I visited a Coventry 'crime hotspot' and met the people trying to make things better
Recent crime stats from UKCrimeStats suggest that Willenhall is a hotspot in Coventry for petty theft and antisocial behaviour. Yet while locals acknowledge the problem, they say this summer has been better than years gone by.
Of the 982 incidents of petty crime and anti-social behaviour that occurred in the Binley, Cheylesmore, and Earlsdon areas between April and November 2023, Willenhall took the lions share, with 330 incidents reported.
In order to see what was going on in the suburb, we headed down to catch it on a Friday in the scorching heat. When we arrived at a local youth centre, we not only spoke with locals about the problems, but were also given an opportunity to see the solution.
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Within the youth centre was a summer family fun day for kids coming to the end of their school holiday. Hosted by a local entertainer, there were crafts, activities, and games organised for the kids.
While fairly innocuous, staff at the centre said that it was events like these that provided a positive influence for kids most at risk of falling through the cracks. Ben, who doesn’t live in Willenhall but works in the local area, said he’d seen an improvement.
“It’s been a lot better this summer than in previous years for some reason. We’ve not had too much trouble except for a few minor incidents.
“We’ve had a few attempted break-ins to the centre and young people causing trouble near the buses damaging property. Obviously that costs money and it’s an inconvenience but I haven’t heard of anything more than that.”
Ben referenced the cost of living crisis really biting at the community. He said when summer holidays come around, it can be an extra strain on certain families.
“Six weeks is a long time and parents are working longer hours just to pay for the basics like food, energy, water, etc. To have a space like this where young people can come and there are dedicated professionals makes a big difference.”
It’s a sentiment that’s been referenced around the country. Many low-income families are often supported by incomes from work that requires long shifts on sometimes anti-social hours.
Couple that with the closure of youth centres and the exorbitant cost of childcare, and you have a recipe for young people being unsupervised on the street and vulnerable to either becoming the victim of crime or being pressured into participating in it.
The problem has even been highlighted by entertainment figures like Idris Elba, who has explicitly called for youth centre funding to be restored as a way to tackle knife crime and youth violence.
Tracey, who was also in The Hagard, said she’d definitely seen anti-social behaviour as a problem in the area and said she didn’t feel the area was very safe after dark.
“We have motorbikes and quads racing up and down the streets around here. And Heron Foods has had issues with theft, even though they have security guards placed there.”
“We definitely see the difference for kids who come here. So many spaces for young people like community centres and youth centres have been shut down. And if they’re not somewhere like here, they could be on the street, in a gang, or carrying a knife.”
*A previous headline for this story suggested Willenhall had the highest rates of theft and antisocial behaviour in Coventry, rather than Coventry South. We're happy to clarify that is not the case.
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