THE MOST dangerous towns and cities in the UK have been revealed – and the number one spot may surprise you.
New data from the Home Office reveals that more than 5.3 million non-fraud related crimes were recorded in the year ending March 2025 by the 43 domestic police forces in England and Wales.
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This is down 2% from the previous year, when around 92,000 more crimes were recorded.
At the top of the list is Westminster, in London, home to iconic landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament.
A total of 423 crimes per every 1000 residents took place last year, which may seem surprising given the wealth of the area.
However, huge numbers of tourists visiting the city are targeted by pickpockets and criminals every year, meaning the location is consistently at the top of the list.
Camden, which is second on the list, with 195 crimes per 1000 residents, also has a huge number of tourists year round, who are targeted by phone thieves and other criminals.
Outside of London, the area with the highest crime rate is Middlesbrough, which has 158.3 crimes per 1,000 people, which equates to almost one in 6 people being victim to a crime.
A whopping 23,000 crimes were recorded in the North East town last year, a 5% fall from the previous year.
Following Middlesbrough, Blackpool has 154.4 crimes per 1000 people, slightly higher than the posh borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which has 154.2.
Below that, Manchester has 152.4 crimes per 1000, and Hartlepool has 141.5.
Rounding off the top 10, Islington in London has 140.8 per 1000, Bristol has 132.3 and the London Borough of Southwark has 127.6.
Separate figures from the ONS reveal that a total of 9.4 million incidents of headline crime occurred in the year ending March 2025, a 7% increase from the year before.
Data shows that the rise if due to a 31% increase in fraud, with 4.2 million incidents recorded.
This is the highest estimated number of incidents since fraud was first collected in the report, in the year ending March 2017.
The figures also show that 7.8 percent of over 16s experienced domestic abuse last year, whilst 2.9% experienced stalking.
Top 20 UK crimes hotspots
Number of crimes per 1000 residents:
Westminster 423.2
Camden 194.8
Middlesbrough 158.3
Blackpool 154.4
Kensington and Chelsea 154.2
Manchester 152.4
Hartlepool 141.5
Islington 140.8
Bristol 132.3
Southwark 127.6
Hackney 124.4
Lincoln 124.3
Doncaster 124.2
Bradford 124.2
Southampton 124
Liverpool 123.7
Kingston upon Hull 122.9
Leeds 122.7
Newport 120.5
Blaenau Gwent 119.5
1.9% of people experienced sexual assault, and 8.6% of people experienced stalking.
There were 535 homicides recorded last year, the lowest since the year ending March 2014, when there were 533 offences.
Offences involving knives or sharp instruments decreased by 1% across the UK last year to 53,047.
However, police forces saw increases and some saw decreases.
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