Several foreign governments have issued warnings to travellers heading to the UK, as crime rates soar across the country. Last year an estimated 9.6 million incidents of headline crime were recorded in the UK – these include theft, robbery, criminal damage, fraud, computer misuse, and violence with or without injury.
This represented a 14% rise on 2023, mostly on account of increases in fraud and theft. The troubling crime rates have prompted a number of foreign government to update their travel advice to the UK for their citizens. The Australian government has raised its risk assessment for travel to the UK from a Level 1 to a Level 2.
Canberra is urging Australians to “exercise a high degree of caution” when visiting Britain. Officials note on the Smart Traveller website that “petty crime is common, including pickpocketing” and warn readers of thieves who use “scooters and bicycles to snatch belongings”.
In Australia, there are only four risk levels when it comes to travel warnings: Level 1 indicates that a country is “similar” to Australia safety-wise, while Level Four is “do not travel” because “your health and safety are at extreme risk”.
Level 2, issued to the UK, “may reflect a weak law-and-order system, where violent crime is common,” explains the website, adding that the country “may lack some key public services, such as a responsive police force.”
UK travel warnings have also been issued by France, Canada, New Zealand, the UAE and Mexico, which has its own problems with drug-related crime.
In particular travellers are urged to be on their guard when visiting London, where mobile phone theft is a common problem. According to the Metropolitan Police, one mobile phone is stolen every six minutes across the capital.
The UAE embassy website also warns its citizens of a “recent increase in violence and knife crime” in London, “including a number of attacks on citizens of Arab Gulf states”.
It says: “We advise our citizens to take special care, especially at night, and avoid wearing valuable items that attract attention in public places”.
The capital’s Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan launched his new London Police and Crime Plan1 in March to help make the city’s streets safer.
The aim of the four year plan is to work closely with the Labour government “to strengthen neighbourhood policing in London so that more officers are in the heart of communities to crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour”.