Newcastle’s drunk and disorderly hotspots revealed
POLICE FIGURES HIGHLIGHT CITY’S 10 WORST STREETS
NEWCASTLE’S hotspots of drunk and disorderly behaviour have been revealed.
New figures obtained from Northumbria Police have highlighted the 10 city streets with the most arrests for being drunk and disorderly in a public place.
Newgate Street, home to bars such as Sinners and Tiger Tiger, has topped the list for each of the past three years - but its total number of arrests has significantly reduced from 207 in 2015/16 to just 127 last year.
Overall, Newcastle’s total drunk and disorderly arrests figure has dropped from 1,579 in 2015/16 to 1,306 in 2017/18, and police say it is “one of the safest cities in the country to enjoy a night out”.
Bigg Market - which places second on last year’s list - saw an increase in arrest numbers to 110 last year, having previously recorded 79 in each of the previous two.
Collingwood Street, where the likes of Madame Koo, House of Smith, and Florita’s are located, also features in the top three for each of the past three years.
All of the top 10 for 2017/18 are in the city centre. Cloth Market dropped off the list last year, having been fifth and sixth in the previous years, while police also recorded 28 arrests at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in 2016/17.
Northumbria Police’s Newcastle city centre Inspector, Steve Wykes, said: “Newcastle has a reputation as one of the safest cities in the country to enjoy a night out and that is one of the reasons it is so popular with party-goers.
“People know they can travel here and have a good time free of any trouble or disorder. One of the reasons for that is the preventative approach we take with those who are acting in a drunken and disorderly manner in the city.
“That involves arresting those who are behaving in a disorderly manner to prevent them from going on to commit more serious offences or by ruining the night for other people coming into the city.
“We also work closely with local businesses and the city council to deliver safeguarding training to hoteliers, taxi drivers and door staff so that we can protect men and women who are enjoying a night out in Newcastle.
“This training helps them spot any signs of vulnerability so that they can either report it to police or ensure that individual gets home safely.
“Our proactive policing approach has received positive recognition and violent crime related to drunken behaviour has actually fallen in Newcastle as a result.
“We won’t tolerate any type of behaviour that may put visitors to the city at risk and that is one of the biggest reasons why it enjoys one of the best night time economies in the entire country. It is something we are proud of.”
New Year’s Day was the date on which drunk and disorderly arrests were made most frequently last year - but it was tied on 17 with December 2.
Northumbria Police added that there may be some discrepancies in its data due to incorrect spellings or abbreviations used when officers recorded some incidents.