Former councillor defends Bulwell after 'terrifying place to live' claims

An 80-year-old local resident was reported as saying she only leaves her home in the daytime because it is ‘too dangerous' to be out and about in Bulwell at night.

Home Office data on the police.uk website indicates that reports of violence and sexual offences in Bulwell are the highest of any in Nottingham's residential areas.

A 19-year-old Bulwell woman is reported to have said that because it has been labelled as a crime hotspot, Bulwell is not a suitable place to bring up her 18-month-old daughter, and she is hoping to move away from the area.

She added that she could not visualise the prospect of sending her daughter to school in Bulwell on her own.

But Jackie, an honorary alderman of the city council and an ex-Lord Mayor and Sheriff of Nottingham, is herself a Bulwell resident and formerly represented the ward on the council.

She said the Home Office statistics needed to be treated with caution because the data was based on reports of crimes rather than the number of actual offences.

She stressed: "If a report is received that a crime has been committed, it does not necessarily follow that is the case.

"If Bulwell is such a den of iniquity, why are many people showing an interest in buying a house there?

"Like all other areas, Bulwell has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic but it has a lot going for it.

"Bulwell does not deserve to be given a bad image without any redeeming features."

Jackie agreed, however, with some residents that Bulwell would benefit from having more police officers on the beat to provide a reassuring presence on the streets.

Rob Griffin, assistant chief constable of Nottinghamshire pointed out that as the Home Office figures were not based on actual crime numbers, it was very difficult to compare one part of the county with another.

He stressed that Bulwell was well covered by the police's City North Operation Reacher team, which focused 'dynamically' on local issues, and officers who specialised in tackling violent crime.