NORTH Street has been revealed as the most dangerous road in the city, again.
An Argus investigation today lists the 100 most crime-ridden streets in Brighton and Hove.
Police figures show which parts of the city have the highest number of crime reports.
The data covers crimes reported in more than 1,500 streets in the city and is taken from official police statistics.
Crimes are reported as happening “in or near” a street.
The figures are taken from September 2018 to August this year.
Click here to compare with last year's rankings.
A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: “We always care about crime levels and monitor them closely.
“We recognise that different areas will have different patterns of crime in terms of the number and type reported, for a host of reasons including population density, mix of commercial and residential premises, geographical location, and socio-economic factors, and these patterns change over time.”
1) North Street | Crime reports: 412
This year, reported crime in North Street has fallen slightly from 429 reports, to 412.
At the time of last year’s report, Tom Druitt, Green city councillor for the ward, said the street was in the midst of a “perfect storm” of crime.
He said: “We have seen the area continue to improve but it’s difficult as we continue to have the backdrop of austerity, police and council budget pressures, the effects of universal credit and the housing crisis.
“North Street is simply the centre of the city and so all of these problems are concentrated.”
Cllr Druitt said the Hannington Lane development, a graffiti reduction strategy and more money for the city centre is helping to improve the area.
He added: “It is not going to be an easy fix, but we hope the things we are doing at the moment will bear fruit.”
Cllr Druitt, along with businesses Habitat and Foodilic, praised the work of Brighton Business Improvement District (BID).
The BID ambassadors are private security that patrol the streets, help police officers and check in with businesses.
Gavin Stewart, BID boss, said: “We easily spend more than 50 per cent of our time engaging with the street community in the North Street and Western Road areas.
“Our role is hugely varied and on any given day we will do numerous welfare checks with the homeless.
“In the last quarter of last year our ambassadors saved the lives of three individuals who had overdosed on spice.
“The team also retrieve stolen goods – they’ve returned more than £50,000 worth back to local businesses.
“As well as that they are there to direct members of the public and just be a reassuring presence.”
2) Windsor Street | Crime reports: 345
This year, reported crime in Windsor Street, near North Street, has risen slightly from 338 reports, to 345.
Jim Deans, campaigner against homelessness, said Windsor Court, which houses many vulnerable people, was the source of some of the issues in the street.
He added: “When you put so many people who are suffering some form of housing crisis into one location you create an area where things happen.”
Speaking about what can be done to tackle issues at Windsor Court, he said: “The clients in Windsor Court are the duty of care for local government.
“It’s time they spent more time visiting hostels and emergency accommodation.
“To make themselves more responsible for those inside should be the first step forward.”
3) Western Road | Crime reports: 275
Reported crime has also slightly risen in Western Road – from 264 to 275 reports.
The area is also patrolled by BID ambassadors.
Mr Stewart said his team was working to tackle the challenges faced by both Western Road and North Street.
He said: “The ambassadors work very closely with a wide range of agencies in the city.
“From Sussex Police and the Business Crime Reduction Partnership to homeless charities and numerous council departments.
“Their aim is to build strong partnerships across the city to make a difference – flagging up issues as and when they arise and pushing to get timely responses.
“We are very proud of the work that the team do every day.
“The team genuinely love the city and want to make it as good as it can be – even in the face of abuse, they are tireless, professional and utterly committed.”
4) London Road | Crime reports: 223
5) South Street | Crime reports: 210
6) Queen’s Road | Crime reports: 197
7) Church Road | Crime reports: 195
8) Cavendish Street | Crime reports: 184
9) West Street | Crime reports: 179
10) King’s Road | Crime reports: 179
Have you been a victim of crime on these streets? Share your experience by emailing jody.doherty-cove@theargus.co.uk.
The Sussex Police spokeswoman added: "We need to bear in mind that there are some offences where we want increased reporting – not because we want more crime, but because we know that historically we haven’t seen the whole picture, in areas including hate crime, domestic abuse and human trafficking and others – the so called ‘hidden crimes’.
“We continually review what we understand about levels of crime and disorder in the city, based on reported crime numbers but also on intelligence reports and analysis.
"Importantly we look at feedback from local communities and the professional judgement of the officers who work most closely with them. Our Prevention teams spearhead this work.
"Under our Local Policing model we make sure they spend as much time as possible working on the problems in their local areas, and the council tax increase has allowed increased resourcing for these teams.
"Where we identify a problem, we work with partners, taking a problem-solving approach to try and tackle the root causes and achieve long-term improvements, focusing our efforts where we see the greatest potential for harm."
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