Residents more likely to be burgled in Oldham than Glasgow

Shocking figures collated by both Police UK and the Scottish Government, and analysed by Churchill Support Services, have highlighted that there have been more burglaries in the borough than in the city of Glasgow - an area of the UK with 78.9 crimes committed per 1,000 people, making it the most dangerous place to live in Scotland.

Despite Oldham only having a population of 243,912, which is 391,218 less than Glasgow, 1,515 burglaries were committed in the year from September 2022 to 2023 -  292 more than the Scottish city.

Compared to areas in Greater Manchester, Oldham ranked third worst in the county, outside of the city centre, for the burglary rate per 1,000 people with 6.2- behind Salford at 6.3 and neighbouring Rochdale at 6.6.

All higher than Glasgow's 1.9 burglaries per 1,000 people.

Speaking about the data, Cllr Kamran Ghafoor, of Oldham Group, said: "From first-hand experience I do know it takes a very long time for the police to get to burglaries.

"There's not a lot done to the perpetrators of these crimes, they usually get away with it so there's not that deterrence.

"There was a burglary at one of my friends' places and the police came two days later to have a look."

Cllr Kamran Ghafoor, of Oldham Group (Image: Oldham Council)

However, the Hollinwood ward member sympathised with Greater Manchester Police officers adding that they "are bogged down with too much".

Oldham's burglary rate is above the national average which sits at 6.0, despite it falling by 13 per cent on the previous year.

Cllr Howard Sykes, of the Lib Dems, said: "I think we have a bit of an issue with crime it's not just burglary.

"I think the borough is safe, the key with this is detection rates - if people think they might get caught then burglary will go down.

"I do think there is a bit of an issue at GMP with crime and crime detection rates."

Cllr Howard Sykes told The Oldham Times he believes it is safe to live in Oldham, but that detection rates are low in the county (Image: Oldham Council)

He added: "I know we've recorded more police officers but I'm not seeing the difference and I don't think residents are."

Meanwhile, the number of burglaries in the county has fallen by 20 per cent - the most for any county in the country.

Churchill Support Services in-depth analysis of the figures revealed that a burglary occurs somewhere in the UK every two minutes, and the cost of burglary and theft to small businesses reaches £12.9 billion every year.

The security service informed The Oldham Times that the average value of items stolen during a home burglary adds up to £2,800, with an extra £600 for damages and repairs.

Speaking about burglary in the borough, a spokesperson for Oldham Council said: “The council’s community safety team works closely with colleagues at Greater Manchester Police to tackle the issue.

“Our staff are active across our communities and regularly provide crime reduction information and support to residents.

“If your property is targeted, or you have any information about a burglary, we’d urge you to contact the police - you can also provide information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Greater Manchester Police has been contacted for comment.

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