Churchill Support Services have studied the latest crime statistics from the Scottish Government to reveal which areas of Edinburgh have the highest crime rates per 10,000 people.
Edinburgh, which was ranked 7th among the most dangerous areas in Scotland, saw 34,976 crimes over the course of 2023 into 2024. A deeper dive into the figures shows significant rates of crimes of dishonesty (17,099 incidents), road traffic offences (8,439 incidents) and violent crime (7,278 incidents), all of which underscore the need for effective security in the Scottish capital.
A Churchill Support Services spokesperson said: “We’ve opted to break down Edinburgh by its local council wards. We’ve then displayed this as a ratio of the number of crimes per 1000 people living in that area. This allows us to take into account the size of the area, as well as crucial variables like population and area density.”
Scroll through our picture gallery to see the 17 ‘most dangerous areas’ of Edinburgh for crime, according to official figures.
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17. 2. Leith
Overall Crime Rate Of 106.9 Crimes Per 1000 People. Leith has a complement of high-rise apartments, government housing and small businesses that seek to capture that residential audience. However, there is significant cause for concern for entrepreneurs and homeowners alike, with a soaring crime rate of 106.9 crimes per 1000 residents. Crimes of dishonesty (894 incidents) are the most prevalent problem for the region, with shoplifting seeing 263 incidents alone. Outside of that, Leith sees concerning figures across motor vehicle offences (345 incidents), criminal damage (213 incidents), and drug offences (142 incidents). Photo: Google Street View
18. 1. City Centre
Overall Crime Rate Of 267.7 Crimes Per 1000 People. Edinburgh’s city centre has a shocking crime rate of 267.7 crimes per 1000 residents. The main issue lies in the rate of crimes of dishonesty (3,461 incidents), which makes up more than 37% of all crime in the city centre. That comes in addition to startling numbers across violent assault (1,496 incidents), motor vehicle offences (596 incidents) and criminal damage (570 incidents). Photo: Google Street View