Town with ‘violence and harassment’ ranked as Britain’s worst crime hotspot
Britain’s most and least crime-ridden areas have been revealed following a new study.
Office For National Statistics data has been poured over by security outfit Get Licensed to reveal that Hartlepool has the highest crime rate in the UK. Meanwhile, Broadland in Norfolk was found to have the lowest crime rate of anywhere in the country.
The research saw settlements given a score out of 10, driven by the cumulation of various factors and indicators.
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It looked at Total recorded crime, Violence Against the Person, Stalking and Harassment, Theft Offences, Drug Offences, Public order offences, and Antisocial Behaviour before giving a final value it called a “total crime score”.
![Hartlepool came out of the list in contrast to the likes of Rutland (file)](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33248880.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_Property-prices-in-Hartlepool-compared.jpg)
(Image: Teesside Live)
Hartlepool came out with a final score of 9.54, ahead of Westminster in second place, Middlesbrough and Manchester, all of which ended up with a score over nine, ahead of Stoke-on-Trent, which came in at 8.86.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Broadlands came in with a score of 0.55. Rutland, Suffolk, Ribble Valley all came in with scores under one, while Waverly had the fifth-lowest crime score with 1.09.
![The town has not fared well in the listing](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33248895.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_GettyImages-1977384747.jpg)
(Image: Getty Images)
Westminster was noted to have had the highest rate of theft offences per 1,000 people with 24.08, compared to Ribble Valley at the opposite end of the spectrum with 1.94.
Blackpool, meanwhile, had the highest rate of anti-social behaviour incidents with 66.34.
Reporting that Hartlepool had come at the top of the list, Get Lisecned said on their website: “Taking the crown as the crime capital of the UK is Hartlepool, with a crime score of 9.54 out of 10.
![Hartlepool came at the top of the list (file)](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33248896.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_Police-cordon-off-an-alleyway-and-grassed-area-off-West-View-Road-in-Hartlepool.jpg)
(Image: Ian Cooper / Teesside Live)
“Hartlepool is a consistently high scorer across our categories, ranking in the top 20 local authorities for all but one factor. Crime per 1,000 people in Hartlepool was especially high for stalking and harassment and violence against the person, ranking third and fifth when compared to all local authorities.”
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