citizenmarie

Hi, I was wondering what people's feelings are about crime in the UK. It's something I have been a little obsessed with since thinking about moving back. What's your experience? Have things worsened over the past 20 years, or is it mostly the media's view, public perception, and the way crime figures are gathered?

- do CCTV cameras make a difference as a deterrent?
- do you feel safe to walk the streets?
- I never think about my flat getting broken into here, what about the UK?
- Is it better or worse than the days of the skinheads!?

I know that when I moved to the US I had all sorts of exaggerated views of what it would be like here. When I fist saw a cop car pulled over at someone's house I ducked down in the car, thinking I would be shot! The reality is... I have have always been pretty safe here.

Sally Redux

The UK is smaller than the US, but it's still somewhat difficult to generalize about the whole country.

citizenmarie

Absolutely. I'm more interested in people's personal experiences based on where they've lived in England.

beachgal21

I think just like anywhere else in the world, it depends very much on where you live. Most inner cities around the world have more violence than the suburbs or rural areas. Almost every day when I turn the local news on someone has been shot, or some other violent crime has taken place, and thats just the small area of Florida that I live in (covering about 4 counties). In truth I find it very depressing and I certainly didn't experience this level of violence in the UK.

chris955

I was never a victim of crime all the years I lived in the UK and can't recall seeing anything I would call serious. I dont think I know anyone in the UK that has been broken into or assaulted. By contrast my brother here in Australia has had his house broken into, we have had our car broken into and we know a few people who have had animals stolen from their houses. Even saying that I consider each country as safe as the other.

Sally Redux

We got burgled when I was a student in Leeds - they came through the shared roof space. My Mum got burgled a few years ago (Eastbourne). Apart from that, I can't think of any crime we experienced.

My husband knew someone at college who murdered his parents, also he worked with a woman who was murdered by her husband (he got off though). Someone he knew back in the NE also killed someone, FIL's take on it was, "Aye, it was a bit of a misunderstandin' like"

Personally I feel OK about walking most places when I visit, maybe not in Elephant & Castle or similar.

beachgal21

Do you think your husband might be a bit of a jinx

Mummy in the foothills

The only person I've ever met who murdered someone was here in the US, lovely woman, she shot her husband one night, she was sick to death of the beatings, and was protecting her children. She never went to jail.
I have more fear of walking about in San Francisco than I do in the UK, we have stayed there for a few days at a time over the years, I still love it there.
We have been victims of crime in both countries, in UK we were burgled twice while I was growing up, turned out it was a neighbor who knew how to get into the houses (council estate and he lived in the same style house) Here in US we lived in a nice area, desirable neighborhood in a large city and had the window of our car shot out twice, and someone came into the back yard and helped themselves to all kinds of things.
I can say I don't feel safe to be alone here, we live more rural now, Dh works nights/swing and so on a night like tonight I have the house with Dd (who is 6) and will have trouble sleeping till Dh gets in about 3am. Ds is over at a friends house overnight.

Beedubya

I have been burgled in Australia, had all my jewellery stolen and a digital camera and I've had my car broken into and it was in a underground garage, all they took was the remote for the stereo and a bag of personal papers belonging to my friend.

Yet I feel safe living here, just as safe as I feel in the UK, then again I don't visit undesirable areas.............

chris955

I hear quite often in the other forum I am on how people have moved here to get away from the crime they perceive in the UK. I wonder if these people really do feel safer here or it's a case of expecting to feel safer so they do ? I have never felt unsafe walking here or in the UK but I have read posts from people saying how everyone on the streets looks intimidating and there are groups of youths on every corner. I am sure they are in some kind of parallel universe

Beedubya

That's exactly how I feel Chris, the only youths or "gangs" I saw were bored teenagers hanging around the chip shop or the local corner shop, acting the goat and so on.............here in Oz they just hang around at the local beach, same kind of kids, different location..........

Mind you there are parts of the UK I would feel unsafe to visit just as there are places in Sydney I would not go...........

Bevm

Or in a park. Favourite one in Canada.

People see youths as dangerous, but they rarely are. When I was a bit lost in Exeter one day I deliberately chose to ask the way of a bunch of bored teens, all about 17/18 I'd say. They were a bit surprised, but then perked up and really got into trying to help me.

In general, people love being helpful, given the chance.

Bev

Lorry1

The only crime we ever experienced personally in England was our flat being broken into. We knew it was our scum bag neighbour though and we knew he broke into every other flat in our building. Unfortunately the police always let him go even though they knew it was him.

So, apart from that, we lived crime free in England

We haven't personally experienced anything here in NS either.

I think the youth are perceived as being dangerous, and in some cases they are, but not all groups of kids go out to cause trouble and be violent.

dunroving

When I lived in the Bahamas, our house was broken into 3 times during the night while we were asleep in our beds (including them coming into the bedrooms and stealing watches from the nightstand, etc.). My car was broken into about 20+ times for petty change (so I ended up leaving it unlocked with 25c in the ashtray, never got broken into agian, just had to replace the 25c every now and then). I also had a brick thrown through the windscreen of my car, was attacked on the premises of teh school I taught at by a gang of young men who were trying to break into the swiming pol for a free swim and to sh*t on the poolside, and I was threatened with a gun folowing a minor traffic altercation.

In the US, I never had any direct problems with crime, but my neighbouors were broken into while they were at work (I had Suzy in the backyard, which would deter burglars - a barking dog will generally deter thieves). The newspaper had regular reports of shootings in the rougher areas of town (population about 60k).

In the UK, almost no direct experience of crime except petty vandalism, but I wouldn't walk in certain areas of Glasgow, especially at certain times of the day/night. I think the UK generally has more petty crime, including petty violent crime (you know, the "Who are you looking at?" senseless sort of crime, or violent crime between people who know each other), but less serious violent crime (due largely to fewer guns). I think there is more aintisocial behaviour in the UK than US.

All from personal expperience, not national statistics, so if you don't agree, that's just fine by me.

sallysimmons

I was just thinking through my friends and family back in the UK and I don't know anyone who has been the victim of a crime. They live in Manchester and the areas around Leeds - although my mum lives in the wilds of Cumbria.

I was burgled 20 years ago living in a ground floor flat in Hull, but I'm the only one I know who has ever experienced that, and Hull really does have a high crime rate.

You can check crime rates for each area on the website upmystreet.com.

To see how wildly it varies, here's Hull:
http://www.upmystreet.com/local/crime-in-hull.html

And here's my favorite town:
http://www.upmystreet.com/local/crime-in-kendal.html