Scotland Crime: Here are the 10 areas of Scotland where you're least likely to have your house broken into
Recent research has shown that houses in certain parts of Scotland are more likely to be targeted by thieves.
The number of housebreaking offences in Scotland is currently falling – dropping from 9,706 to 8,489 in the last couple of years.
But those figures haven’t dropped uniformly across the country, with some areas seeing far more break ins than others.
The good news is that, according to research from comparison site www.confused.com, you are less likely to have your house raided by thieves in Scotland than in England – a total of seven Scottish areas are in the top 10 safest, with the lowest number of housebreakings per thousand residents.
The only English areas to make the list are South Devon and Dartmoor, East and Mid Devon, and North Devon.
North of the border, the most housebreakings are in Dundee where there were 2.09 housebreakings per 1,000 people, although incidences of the crime have been slightly decreasing at an average of 0.04 per cent each year.
This is 2.95 per cent more thefts than in Edinburgh (2.03 per 1,000), but still a hefty 19.61 per cent below the UK’s national average of 2.9.
Here are the 10 areas of Scotland where your home is safest.
1. East Dunbartonshire
East Dunbartonshire, including the towns of Kirkintilloch, Bishopbriggs, Bearsden and Milngavie (pictured), is the safest region in both Scotland the UK to live in, with just 0.44 housebreakings reported per 1,000 people in 2021. The rate of burglaries in the region has dropped by 26.94 per cent each year, on average, since 2017. This is the second biggest average annual decrease in reported housebreakings in the study, second only to Folkestone and Hythe in England (27.52 per cent decrease). Photo: National World
2. Highlands
With just 0.47 housebreakings reported per 1,000 people last year, those living in the Highlands - including the city of Inverness (pictured) - are the second-least likely to experience a break in in the UK. Rates in the region have dropped by 5.33 per cent on average each year since 2017. Photo: Canva/Getty Images
3. Aberdeenshire
Residents in Aberdeenshire towns like Banchory live in the third safest region in Scotland and the UK overall, with just 0.50 housebreakings per 1,000 people last year. Since 2017, housebreakings in the region have dropped by 6.05 per cent each year, on average. Photo: Canva/Getty Images
4. Stirling
Stirling places fourth, with just 0.56 housebreakings per 1,000 people in 2021. The rate of housebreakings in Stirling has dropped 18.36 per cent, on average, each year since 2017. This is the fifth-largest drop in Scotland and the seventh-largest drop in housebreakings in the UK overall. In comparison to neighbouring regions, Stirling saw around half the amount of break ins in as North Lanarkshire (1.34 per 1,000 people). Photo: Canva/Getty Images