Gloucester is the most dangerous place to live in the county according to the crime statistics released by the office for national statistics (ONS).

The crime rate in Gloucester is nearly two thirds higher than that for the Gloucestershire area.

Crime has been rising each month for some time, a Gloucester resident Amreet Atwal said how the latest crime figures released is no surprise to her: “With the amount of underprivileged children and underfunded services for them to interact with, the high crime rate in the city is not actually a shock.”

Data from police.co.uk, shows that most of the crimes that were reported in Gloucester between October 2016 and September 2017 were crimes of anti-social behaviour making up one third of the total incidents reported in the area.

Salah Kareem, a retail assistant based in Gloucester blamed high levels of anti-social behaviour on the way kids have been brought up: “Crime in the area only occurs because of the behaviours these teens learn growing up, whether that be at school, at home or on the streets. Something needs to be done to reduce the levels of anti-social behaviour!”

The next highest percentage of crimes reported were violence and sexual offences and they total nearly 18%.

727 incidents of shoplifting were reported, accounting for over 15% of crimes in the area.

Although the crime rate in Gloucester is high compared to the rest of the county, the crime rate is relatively low compared to places like Cardiff, Swindon and Bristol who have a crime rate of at least 100 crimes per 1000 residents.

On how to best to avoid crime, Atwal said: “So as long as you keep your head down and don’t mix with the wrong people, chances are you’ll be fine.”

For a complete breakdown of crime in your area, go to: https://www.police.uk/gloucestershire/BA1/crime/stats/

On how to keep yourself and your belongings safe in Gloucestershire go to:  https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/staying-safe/keeping-yourself-safe/