Deprivation and soaring crime rates

The Stapleton Road area of Bristol and the West ward of Rhyl, north Wales, were yesterday named as among the five worst crime spots in Britain and the first to be declared "policing priority areas".

The target of the special measures operation in the Stapleton Road area will be two multi-storey high rise blocks which act as the centre of a network of drug-dealing and prostitution.

While many other crime hotspots have seen a decline in at least one type of crime, whether it be burglary or car theft, in recent years, this part of Bristol has suffered from soaring street robberies, burglaries and thefts at a rate far above those faced by most inner city areas.

The area, which is among the 10% most deprived places in the country, saw 138 recorded robbery incidents between April and December last year, fuelling a robbery rate in central Bristol that has risen by 35% in the past year and has reached a rate that is eight times the national average and three times that of similar neighbourhoods across the country.

In some parts of Britain the increase in street crime has been accompanied by a fall in burglary and car crime rates, as new security devices thwart the thieves. But in this part of Bristol burglaries have also increased in the past year, by 18%, and car crime has soared by 31%.

It may at first sight seem surprising that a quiet north Wales seaside town should be ranked by the Home Office police standards unit alongside inner city areas in south London and Bradford as among the worst crime spots in Britain.

But for the 5,000 people who live among the decaying properties which look out over Colwyn Bay, drug-related crime is an everyday feature of life.

Much of the population is unemployed, having drifted from the big cities such as Liverpool and bringing their addiction problems with them.

There are no shops in the area and the West ward accounts for more than 30% of all crime in a town recognised as the most deprived area in Wales.