We have had a few reports over the last couple of weeks of incidents of burglary and street robbery. Incidents like these become news, because thankfully they are comparatively rare in our neighbourhood. There are a number of statistics which provide a bit of context.

A recent report from MoneySavingSupermarket.Com has been widely re-published - it researches insurance claims to find the postcodes which make the most claims for burglary  - Manchester's M21 district was the most burgled and, somewhat surprisingly, Muswell Hill N10 was third on the list with N2 - Fortis Green and East Finchley - coming in at fifth.

Report author Kevin Pratt said: ''... just because somewhere is named a claim hotspot, it doesn't actually mean the area in question is not a nice place to live.

''Thieves often target areas with wealthy residents and desirable properties where the rewards are potentially greater or quieter areas where they think there is less risk of being caught red-handed.''

House breaking is only one type of crime - on our Crime and Policing Page on this site we have links to the Metropolitan Police Crime map which displays data on how many crimes of which type are being committed in specific areas. The aggregate crime figures are displayed each month.

Having a look at Bowes Ward and Bounds Green Ward shows that crime in our local areas is average for London - and this is true right across Enfield and Haringey boroughs. Overall crime in the UK has been falling in recent years - The Office of National Statistics show a drop of 7% last year.

However If a number of incidents happen together in one area over a short time - it may have an impact on that month's figure - but only because the underlying figure for criminal incidents is fairly low - so a handful of incidents will skew the figures. It will be interesting to track our local statistics over forthcoming months.

Whilst crime overall may be falling - the "fear of crime" remains high. Many people consistently overestimate the number and severity of crimes that happen in their neighbourhood. Academic research into the popular perception that things appear worse than they actually are shows this can lead to negative psychological outcomes depression and anxiety.

Being the victim of crime - street robbery, theft, or burglary is horrific and damaging to each individual victim, but thankfully our neighbourhood is no worse than any other part of the Capital in this regard. Whilst we should remain vigilant, look out for our neighbours and report anything suspicious, we should also celebrate our relatively peaceful area without living in fear.