One in four Brits victim of robbery in a public place

A quarter (11 million) of British adults have fallen victim to a robbery in a public place over the last five years, with thieves stealing over £8.3 billion of personal possessions, according to research from Halifax Home Insurance.

More than one million victims also said that they were subjected to either physical or verbal intimidation during their ordeal. A quarter of victims were pick-pocketed and completely oblivious to the crime until well after the event.

The most popular item targeted by thieves’ was a mobile phone (44%). Wallets were next, reported by a quarter (25%) of victims followed by jewellery with 15%. Stolen clothing accounted for almost one in ten (9%) incidents, while 8% of victims said they’d been relieved of a camera and 6% of their iPods and other music players.

60% of thefts in a public place were a result of victims leaving items unattended. Halifax Home Insurance is warning people that while most home insurance policies cover items stolen outside the home, they may be invalidated if people have not taken due care of them.

According to the research busy restaurants/bars and public transport are the joint worst places to leave items unattended, with 28% of theft victims leaving items unattended in one of these two public places (14% in each). Britons should also beware of light fingered colleagues, 13% of respondents had possessions stolen after leaving them unattended in the workplace. An additional 9% of victims left items unattended in a busy shopping mall or high street while 4% fell victim whilst working out in the gym

Despite the high incidences of theft, less than one-in-ten (9%) victims claimed on their house insurance to cover the cost of the item.

Vicky Emmott, senior underwriter at Halifax Home Insurance, said: “It is disturbing that millions of Britons continue to fall victim to theft each year. It is not just the financial cost of the lost items; many victims of crime are left psychologically traumatised, particularly when physical or verbal intimidation has been used in the crime. Halifax Home Insurance is advising Britons to remain cautious and take sensible precautions to reduce the risk of becoming a victim. People should be discreet with expensive items and where possible keep items safely secured to reduce the risk of theft.”

“Householders can protect themselves against the financial costs of theft by ensuring they have adequate home insurance cover that protects them for the loss or theft of items when outside the home.”

The survey findings expose how vulnerable Britons’ possessions are to theft; almost one-in ten people living in Greater London (9%) and the Midlands (8%) had wallets stolen in the last five years. The North East region (3%) ranked lowest for the theft of wallets. The Midlands ranked highest for the theft of jewellery with 6% of the region’s inhabitants suffering from this crime in the last five years. The North West ranked highest in the league table for ipod and music player thefts.