Residents ‘shocked’ to hear that Clarendon Park is a hotspot for crime.

Crime has reached its highest levels in three years in one part of Leicester, leaving some residents “terrified”.

Leicestershire police’s online crime map shows 75 crimes were reported in Clarendon Park in September alone.

John, 49, who works at Morelli’s Barbershop, said that “crime has increased a lot” in the ten years he’s lived in Clarendon, but was still surprised to hear the statistics: “Wow, that surprises me. We used to have more police around a few years ago. I didn’t expect it to be that many.”

Of these 75 crimes, 19 were violent and sexual. This came as a shock to 21-year-old University of Leicester student, Kiera Hendy, although she was already quite wary of areas like Victoria Park:

“It’s like, actually terrifying. I've had conversations with some of my friends about how if we go through Victoria Park at night, we'll purposefully go the long way home, where there's more light, because you kind of have to do that as a girl.”

More sexual and violent offences were reported this September than last year, but fewer than in September 2022, which recorded 21, showing long-term issues in the area.

Kiera said that in September, there were three burglaries reported on her road, and she suspects people have tried to enter hers as well: “I wonder if people know that there are student houses here, and that’s why they target them. They might not think we’re sensible enough to lock our doors all the time.”

Clarendon Park has a high student population, so Kiera assumed that other students were most likely responsible for these crimes. She was surprised to learn that, according to the crime map, crime is highest in spring and summer when fewer students are in the area; in August, 93 crimes were reported in Clarendon Park.

In the last three years, 48% of investigations were completed without the offender being found. This is the single most common outcome.

Local subpostmaster, Nirali Shah, 37, believes that part of the problem is that police don’t take “family issues” seriously: “I have experience with alcohol problems in the family, and when we called the police, they don’t take action.”

In a statement, the Neighbourhood Policing Commander for South Leicester, Paul Crewe, said that of the 19 violent and sexual offences, 16 are recorded as assaults, which “appear to be” domestic.

He went on to say: “We have a zero-tolerance approach to domestic abuse, and all reports are investigated thoroughly with positive action taken against suspects.”

Aileen Odell, 68, who lives in Clarendon Park, said she would like to see more of a police presence on the streets, but acknowledges that the force has had several budget cuts: “They don’t have time to respond to everything in the way that they’d like to. I suppose they’ve got to prioritise.”

This follows the removal of 126 police staff roles and 50 Police Community Support Officers over the past three years.

In a statement, the police force said: “Across the Clarendon Park beat, we do have dedicated patrols in place, and we do work in partnership with the local business owners to make their premises more secure.

“Regular beat surgeries are held to give the local community the opportunity to share any concerns they may have, alongside advice being given to residents on how to keep themselves safe and avoid becoming a victim of crime, such as burglaries.

“Our local priorities and what we are doing around these issues can be found on the force website Clarendon Park | Your area | Leicestershire Police.”

In October, crime was up again; 82 crimes were reported, 29 of which were violent and sexual.

“We would encourage anyone who may have information for police to pass this on to us as and when offences occur, so we are able to build a full picture of the offences taking place and where we can dedicate our resources to reduce any emerging issues.”