A newly published interactive map has laid bare the parts of England and Wales most severely affected by crime, delivering sobering news for one of the nation's favourite coastal destinations.
Blackpool's Troubling Top Spot
The analysis uses 'crime severity' scores, which measure the seriousness of offending in an area by weighing both the type and volume of crimes. This means a violent or sexual offence contributes far more heavily to the score than a minor theft or instance of criminal damage. The data shows that, excluding central London where tourist-targeting thefts skew figures, the seaside town of Blackpool has the most severe crime problem in the country.
Blackpool recorded the highest levels of violent crime and sexual offences of any local authority area, surpassing even central London boroughs. These serious categories accounted for over two-thirds of its overall severity score of 31.7.
National Hotspots and Safe Havens
Following Blackpool, the areas with the next highest crime severity scores are Middlesbrough (29.9), Manchester (28.9), Birmingham (27.3), and Bradford (25.8). When London is included, Westminster has the highest score at 61.0, followed by Camden at 32.4, driven primarily by exceptionally high numbers of theft offences.
At the opposite end of the scale, Wiltshire emerges as the safest place with a low score of just 6.0. It is followed by Wokingham (6.4), Ribble Valley in Lancashire (6.9), Waverley (6.9), and East Hampshire (7.1).
A Decade-Long Rise in Crime Severity
The crime severity score for England and Wales was first introduced for the year ending March 2003, with an overall national figure of 15.9. After a decade of decline to a low of 9.3 in the year to March 2013, scores have been climbing almost consistently since, apart from a dip during the pandemic. The score peaked at 16.4 in the year ending March 2023 and currently stands at 16.3.
Looking at police force areas, Cleveland Police in the North East has the highest crime severity score of 23.4. The top five is completed by West Yorkshire (22.4), West Midlands (22.3), Greater Manchester (20.7), and South Yorkshire (20.6). The Metropolitan Police, which deals with the highest volume of crimes, scores 20.4. Meanwhile, officers in North Yorkshire Police have the 'easiest beat', with a severity score of just 9.8.
Experts suggest that these severity scores provide a more accurate picture of crime's impact on communities than simple crime rates, as they distinguish between high-harm offences and lower-level incidents.
