Councillors at odds over ‘perceptions’ of safety in city centre

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

A new crime study in Newport has sparked a row over how important it is to feel safe in the city centre.

The city council has published a new strategy for creating a “safer Newport”, focusing on the problem areas of antisocial behaviour, serious organised crime, and offences against vulnerable groups.

At a council meeting on Tuesday, opposition councillors picked up on new research which shows around one-in-four people (24%) feel unsafe visiting the city centre in the night time, compared with around 36% who do feel safe.

Cllr Matthew Evans, who leads the Conservative group, called the results of a public survey “truly dreadful” and said antisocial behaviour was the most common issue residents raised with him.

There are “obvious issues within the city centre”, fellow Conservative councillor David Fouweather added.

Independent councillor Allan Morris told the meeting that “people I speak to are afraid to go into our city centre in the daytime” and “we as a council will be judged on what becomes” of the area.

Several Labour councillors challenged those “perceptions” of safety, however.

Sceptical

Cllr John Reynolds told the meeting he was “sceptical of surveys where people are asked about how they feel”.

He said crime data showed “there has been no increase in assaults, muggings or burglaries”, adding that councillors “have got to be really careful in terms of looking at perceptions”.

But the council’s own “Safer Newport” study focused heavily on asking for perceptions of safety in the city centre, with 3,646 people taking part in various online or in-person surveys.

The meeting heard other, more positive “perceptions”, including from Labour councillors Farzina Hussain, Emma Stowell-Corten and Kate Thomas, who all spoke about visiting the city centre at night time.

Cllr Thomas said “I can’t say I’ve ever felt troubled… about going to the city centre in the evening”, and also told colleagues crime was a matter for the police.

“I’m fed up with my constituents coming to me with problems that are clearly criminal behaviour,” she explained. “I would say to people – don’t expect the police to be aware of everything if you haven’t reported it.”

Independent councillor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi complained about the council turning off street lights at night time, telling the meeting he “can’t understand the value of that” when it comes to safety.

Budgets

The council leader, Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, said the local authority did not want to switch off street lights, but budgets had been “decimated” and there was no “magic money pot” available.

Cllr Ray Mogford, reflecting on his duties as the current mayor, said he had been “encouraged” by the work in the city centre, and “some of the positivity has been reassuring”.

“We speak about data, and we speak about perceptions,” he added. “Sometimes perceptions are more important than data.”

“There’s an onus on us to support the city… but let’s not get too euphoric,” he warned colleagues, adding: “If you criticise people for raising issues, you are doing a disservice.”