Edinburgh named UK's 'safest place to live' in new poll

Edinburgh has been named the safest place to live in the UK in a new study.

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British citizens were asked to share their experiences of crime and state how secure they generally felt living in towns and cities throughout the country.

Of those who call Scotland’s capital home, 82 per cent of residents quizzed said they felt Edinburgh was a safe place to live.

Of the 2000 UK citizens polled in a new Crime & Investigation study, the majority of those who felt safe in their local area lived in Edinburgh. Picture: John Devlin.

Less than one in ten adults in the city said they have been a victim of crime, with just 16 per cent experiencing crime in any form. Nearly 90 per cent of people living in Edinburgh generally felt safe.

The poll was carried out to mark the launch of the new Crime & Investigation docu-series Murdertown.

Along the M8, Glasgow was tenth in the list of the UK’s safest places.

The study, which polled 2000 people, revealed 31 per cent have felt unsafe in their own home at one point, with nearly a quarter hearing of break-ins or attacks in their area.

Just under half of participants knew a victim of crime, with a home break-in being the most commonly experienced offence.

The poll also revealed more than one third of UK residents know someone who has been a victim of car theft, while nearly one quarter knew of someone who had previously been mugged.

Almost one quarter of participants stated they themselves have been a victim of crime in their local area.

Offering solutions to tackling crime so they would feel safer going about their hometown, half would like to see police patrolling the streets more often, while one third said more operational CCTV is needed.

Three in ten said more street lighting would help them feel safe when walking around at night.

Crime is so bad in some parts, nearly 25 per cent said they have either moved or considered moving town or city in order to feel more secure.

A third of participants said they feel less safe now in their current hometown than they did a decade ago.

The top 15 ‘safest cities’ to live in the UK, according to the Crime & Investigation study:

Edinburgh Southampton Sheffield Norwich Leicester Manchester Newcastle Cambridge Liverpool Glasgow Bristol Leeds Birmingham London Cardiff

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