FERMANAGH is one of the safest places to live not only in the North but in all of the UK, and it’s getting safer every year, according to a new study.
The new study by insurance website Confused.com, based on burglary statistics from police forces around the UK, has revealed that the Fermanagh and Omagh council area had the least number of burglaries in the North last year, with a total of 118 recorded.
The study also revealed the number of burglaries here had fallen every year for the past five years, dropping from 1.85 burglaries per 1,000 population in 2017 to 1.01 in 2021, a decrease of over 11 percent. In contrast, this is almost a quarter, 23.48 percent, less than the number of burglaries in Derry and Strabane, where there were 1.32 per 1,000 people.
Overall, the local area was the fourth safest place in the North, based on the number of burglaries per head of population, and 36th safest place to live in the UK, out of 353 areas studied.
Mid Ulster was the ‘safest’ place to live in the North, with 0.93 burglaries per 1,000 people, with Ards and North Down and Mid and East Antrim also coming in slightly ahead of Fermanagh and Omagh.
Belfast is the area where you are most likely to be targeted by thieves, with 3.44 burglaries per 1,000 people.
On a UK-wide level, most of those with the lower burglary statistics were either located on Scottish islands or in the sparsely populated Highlands.
Jessica Willock, home insurance expert with Confused.com, said while the number of burglaries was dropping, it was still important to make sure your home was safe.
“Security cameras and burglary alarms aren’t only a great deterrent from potential thieves but having them could reduce your home insurance prices,” she said, pointing to a number of steps you can take to secure your property.
These measures include keeping your doors locked, even when at home, replacing your locks if you’ve just moved into a house, storing your keys safely away from the reach of your front door at night, where criminals could reach them with a hook, and investing in a home alarm system.
“Nowadays, technology has advanced to give us cheap, easy to install smart home devices such as doorbells and automated lights. These let you know who’s outside without you needing to go near the door,” said Ms Willock.
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