The coastal crime map from Penmaen-mawr to Morecambe was analysed for ‘Antisocial Behaviour’. In all resorts, anti-social behaviour was the dominant crime. The best and worst holiday resorts are identified, data for reducing crime is also considered. The data used is from ‘Police Crime Mapping’ for the 3 month period Sep Oct Nov 2010 was compared with the same period in 2009. Within a short time of publication, statistics often become ‘out of date’, these were the latest figures available when this article was submitted. The results of data from holiday resorts along hundreds of miles of coastline stretching from Morecombe to Penmaenmawr can be seen below:
Rhyl 30
Blackpool 25 Approximately the same as Bournemouth
Brighton 12 – 14
Colwyn Bay 12 – 14
Morcambe 12 – 14
Llandudno 8.7
Penmaenmawr6.1
Conwy 4.1
Prestatyn 3.1
With the exception of Rhyl, every seaside resort is the same as or better than Bournemouth. Most holiday resorts along this coastline are either as safe as, or safer than Brighton.
All of the smaller holiday resorts were found to be low crime areas, as were many of the bigger ones; Conwy, Colwyn Bay, Prestatyn and Llandudno. Each of these was found to be either as good as, or better than the benchmark (Brighton). Most resorts along this coastline have very low crime figures, just two examples are Rhos-on-Sea and Penrhyn Bay; they are simply too numerous to mention. It is easier to identify the relatively few resorts that are shown on crime maps as being worse than the benchmark.
Preliminary Conclusion: Rhyl has a problem, but every other North Wales seaside resort is the same as, or better than the benchmark. Some of these resorts have the added attraction of a pier and many have sandy beaches. There is a false perception that some North Wales holiday resorts have deprived housing, tenants on benefit and are high crime areas. This is not true, in one particular case the blame is clearly attributable to cllrs who have given misinformation to the local press. One councillor (who was the Town councils representative for regeneration) compared a part of the seaside town to Beirut. Local press printed this as ‘breaking news’ in their newspapers (part of a group of papers with over 600,000 readers in North and Mid Wales, W. Cheshire and North Shropshire).
It is thought that the most important statistic is the crime detection rate. Most people will think twice if they think they will be caught and then prosecuted. A seaside resort which has one of the best is Colwyn Bay. Holidaymakers to Colwyn bay will not be surprised as the Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s), and other Police officers are both high visibility and very approachable. A statistic of questionable value is the percentage figure that crime has been reduced by, this figure can be misleading. A problem with this statistic is that it is harder for good area that has previously reduced crime to reduce it further by any significant amount. An example is Conwy, where an average of only two people per thousand suffered anti-social behaviour.
It only needed an average of 1 extra person over this same period to cause an increase in crime of 50%.
Blackpool15% reduction in antisocial behaviour
Rhyl8.2%reduction in antisocial behaviour
Colwyn Bay1.8%reduction in antisocial behaviour
Llandudno1.5%reduction in anti-social behaviour
Conwy79.5% ***increase in*** antisocial behaviour
Along the whole of the Welsh and English coastline from Penmaen-mawr to Morecombe, only Rhyl has a worse violent crime rate than Bournemouth. Rhyl 9.2 per 1000, Bournemouth 7.5 per 1000 Blackpool 6 per 1000 All other resorts the same as or better than Brighton. Crime detection rate in Colwyn Bay are around 54% and it is ‘one of the safest’ towns in Britain.
Conclusion
With just two exceptions (Blackpool and Rhyl), all the seaside resorts in North Wales and the North West are safer (or the same as) Brighton for the anti-social behaviour. Crime mapping statistics would be better if detection rates were included. Seaside resorts with high detection rates (e.g. Colwyn Bay) would benefit from publication of these statistics. The possible reasons why Rhyl has more problems than surrounding areas will be covered in a separate article. When Rhyl was in its heyday, it had a pier that was over 2000 ft long and lots of associated attractions. These included diving competitions, pier shops, kiosks, bands, steamer ships, Pierott troupes, slot machines and a Pavilion Theatre. The pier was demolished in 1973 and Rhyl has gone downhill ever since.