Safety in England

Christine How long is a piece of string??...depends where you are. All country's in the world have no go area's at night and that includes the U.K

Many busy cities have big problems with violent crime, commonly drug addicts after your wallet.
Drunks are a big evening/night time hazard, with drunken fights being quite common.
Many medium and smaller sized towns have similar problems, just to a lesser extent.

The daytime is generally safe except in some really dodgy areas.

The roads are generally very safe, with discipline being pretty strictly enforced.

My answer's colored by the fact that I live way the hell out in the country. Safety's a non-issue here--to the point where many people regularly leave their doors unlocked. But even in London, I'm not hesitant about walking alone, or public transportation. At 2 a.m, I'd be warier, although if I had to get somewhere I'd go.

Farway wrote:

Christine How long is a piece of string??...depends where you are. All country's in the world have no go area's at night and that includes the U.K

This question is being asked in all the countries listed on the site.

I think like most parts of the world, if you avoid the chavvy/crime-ridden areas, keep yourself to yourself, don't get involved with dodgy characters, avoid eye-contact unless spoken to, then you shouldn't have any problems. I travel throughout London regularly, and there are areas I wouldn't feel safe in even during the day. These are usually the black-majority areas. Nothing to do with racism, but simply gun/knife crimes, violent gangs, drugs and so on, being more prevalent in those parts of the city. As a non-native, there are also some white-majority areas I avoid due to their lack of tolerance towards foreigners.

Speaking as a native of the UK, there are areas that I would feel uncomfortable walking in, but this can be said to all major cities across the world. The countryside in the middle of no where is going to be safer due to a drop in the population.

When walking in cities and new to the area, don't look like a tourist, that attracts pickpockets to you. Hide valuable goods that can't be taken easy. use a money belt. If you get lost go to a main building like a bank, tourist office, police station, a shop and ask for help.

Make sure you plan your day first, if need be made a timetable and try and keep to it. Make a note of areas that you should avoid. If there is nothing worth seeing, then no need to go there.

I hope this makes sense.

Always if in doubt you can ask in here .

If you live on the countryside, you can leave you car unlocked and find it back the next morning. In urban areas they will smash the window if they suspect anything of value to be in there. Always leave your glove compartment open after leaving your car, it shows you paid attention.

I live in Salford (Greater Manchester)near the epicentre of the 2011 riots.  I felt quite unsafe that night, but in general I'm used to living in a rough area. If I had known about the crime rate, before we moved in, I would have bought a place in a different neighbourhood. Still, I don't feel unsafe, although I had some intimidating experiences.

Best way is to check the crime rates for the area your planning to live. These should be publicly available.

If you go out, anywhere, the Brits can be nasty when they're drunk. Make sure you don't become vulnerable by drinking too much yourself and/or go home by taxi.

Christine,

You have posted the exact same thread on the USA forum.......are you completing a survey?

Chuckle Butty

It's being asked on every forum. Some threads are automatically posted everywhere, as they are relevant to every country.

Hello,

I live near Maidenhead. I'd say that I feel generally safe in my community walking or shopping or driving. Walking through Windsor or Maidenhead- it's prudent to take the usual common sense precautions of closing your purse, keeping mobile/wallet safe. Maybe a bit more so in Windsor or other busier places at weekends. In general I feel safe. There has been the odd occurrence of people parked on our street, going into our side gate during the day(when we weren't home) but we've got observant proactive neighbours who've questioned them and shooed them off. A couple of occasions in 5 years. I've left my car unlocked accidentally more than a few times- have even left the keys in the front seat overnight- but to no end. Really it's no different here than anywhere else. Down to the local community really more than anything.
Hope this helps!

chuckle_butty wrote:

Christine,

You have posted the exact same thread on the USA forum.......are you completing a survey?

Chuckle Butty

The thread is useful as safety is a common priority for potential expats.
If expats/locals in that country report feeling unsafe, high crime rates, or other serious safety issues, it might very well change someone's mind about moving.
Indonesia has been very interesting as the major issue there seem to be the state of the roads, and all that happens on them.

We would like to talk about a sensitive but important topic: do you feel safe in England?

Yes I fell very safe in England. I live in Cambridge. There are no guns so shootings are very rare. Allow petty crime might be higher, it is usually opportunistic so simple precautions such as locking your doors even when you are in the house and not leaving valueable in your car can help you not be a target. Also it seems to me to be common sense that in the hours of darkness to keep to well lit streets and not cross the dark parks.

How would you define the level of safety in the country? Very high. Although terrorist threat wise, I think that Americans particularly US military need to be more cognisant and try to stand out. Recently the 4th of July celebrations were cancelled due to a terror threat (they have arrested 3 people from a city an hour away from the bases). Many people think that they should not change their ways but as an American living here for 9 years, I can tell the houses that Americans live in and if I can, so can the terrorists.

Can you walk safely during the day and at night without any fear? Pretty much. I don't worry during the day at all. Also it seems to me to be common sense that in the hours of darkness to keep to well lit streets and not cross the dark parks.

Do you think there is a high rate of criminality, social problems or tensions? No

Share with us your insight on safety in England and in the city you live in.

I live near Heathrow and some people may not like this but most crime around this area is committed by foreigners, Its not the locals you need to look out for.
I would walk alone at 2am but that would be foolish for any female, even male.
The more densely populated with foreigners the worse the area!. Unfortunately.

mrsmagoos wrote:

I live near Heathrow and some people may not like this but most crime around this area is committed by foreigners, Its not the locals you need to look out for.
I would walk alone at 2am but that would be foolish for any female, even male.
The more densely populated with foreigners the worse the area!. Unfortunately.

How can you tell the difference ?

What do you mean?
How to tell the difference between a local and a foreigner?
Their language!!
Where I am there are certain areas that are predominantly Algerian, Albanian, Polish, Romanian, Jamaican etc.
You obviously get the little English chavs hanging around also but the foreigners tend to build a community and stick together.
I guess a tourist might not see that.

SimCityAT wrote:

mrsmagoos wrote:

I live near Heathrow and some people may not like this but most crime around this area is committed by foreigners, Its not the locals you need to look out for.
I would walk alone at 2am but that would be foolish for any female, even male.
The more densely populated with foreigners the worse the area!. Unfortunately.

How can you tell the difference ?

Probably not surprising that it seems that way, as about half the population are foreign, therefore about half the crime would be by foreigners anyway, by the law of average.

Language etc may also give it a clue.

mrsmagoos wrote:

I live near Heathrow and some people may not like this but most crime around this area is committed by foreigners, Its not the locals you need to look out for.
I would walk alone at 2am but that would be foolish for any female, even male.
The more densely populated with foreigners the worse the area!. Unfortunately.

I think you have to prove that with links to local crime figures....Now would be good.