Crime in UK?

[kyleishere]

Is there a lot of crime in the UK? I read a lot about antisocial behavior and knife attacks in the newspapers. Is that an accurate reflection of UK life?

[Penguins_Pet_Pumpkin]

I'm just wondering what country you're originally from. I'm from America and it's most certainly no worse here than it is there. In fact, without doing any actual research on the subject, but just basing my opinion on how much crime I hear about on the news, I'd say there's less here than in America.

Anyone have stats on this?

By the way, no country is completely crime-ridden or completely crime-free. Big cities will always tend to have more crime than small towns, no matter what country you're in. And part of that might just be population. Naturally more people means more diverse types of people, including those bad elements.

[Big Pete]

Originally Posted by kyleishere

Is there a lot of crime in the UK? I read a lot about antisocial behavior and knife attacks in the newspapers. Is that an accurate reflection of UK life?

Depends On where you live .. As i guess the world over has its DO NOT go areas and its safe towns etc..

The country is getting worse and its a shame but true

[smcquie]

Where are you thinking of moving to? The UK is a big place and even within cities there are safer places than others. Overall I have never been concerned about knife attacks or crime in general in the UK.

[mum of three]

hi i live in sheffield, south yorkshire which is a beautiful place to live eg very green,although i have never seen knife crime & i beleive alot is to do with drug and rival gangs i still worry alot about it as i have three young children growing up and knowing they will be going out in the city at night will freak me out . we are thinking of emmigrating to canada bacause it bothers us so much.i think crime is on the up as is drug taking but the english goverment are do gooders and let too many young people get a way with murder sorry i do'nt want to put a dampner on things but it is getting worse lisa x

[Minuvweyna]

I am also from the US and don't have hard statistics, but I would say the UK is overall safer than the US. Just from watching the BBC news I think that most crime here seems to be centered in London (which considering its size, does not surprise me, think about New York) and Glasgow. I live in Edinburgh and feel very safe here, though obviously crime can and does happen anywhere there are people. The fact that there are far fewer firearms available in the UK, I feel, makes it much safer than the US, even considering knife crime.

Just like any country, some areas will be safer than others. I prefer living in Edinburgh, because my experiences and the news both lead me to feel that Glasgow would be a rougher and less safe city to live in. However, I would be surprised if Glasgow were actually more dangerous than places like Chicago, Detroit, or New York, let alone Washington D.C. where people occasionally get murdered in arguments over parking spaces.

[ChungyUK]

Crime is bad wherever you go in the UK. As a english native and been living here for 25 years....the country has got much worser over the years. It wasn't too bad in the 90s but when the noughties hit it has started to become a lot worse. Yeah I completely agree that most big cities especially have a lot of big crimes but even in smaller towns we're i'm from. Knife crime is on the rise and also ASBOs, and the rise of of teenage chavs (which I hate). Don't get me wrong I love my country but I hope 1 day i'd like to move abroad to the USA or Canada. I've been to NYC twice and didn't witness any crimes and in fact I felt safe compare to if I went to London.

[mgb]

It all depends where you live - we are north of Aberdeen (but within commutable distance) and enjoy a relatively crime free area, certainly in terms of knife and violent crime. Lots of people from England and the south of Scotland have moved up here for the lifestyle we have up in this area.

Having said that, we are moving to the UAE next year, my hubby already works there, but it is the high tax regime we live in that is pushing us out of the UK, not crime.

(SNIP)

[Stravinsky]

Originally Posted by ChungyUK

Crime is bad wherever you go in the UK. As a english native and been living here for 25 years....

Forgive me for saying, but thats a bit of an overstatement.
I lived in the Greater Birmingham area for 25 years or so and never witnessed or experienced anything that you would call serious crime. Birmingham of course is the UK's second city.

I'm not disputing that it happens, but certainly I have never wandered the streets of Birmingham being fearful for my safety. I used to play competition pool and went to some pretty grotty places!

Serious crime makes the news. Theres no doubt that theres a serious gang problem, certainly in London .... but with a big population crime will happen I'm afraid, I just feel "Crime is bad wherever you go in the UK" is a bit of a misrepresentation