Property crime is a growing concern for homeowners across the UK, indicated by searches for “self-installed home security” breaking out and surging by 5000% over the last 30 days. The risk of having your property stolen or damaged varies greatly depending on where you live.
The home security experts at Tapo have analysed public police data across the UK’s largest local authorities, logging recorded cases of burglary, criminal damage, robbery, theft and vehicle crimes over a one-year period from January 2025 to 2026.
Calculating the total number of crimes per 1,000 residents, the experts have revealed their list of the safest areas for property-related crimes.
The UK’s safest areas for property crime
Rank | Location | Burglaries per 1,000 residents | Criminal damages per 1,000 residents | Robberies per 1,000 residents | Direct theft per 1,000 residents | Other theft per 1,000 residents | Vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents | Total property safety score/10 |
1 | Cambridgeshire | 1.05 | 1.61 | 1.31 | 0.08 | 0.07 | 1.02 | 10 |
2 | Somerset | 1.22 | 2.51 | 2.50 | 0.30 | 0.05 | 1.06 | 9.77 |
3 | North Yorkshire | 1.92 | 4.23 | 2.92 | 0.35 | 0.14 | 1.50 | 9.53 |
4 | Lincolnshire | 2.27 | 5.24 | 3.56 | 0.45 | 0.12 | 2.05 | 9.3 |
5 | Wiltshire | 2.41 | 5.92 | 3.65 | 0.20 | 0.30 | 2.14 | 9.07 |
6 | East Riding of Yorkshire | 2.62 | 5.21 | 4.43 | 0.25 | 0.14 | 2.10 | 8.84 |
7 | Bracknell Forest | 1.99 | 4.69 | 4.93 | 0.67 | 0.33 | 4.09 | 8.6 |
8 | East Suffolk | 2.88 | 6.32 | 3.97 | 0.27 | 0.30 | 2.28 | 8.37 |
9 | Swindon | 2.30 | 6.36 | 4.18 | 0.63 | 0.58 | 3.25 | 8.14 |
10 | South Gloucestershire | 3.52 | 5.33 | 5.27 | 0.85 | 0.09 | 2.88 | 7.91 |
Cambridgeshire takes the top spot with a perfect safety score of 10/10, recording the lowest combined property crime rates in the study. With 1.05 burglaries per 1,000 residents, equating to a 0.1% chance of an incident.
The area also reports 1.61 cases of criminal damage and 0.08 direct theft incidents per 1,000 residents. Wider theft cases are the most unlikely form of incident at 0.07 cases per 1,000 residents.
Somerset claims second place with a score of 9.77/10. With a population of nearly 983,000, the area maintains an impressively low crime rate across all categories. Recording just 1.22 burglaries and 1.06 vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents. Wider thefts are reported at a rate of 0.05 cases per 1,000 residents, the lowest recorded in the whole study. Beyond the rolling hills and cider farms, Somerset offers residents high levels of safety.
North Yorkshire rounds off the top three locations, with a score of 9.53/10. Despite being one of the largest local authorities, with a population of 1,158,000, North Yorkshire records 1.92 burglaries and 0.35 direct theft cases per 1,000 residents.
Lincolnshire and Wiltshire follow in fourth and fifth place with scores of 9.30 and 9.07, respectively. Both areas maintain low burglary rates and modest vehicle crime figures. Wiltshire’s robbery rate of 0.20 per 1,000 residents is the second-lowest in the ranking, earning its place in the top five.
East Riding of Yorkshire, Bracknell Forest and East Suffolk occupy the next three spots – recording low numbers of burglaries and robberies per 1,000 residents. Bracknell Forest’s vehicle crime rate of 4.09 cases per 1,000 is the highest in the top ten.
Swindon and South Gloucestershire complete the top ten. Swindon’s criminal damage rate of 6.36 is the highest within the ranking, while South Gloucestershire records a robbery rate of 5.33 cases.
Micheal Fernandes, tech expert at Tapo, comments:
“Even in the UK’s safest areas, no resident is entirely immune to property crime. A home security system acts as both a deterrent and a safety net. Visible cameras and systems can discourage opportunistic individuals and provide crucial evidence if any damage or theft occurs. For homeowners who want genuine peace of mind, security cameras, video doorbells and alarm systems are one of the most effective additional layers of protection available.”
You can view the full dataset here.
