THE Government must put tackling crime and antisocial behaviour at the heart of its levelling-up strategy or be doomed to failure, experts have warned.
A new report argues that it is necessary to make it a “top priority” as it states just five per cent of neighbourhoods are responsible for more than 50 per cent of crime in the UK.
The Sun on Sunday visited a cross-section of four of the “hotspots” across the country — Oldham, Walsall, Cleveland and Chatham — and found abandoned high streets and locals too scared to use public transport.
The number of crimes here is well above the national average, which in 2021 was 85.5 crimes per 1,000 people.
Adam Hawksbee, of think tank Onward, said: “Antisocial behaviour should be a top priority in levelling up local areas.”
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The Government is soon due to unveil a new antisocial behaviour strategy and last month Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove vowed to tackle the issue.
Ex-Levelling Up Secretary Simon Clarke warned: “Levelling up isn’t just about economic regeneration, it’s about making our communities better places to live.
“Fear of crime and antisocial behaviour in parts of Cleveland brings misery to too many families.
"Targeted activity to deter this — and robust sentencing — is critical if we are to realise the full potential of our Levelling Up mission.”
Here are our findings from four of the country’s antisocial hotspots . . .
OLDHAM
- 123 crimes per 1,000 people
- 29,699 crimes committed last year
- 18 per cent rise in sexual offences
GANGS of hooded yobs are a looming presence at the town’s tram stops, and one resident told a local focus group: “You take your life into your hands for a £3.60 return.”
A recent report by Transport for Greater Manchester revealed the Oldham to Rochdale tram line is the worst hit in the city region for criminal damage.
Retired scientist David O’Neill, 78, told The Sun on Sunday: “My two daughters refuse to use the tram any more.
"One was targeted by a gang of youths as she came off the tram who threw stuff at her and shouted abuse.
"She was worried they were going to assault her. They are a nightmare.”
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Recent factory closures have led to Oldham’s decline and it is now among the poorest ten per cent of local authorities in the UK.
Security guard Sarah Thompson, 38, said: “Oldham is worse than the Wild West at night.
"There are pickpockets and people armed with knives and hammers.
"I don’t feel safe and I worry about getting stabbed. There are lots of crackheads and crystal meth users.”
Oldham received £20million of Government Levelling Up funding in January but locals want to ensure it is spent wisely.
Former doctor Pamela Heyes, 63, said: “There is no point in them pumping money into the place if they don’t solve the crime and antisocial behaviour. It needs more than a Government handout.”
CHATHAM
- 185 crimes per 1,000 people
- 50 per cent of offences in 2022 were of a sexual or violent nature
- 15 burglaries per 1,000 residents
A SIGN in the centre of Chatham’s High Street declares: “Millions of pounds are being invested in Chatham to make it a better place for you to live, work, learn and visit.”
But the Chatham Central and Rochester Riverside areas saw more crime than anywhere else in Kent, the latest yearly statistics show.
More than 3,000 crimes were committed last year, with violence and sexual offences making up 50 per cent of those reported.
In 2021 the area also recorded the highest rates of burglary in the county (15 per 1,000 residents), drug offences (12/1,000), weapons offences (5/1,000), robberies (7/1,000) and public order offences (42/1,000).
Chatham previously benefited from £14.4million in funding for the local Medway area but along the main shopping street 22 stores have closed, including Debenhams, KFC and a huge Go Outdoors warehouse and bingo hall.
Pensioner Elizabeth Pettitt, 92, from Chatham, said: “We used to have the Chatham Dockyard and manufacturing around here but most of the factories have closed down. It’s put people out of work.”
Latest figures from December 2022 reveal unemployment in Medway is at 3.8 per cent.
Restaurant boss Yilmaz Guney, 36, said: “A lot of people are on benefits. There’s no jobs, there’s few opportunities.
"I’ve lived in Turkey, London and Swansea and this is the most crime-ridden of all.”
WALSALL
- 120 crimes per 1,000 people
- 14 per cent increase in offences last year
- 34,252 crimes reported in 2022
- 2,009 of them were violent/sexual ones
THE once-proud Victorian town, famous for its leather industry, has become a crime hotspot after a number of stabbings and shootings, including the murder of 20-year-old Bailey Atkinson in the town centre last month.
Council leader Mike Bird admits the West Midlands district’s streets are lawless and dangerous.
It is the second most dangerous town in the UK, with 2,009 violent and/or sexual offences recorded in the 12 months to last November.
Residents say the town has been “left to rot” and its centre is now a no-go area due to fear of crime and being harassed by beggars.
In one run-down shopping arcade just three of the 30 shops are occupied.
The empty doorways are makeshift urinals, littered with empty bottles and beer cans.
Walsall has received £20million in the recent round of Levelling Up.
Trader Paul Brennan, 33, whose Market Square stall is next to where last month’s murder happened, said: “Many businesses have gone because of violence and shoplifting.
“I wouldn’t want to be here after 5pm, it’s not safe. Everyone seems to be carrying knives now.”
Resident Ray Jefferies, 73, said: “I’ve lived here all my life and have never known crime to be this bad.
“Every member of my family has been mugged over the years.
"I had my keys stolen by a bloke who pushed me off the bus. You only come into town if you have to.”
CLEVELAND
- 129 crimes per 1,000 people
- 7.5 per cent of Cleveland Police investigations lead to charge/summons
- 79,547 crimes reported in 2022
ON the edge of the picturesque North York moors — but with 129 crimes per 1,000 people and the second-worst knife crime levels in England — this is the most lawless area in the country.
The Cleveland Police patch covers a small population but includes the urban areas of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees, so is the largest area on these pages.
In south Middlesbrough there were 1,034 crimes in December alone, including 377 violent and/or sexual offences.
Nursing student Milly Johnson, 19, said: “There’s a huge drug problem. There are brawls in the street.
"Businesses would be more likely to move to the area if it was cleaned up. This would help with levelling up. No one wants to move here.”
Retired barmaid Elizabeth Robinson, 69, from Middlesbrough, said she is too scared to venture out at night due to mugging and violence.
Redcar and Cleveland borough council received £20million of Levelling Up funding to revitalise the Guisborough region.
But healthcare assistant Patrice Loawson, 38, said: “Crime is rife. Businesses don’t want to invest. They know they’ll be driven out by criminals.”
Surgeons at Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital are regularly treating stab wounds.
One, Barney Green, said: “There is roughly one every three days and that’s somebody being assaulted with a knife, not accidental.”
