Thousands of violence-related offences in city centre linked to alcohol consumption

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

There were thousands of violence-related offences in Cardiff city centre this year according to a new  report on the impact of alcohol consumption.

Cardiff Council’s licensing committee met on Wednesday 25 October to discuss the proposed re-publication of its cumulative impact assessment (CIA), which aims to deal with the issue of crime linked to the city’s night time economy.

A review carried out by a number of bodies, including the police, said that there remains large amounts of crime and disorder in the city centre linked to the presence of licensed premises.

Crime and disorder

The review also found that street drinking is primarily an issue during daytime hours in Cardiff city centre.

Councils introduce CIAs to limit the number of licensed premises in areas where there are already a large number of them to try and cut down on crime and disorder.

Once brought in, a review of CIAs is required every three years to see if it is still required.

A council report on community safety issues within Cardiff city centre during the night time economy highlights that although incidents in the city centre are way above the ward average, incidents have dropped since 2019.

The report states that the percentage of anti-social behaviour in the city centre has decreased in the last four years from 18.2% in 2019/20 to 14.7% in 2022/23.

Another council report on the CIA presented to the licensing committee shows that 1,256 violence against the person offences were recorded between 6am and 6pm in the city centre for the 2022/23 financial year.

Police statistics revealed that the streets with the highest number of offences recorded as violence, drugs, sexual offences and public order offences during the night time economy hours from 2019 to 2023 were:

1. St Mary Street (1,328)
2. Queen Street (659)
3. Castle Street (311)
4. Mill Lane (282)
5. Park Place (271)
6. Greyfriars Rd (242)
7. Churchill Way (196)
8. Caroline St (152)
9. The Hayes (143)
10. Westgate St (141)
11. Knox Rd (133)

A number of changes have been proposed for Cardiff Council’s current CIA, including the removal of the hours 7am to 9pm as exemptions from the CIA.

Stricter measures

This would mean stricter measures on the sale of alcohol during this time in CIA areas.

Other proposed changes include the exclusion of certain licensed premises, including hotels, cinemas and restaurants from the CIA, with the council’s report noting that “not all types of licensed premises contribute to crime and disorder in the city centre.”

It has also been proposed that Stuttgarter Strasse be removed from the revised CIA.

The review of the CIA found little evidence to suggest that the street suffers from a high percentage of crime and disorder in relation to licensed premises nearby.

At today’s committee meeting, it was agreed that the proposed CIA should go out to a 12 week consultation before being brought back to the licensing committee for consideration.

Following this process, the CIA will go on to full council for a final decision.