Action programme aims to make city centre safer

10 hours ago

Sarah Wakefieldin Bradford

News image — Police say they will have greater visibility in Bradford city centre, as well as gathering intelligence

BBC A man looks at the camera and is dressed a police uniform. He wears a black jacket with a line of blue and white checks running horizontally. He is wearing a black cap with a checked line through the middle and police badge. Behind him is a city square and some trees — Police say they will have greater visibility in Bradford city centre, as well as gathering intelligence

A bid to improve Bradford city centre and make it a cleaner and safer space for people living, working and visiting there has been launched.

The Bradford City Centre Action Partnership aims to bring together several organisations as part of a coordinated programme of action.

Its first major initiative was a "day of action" on Tuesday which saw West Yorkshire Police work alongside the council, homeless outreach services and local businesses.

Ch Insp Nick Haigh said the force had increased its visibility and a city centre partnership would help officers "problem-solve more effectively" when they met on a "regular basis".

Haigh said it would become "more of a normality" to see officers on patrol in Bradford city centre as part of the programme.

A light coloured stone city hall building with many windows. The sun is shining on it. It is Victorian in design with intricate arched windows and doorways. There are five police vehicles parked outside the building. — Bradford Council says the new partnership will "provide a framework for greater coordination"

Over the last 15 months, Bradford City Neighbourhood policing team has gone from 13 officers to 25 through what is known as the Neighbourhood Uplift Guarantee, which is a commitment from central government.

Although overall crime had fallen by 2.5% in the last 12 months, Haigh added that one of the biggest issues was people's perceptions of the city feeling unsafe.

"It's about us getting out there and speaking with communities about what they are concerned about and providing that visibility," he said.

Last month, Bradford Reform UK councillor Sally Birch said she did not feel safe walking through the city.

She told the Bradford Wellbeing Board: "I used to come into Bradford three years ago, it didn't faze me. Now I won't do that on my own."

A man stands in front of a large pale stone city hall. He is wearing a cream coloured coat and a brown checked scarf and a blue tie and white shirt. He has very short white hair and a grey and black beard. He is wearing chunky black framed glasses — Council leader Stephen Place wants people to come back to the city centre with "civic pride"

When asked about Birch's comments, Reform leader of the council Stephen Place said: "She is entitled to her opinion, and, as a woman, if she doesn't feel safe she has every right to express that feeling."

Place added that the general perception about Bradford was "very negative" and "doesn't do anyone any good at all".

The newly launched Bradford City Centre Action Partnership aimed to bring people back into the city centre, to spend their time and money and to have some "civic pride", he explained.

"We are working together to deal with anti-social behaviour, drug dealing and illegal car parking," he added.

Bradford Council said it hoped to roll out a similar partnership to other areas of the district such as Keighley, Shipley and Wyke in due course.

A man with very close-cropped grey hair smiles at the camera.He is wearing a grey zip up hoodie and a green t-short and a pair of sunglasses. He is standing in front of a city hall on a square — Gary Briggs has lived and worked in the city for 25 years and says he feels safe

Gary Briggs, who has lived and worked in Bradford for 25 years, said he did not think Bradford felt any less safe than other cities.

He said he had never felt "uneasy" day or night, but conceded that he was a "mid-50s stocky guy" so he could see how other people might have had a different experience.

"I think a lot of Bradford's reputation is down to people who have an agenda and what they put online to fuel that," Briggs said.

"Sometimes those things start with a grain of truth, but I've never had an issue here."

A woman smiles at the camera and has black curly hair and is wearing sunglasses and a blue coat. She is also wearing gold hoop earrings. She is standing in front of a pale stone building — Angie says she does not mind walking through the city centre at night

Meanwhile, Angela, who has lived in Bradford since 2004, said she felt comfortable leaving work late at night in the city centre.

"It's never been a problem. I've always felt safe," she said.

Musa, 19, agreed that Bradford had a poor reputation, but said he did not know where that had come from.

"I've lived here all my life. There's a complete misconception of being unsafe here. I think it's fine," he said.

A man with short dark hair coming over his forehead smiles at the camera. He is standing in a street wearing a black zip up jacket and has a small goatee beard — Musa believes there are too many misconceptions about Bradford city centre being unsafe

Bradford Council said the City Centre Action Partnership was different from similar schemes that had operated in the city.

The partnership would "provide a framework for greater coordination, helping to identify priorities, address emerging issues and maximise opportunities to enhance the city centre environment", a spokesperson said.

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