When you’re considering a place to take a vacation, there are many different factors to weigh up: whether you want to lie on a beach or experience a new city; what kind of culture and climate you want to enjoy and how much you have to spend. However, another thing that springs to mind for many holidaymakers is: how safe will I be over there?
For Anglophiles thinking of taking a trip to Britain, the issue will have been heightened by the brief period of civil unrest which took place last year. The incidents which took place in these few days last August have skewed the crime figures, with police forces reporting an overall increase of ten percent in the 12 months to December 2011. Despite this, overall crime levels for England and Wales actually fell during this time.
The impact of the civil unrest actually represents a blip on an otherwise downward trend. Crime rates across the UK have been falling steadily for some time. Research from Castle Cover home insurance adds further weight to this argument. Having plotted the rates of various crime types for the last ten years, the firm has found that the chance of being mugged on a UK street has fallen by a quarter in the last decade.
But the real question is: how does the UK compare to other countries around the world in terms of crime? If you take the capital, London, the most common UK vacation destination and a beacon for holidaymakers from across the world, it is actually one of the safest major cities around. In 2009, the United Nations compared the murder rates per 100,000 of the population of 112 major cities across the world, and London came in 91st place – far below US cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC, as well as other tourist destinations such as Rio De Janeiro and Paris.
Although the UK is a relatively safe place, you can never completely avoid crime. However, you can protect yourself to a degree if you follow some of the basic tips set out by the US State Department. With a common sense approach and a little planning, you can enjoy that great UK vacation you’ve always wanted.
*The previous was brought to you by Castle Cover.
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