Avoid crime hotspots, get the Areaview

The recent British Crime Survey (BCS) report, Crime in England and Wales released by the Home Office, clearly demonstrates that the majority of crime is property related, with 56% of offences against homes or vehicles.

Landmark Information Group, one of the country’s leading providers of property and environmental risk information offers homeowners and buyers peace of mind by providing a direct way to identify crime levels in their current or prospective neighbourhood through the use of their Areaview and Plansearch Plus Reports.

Overall, more than 300,000 households were the victims of a burglary last year and homes with no security measures were around ten times more likely to have experienced a break-in than those using simple security measures. Vandalism is also an issue, with the offence making up more than a quarter of all BCS crimes. By accessing the information provided by Landmark’s Areaview Report homeowners and potential buyers can assess the level of unlawful activity taking place in the local area, and even compare against national averages.

James Sherwood-Rogers, Managing Director of Landmark Legal and Financial comments: “Our Areaview Report provides homeowners and homebuyers with information on crime rates, as well as information on the number of theft insurance claims in the locations – which is unique to Landmark. This essential information will help homebuyers make an informed decision and protect their assets accordingly.

Understandably, levels of crime across England and Wales are not evenly distributed and can be highly concentrated in particular areas. For example, people living in more rural areas are less likely to become the victims of household crime, including burglary and vehicle related theft, than those living in more urban areas. Whilst this distinction may seem obvious, the Landmark reports enable users to further drill down and view actual statistics for their local council, giving the true picture for their area.”

James Sherwood-Rogers continues; “Issues within the four walls of the building often dominate when purchasing a new property and most homebuyers fail to consider equally important external factors. Areaview and Plansearch Plus provide potential purchasers with peace of mind, knowing they have all the information about their new home and neighbourhood available in one easy-to-use report.”

Both the Areaview and Plansearch Plus reports can be obtained direct from Landmark’s Homecheck website at homecheck.co.uk starting from as little as £11.75. The reports not only contain information on crime rates, they also provide data on schools and exam performance as well as identifying specific local amenities and other useful content on demographics and the local neighbourhood. Plansearch Plus provides all the information contained in Areaview with the addition of information on planning applications, larger planning decisions and Local Authority Land Use Designations.