.3 million non-fraud crimes.

That was about 300,000 fewer crimes than in 2023, a 2% fall.

As usual, the Met Police had the largest caseload, with 948,000 crimes reported in London last year.

Of smaller community safety partnership areas, which broadly match local authority areas, Birmingham saw the most crime with more than 136,000 offences in 2024, including robbery, rape, burglary and murder.

However, crime rates - the number of crimes in each area for every 1,000 people living there - show that the risk of being preyed on by a criminal is probably greatest in Middlesbrough.

These figures allow for a fairer comparison of the threats to law and order in places with widely different population sizes.

While Westminster, with a rate of 432 crimes per 1,000 residents, has by far the highest crime rate in the country, that is probably distorted by the vast number of tourists who are targeted by thieves and other criminals every year.

Fashionable Camden is next (195 crimes per 1,000 residents), which is also a big draw for visitors.