Where are the Lowest Crime Rate Areas to Buy Property in the UK?

If you are looking to buy property in the UK, you will no doubt be interested to hear which areas have the lowest crime rates. It turns out that the safest place to live in the UK is actually the Isles of Scilly, with the lowest crime rate in the country. These islands, near to south-western Cornwall, recorded only six burglaries and 12 offences of criminal damage in 2009, while some types of crimes, for example, vehicle crime, were non-existent, reflecting the minimal road infrastructure on the islands. For those thinking of setting up home somewhere on the mainland, however, you might want to consider the nearby counties of Cornwall and Devon, both of which rank highly in the list of the safest places in which to live in the country, according to the recent British Crime Survey. The two counties had an average of 59 crimes per 1,000 residents, which reflects well against the national average of 83 crimes per 1,000 residents. When it comes to burglary rates, North Cornwall and West Devon in particular have especially low rates, whilst western Devon can boast of having the lowest theft of a vehicle rate in the UK. In the north west of England, the Ribble Valley area is among the safest places to live, managing to reduce crime by 13.5% in just three years. Meanwhile, North Yorkshire has real appeal for those looking for safety, boasting one of the lowest crime rates in England. Crimes per 1,000 people were at 59, according to recent figures, with the chance of an adult being a victim of household crime at least once a year being at 10.8%, a low figure compared to the national average of 16.9%. Meanwhile, the risk of suffering personal crime in North Yorkshire was at 3.7%, compared to a national average of 6.2%. The safest place to live in England in terms of the number of burglaries according to letting agents is Teesdale, where statistics from 2009 indicate that only 1.2 burglaries were committed the previous year per 1,000 homes. The statistics for robbery are also very low in the area, while North Dorset is another area with a low robbery count. In London, a recent report on the safest areas in which to live suggests that those heading for the capital would do well to consider the boroughs of Kensington, Chelsea and Wandsworth, although the report, produced by Virgin Money Home Insurance, also took into consideration factors such as the risk of flood damage. Although Chelsea and Kensington both offer low levels of criminal damage, there is a slightly greater chance of suffering a burglary in those areas for those looking for flats to rent.