How safe are Homes in the UK in 2023?

2023 UK Burglary Statistics updated on September 27, 2023

Any unauthorized entry into an occupied building falls within the criteria of residential burglary. This covers unauthorized access, coercion, and attempted coercion.

How many residential burglaries occur in the UK? Using information released by the Office for National Statistics, we have generated important burglary statistics. By the time you finish reading, a domestic burglary will have occurred somewhere in England and Wales!

What security do you have in your home?

In England and Wales, there were 191,490 reported house invasions in 2022–2023.

Statistics on home burglaries: How many occur annually?

In England and Wales, there were 191,490 reported house invasions in 2022–2023. An average of 525 burglaries occur each day, or one every 165 seconds.

In England and Wales, there were 191,490 police-recorded house invasions in the year ending March 2023.

Assuming an average, that is:

A house is burglarized every 165 seconds, or 525 times each day.

WHAT AREA RANKS HIGHEST IN HOME BURGLARIES IN THE UK?

With 37,466 burglaries reported to the police in 2022–2023, the London Metropolitan region had the most residential burglaries. This equals 102 burglaries daily, or one every 14 minutes, breaking into a house.

With 16,141 reported cases, the Greater Manchester region had the second-highest number of residential burglaries. This equates to 44 burglaries every day, or one every 30 minutes.

The table below shows a more thorough analysis of residential burglaries by region:

Residential Burglaries in the Police Force Area, Year Ending March 2023, Per Day* Frequency

Every 14 minutes, London Metropolitan has 37,466 users.

Greater Manchester 16,141, 44 each 32 seconds

Midwest, West15, 797 43 each 33 seconds

Every 50 minutes, West Yorkshire 10,413 29

Every one hour and three minutes, South Yorkshire 8,464 23

Every one hour and thirty minutes, Hampshire 5,679 16

4,871 13 Lancashire every 1 hour and 51 minutes

Liverpool 4,407 12 every two hours

Every 1 hour and 43 minutes, Essex 4,973 14

Every 2 hours and 11 minutes, Avon and Somerset 4,184

WHERE IN THE UK DO HOME BURGLARIES OCCUR LEAST OFTEN?

With only 919 burglaries recorded to police, the Dyfed-Powys region of Wales, which includes Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and Ceredigion, had the fewest house invasions in the year ending in March 2023. North Yorkshire, Wiltshire, and Cumbria all had remarkably low burglary rates.

Statistics for additional low-burglary districts in the UK are shown in the following table:

Residential Burglaries in the Police Force Area per Day* Dyfed-Powys Year Ending March 2022 919Wiltshire 1,253 2.5 Cumbria 989Suffolk 1,235 3.43.3 Norfolk 1,285 3.5 *Calculation: Yearly Figure / 365

A FEW MORE STATS…

An overview of long-term trends in burglary given by the ONS demonstrates that:

The burglar enters the house through the door in 70% of cases. Only 30% of burglaries involve the intruder entering through a window.

In more than 50% of domestic burglary cases, an occupant was present when the burglar entered the house.

With 16% of burglaries occurring on weekdays and 12% on weekends, the difference between weekdays and weekends is very small.

In the UK, between the hours of six in the morning and six in the evening, about 40% of residential burglaries take place.

60% of all burglaries occur in the evening or at night, between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Over the years, the burglar was someone the victim knew, at least by sight, in over half of the burglary instances.

CONCLUSION

Even while no part of the UK is completely safe from burglaries, there are significant regional variations in the data on house invasions. The knowledge of where, when, and who home invasions are most likely to happen can help citizens protect themselves. Prepare to be burgled and you will feel safer in your home and your business.

Call us for a security overview of your UK home and how to invest in your home security to make your home assets and family safe it’s always less than you think!