Fengtai district ranked top in terms of burglary cases in 2009, followed by Chaoyang and Haidian district, Beijing police said Monday.
In two lists of areas with the 10 highest and lowest burglary cases last year, four villages in Fengtai district were labeled as most unsafe and Chaoyang and Haidian district each got three areas on the top 10 list of highest burglaries.
It was Fanjiacun in Fengtai district that got top slot with 379 burglary reports last year.
Beijing police said Monday that most high-burglary-rate areas are located in the suburbs because of high densities of floating population, according to the Mirror Evening News. There are only about 2,000 Beijing hukou holders in Fanjiacun, but at least 100,000 migrants, according to the website of Huaxiang township where Fanjiacun is located.
METRO contacted the police stations of Fanjiacun and Liuliqiao, the second highest on the list, but police officers declined to comment.
Fengtai police said in November they had opened three new police stations in Fanjiacun, Liuliqiao and Xinfadi to tighten security.
Some people think the list is reasonable.
"I'm living in Dongsheng, Haidian district, and the public order here is terrible," said Chen Na, a student of the graduate school of the People's Bank of China in Wudaokou. Dongsheng Township recorded 184 burglary cases, ranking 10th.
"We have security guards and very good locks, but we still lose our belongings from time to time," she said. "I guess burglars are active because there are many foreigners living here in Wudaokou and they are regarded as lucrative targets."
However, Guo Linlin, a woman who once lived in Fengtai district, said the district is "fine".
"I live in Fangzhuang, a very mature residential area in Fengtai district," Guo said. "Most residents here are children and senior citizens." According to the Beijing police department, two thirds of burglary cases occur in rental properties, and 60 percent take place in single-story buildings.
The Jiaodaokou area near Andingmen of Dongcheng district had the lowest reported number of cases on the list of safe places, with only three burglaries in 2009.
Police said the reason that six out of the 10 safest areas were in Dongcheng district was because police worked with local communities to patrol the areas and take preventive measures, such as warning residents to lock their doors properly.
