14 February 2023 , 16:41
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Luton has been dubbed the ‘worst place to live in England’, as the Bedfordshire town is labelled ‘unsafe’ by locals - but do you feel safe where you live?
The poll, compiled by iLivehere, saw 105,598 voters select Luton as the unfortunate winner, overtaking Peterborough to claim the title.
Many residents say they feel unsafe in the town, and one woman explained there are “suspicious” people - adding that she had a scary incident herself when she was out walking her dog.
Last year shocking figures revealed that police forces across England and Wales recorded the highest number of crimes in 20 years.
A staggering 6.3 million crimes were recorded in the year leading up to March 2022 which is four percent higher than the previous all-time high of 6.1 million in 2019/2020.
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The figures have mainly been driven by a sharp increase in offences such as fraud, rape and violent attacks.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recalled that knife crime, theft and domestic abuse have all increased over the 12 months leading up to March.
According to police in England and Wales, sex offences have more than doubled in the seven years - from 88,576 in 2014/15 to 194,683 in 2021/22. Rape offences have nearly doubled in the six years - from 36,320 in 2015/16 to 70,330 in the year to March.
Meanwhile, theft offences jumped by 15 percent to 1.5 million in 2021/22 which remains below pre-pandemic levels, where the number peaked at over two million.
Separate figures published by the Home Office showed that just 5.6 percent of offences in England and Wales from 2021/22 resulted in a charge and/or summons, down from 7.1 percent in the previous year.
With crimes shown to be at its highest level in 20 years, we want to know if you feel safe where you live. Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.
Let us know which option you voted for and why in the comments section below.
The Mirror will also be discussing the topic with you below in the comments and you can join in! All you have to do is sign up, submit your comment, register your details and then you can take part.