Police stepping up patrols on estate where people are afraid to speak up

PEOPLE living on the Saffron Lane estate have voiced their concerns over rising crime.

Police have admitted an increase in crime and disorder on the estate to the south of Leicester city centre and that officers are stepping up presence in the estate.

The Mercury has spoken to people living in the area - but they were too worried about the repercussions of their words being traced back to them to be quoted.

But those residents talked of a band of “lawless” youths causing problems, with reports of them carrying knives and being physically violent at random.

Elston Fields, also known as Ticktock Park, is an area that locals have pinpointed as hotspot for problems.

They also say that the people that have encountered problems are too worried about what might happen to them if caught speaking to the police.

In response to these concerns from the public, the force issued a statement.

The force said that it is doing what it can to combat crime, especially violent crime, and is aware of a rise in the number of incidents on the Saffron Lane estate.

Inspector Mike Cawley said: “We are aware of an increase in violent crime and disorder in the Saffron Lane estate.

“As a result of this, we applied for and have successfully secured a Home Office grant (to) enable us to provide additional activity to target streetbased serious violence and knife crime.

“This funding will become part of a dedicated operation to give local officers an increased resource and be able to provide extra patrols to hopefully reassure residents and deter those responsible.

“While we understand that people may be fearful reporting matters to police, it’s difficult for us to respond to incidents and investigate crimes if we are not told about them.

“Information is extremely important and helps us build the bigger picture around offences which cause our communities the most harm. It allows us to better target offenders and prioritise our resources.

“You can contact Crimestoppers and pass on information without having to leave your name. This information is passed onto the police confidentially and can’t be traced back to the person who supplied it. We would encourage anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable to contact us to use Crimestoppers.

■Contact the police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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