Crime in Britain’s most affluent areas soaring at faster rate than anywhere else in UK, Telegraph analysis reveals
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/19/crime-britains-affluent-areas-soaring-faster-rate-anywhere-else/
Crime in Britain’s most affluent areas is soaring at a faster rate than anywhere else in the country, a Telegraph analysis of official data has revealed.
Robbery, theft and drug offences in the wealthiest districts of England and Wales are outstripping the national average by up to four times, as criminal gangs deliberately target rural and suburban communities.
A detailed analysis of Home Office crime figures, broken down by neighbourhoods and household incomes, found a startling rise in certain offences in the least deprived areas over the last two years.
While theft has increased nationally by four per cent since 2018, in the top ten per cent of the country’s richest areas the figure is 16 per cent.
Similarly, drug offences in the least deprived communities are up 16 per cent, compared with 12 per cent across the rest of the country.
Robbery rose by more than a quarter in the wealthiest areas, compared with 11 per cent elsewhere.
The analysis also suggests that violent crime, robbery and theft are also increasing at a faster rate in rural communities than in urban areas.
One theory for the rise in certain offences in wealthy areas is the impact of the county lines drugs trade, in which dealers from big cities send recruits out to far flung areas of the UK in order to exploit previously untapped markets.
As well as the inevitable increase in drug crime, there are also accompanying rises in associated offences such as theft, robbery and violence.
Many provincial police forces have acknowledged the growing problem of county lines gangs and are channeling resources into tackling the scourge.
This week, a coordinated blitz by the police saw more than 700 people arrested in connection with the county lines trade, and drugs with a street value of £400,000 seized.
In parts of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, where the average household income is almost £55,000 a year, drug offences have soared by 60 per cent in the last 12 months.
Similarly in one part of Winchester, where the average household income is almost £70,000 a year, drug offences went up by 20 per cent in the last year.
In the district of North East Maidstone in Berkshire, where the average household income is £64,500 a year, violence and sexual offences have increased by 70 per cent in the last 12 months.
Robberies in the central Cambridge, which has an average household income of £70,900 per annum, were up by almost 50 per cent.
Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, Anthony Stansfeld, told The Telegraph: “This shows that the challenges of tackling drug crime are not limited to the big cities which is precisely why we have been calling on the Home Office to review the police funding formula to ensure equitable funding to tackle the very real problems we experience.”
Hampshire Constabulary’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Michael Lane, added: “Whilst the figures highlighted refer to a very small number of low-level crimes, drug use on our streets does create fear and insecurities amongst residents. County Lines and criminals preying on the vulnerable is a security matter for us all; national, regional and local policing action is key.”
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