The Essex town plagued by ‘break ins’ but named among the ‘best …

Buckhurst Hill is well known for being an affluent area, with the town even being named as one of the best places to live in the UK ^[1]. But residents have claimed that the neighbourhood has been plagued with crime, including break-ins.

Although the town oozes wealth and glamour ^[2], with fancy homes, high end fashion outlets and a plethora of beauty bars, one shopkeeper in the town claims that they 'don't see police around the town'. Lorna Mosely said: "Safety would be great but it is hard. You don't see any police around, but I enjoy living here."

Residents claim that the area is a 'target' for break ins in particular. Data from Essex Police shows that crime rates in Buckhurst Hill have fluctuated between September 2022 to August 2023 with crime at its highest in August 2023.

According to the figures, crime levels in the town were at 10.4 per cent with 200 crimes reported within the area. Research revealed violence and sexual offences were the most commonly reported crime during September 2023 with 56 reports followed by vehicle crimes with 36 reports. Public order and anti-social behaviour were joint 3rd with 11 reports each.

Another shopkeeper, who has been trading on the famous Queen's Road for 20 years said: "It [the town] has gone down the hill, particularly with social and crime issues. All these people target this area for break-ins."

They also said they experienced a couple of attempted break-ins during their two decades of trading and have not seen a lot of police patrols in the area in the last 10 years. Crime trend analysis site CrimeRate highlighted Buckhurst Hill was the worst small town in Essex for robbery in April 2022, with 4 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.34 per 1,000 inhabitants.

However, many have emphasized they do feel safe in the area compared to other places in Essex. Speaking about how could the area improve, resident and shop owner Lorna Mosely said: "Safety would be great but it is hard now isn't it. You don't see any police around, but that in any area but I enjoy living here."

An Essex Police spokesperson said: "Whilst Buckhurst Hill remains a very safe place to live, work and socialise, we work very closely with our community partners, including our colleagues in the Metropolitan Police community policing team and British Transport Police, to share information and conduct joint operations.

"We know, however, that every victim of crime is one victim too many and that is why we carry out targeted work to reduce all crime, including antisocial behaviour. That work also includes regular, visible patrols across the town.

"In the last year, all crime across the Epping Forest district has fallen by just over 3% whilst antisocial behaviour specifically has fallen by 27.3%. Indeed, in the last five years, antisocial behaviour reports in district have fallen from 3,188 to 1,068 – a reduction of 66%.

"We know there is always more to do, and we would always encourage our public to report all incidents of crime or antisocial behaviour to us, which helps us build a local intelligence picture and allocate our resources accordingly."

References

^{^} one of the best places to live in the UK (www.thetimes.co.uk)
^{^} oozes wealth and glamour (www.essexlive.news)
^{^} Beaulieu Parkway Bridge: Brand new £14m curved bridge over A12 finally opens after weeks of delays (www.essexlive.news)
^{^} Two from Essex charged after 100,000 people took to streets of central London calling for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war (www.essexlive.news)