Pretty crime riddled English town where its unsafe to walk home at night
EXCLUSIVE: Express.co.uk spoke to locals who said there were problems with drugs, stabbings and homelessness in Bournemouth.
Locals living in Bournemouth have revealed just how bad the crime situation is in the seaside town.
They have told Express.co.uk about a rise in drug taking, homelessness, and how parts of the centre are now unsafe to walk around.
Furthermore, one local said that on some occasions they had been unable to get into work because parts of Bournemouth had been closed off for investigations whilst another had had their car damaged three times by other people.
Their comments come as the town continues to try and work out a strategy to deal with the rise in crime and reports of antisocial behaviour.
A resident who works for a supported accommodation service and wished to remain anonymous explained that one of the people who lives in the building “was robbed of their bank card four times” between the Summer of 2022 and February 2024.
They added: “I would say that there is a problem with crime related to easy access to drugs and…antisocial behaviour. There are a lot of places that [people] are afraid of going to because of the people that intimidate them, ask them for money, ask them for cigarettes, or steal money from them.
“I haven’t experienced much help from local authorities including police. There was one occasion when we worked with the police at the end of 2022, but since then whenever we have the concern about drugs on the premises not much was done. [sic]”
On the drug dealers themselves, the resident said: “They do it in the open daylight, they just walk around and they sell the drugs. You can see them in the town centre, you can see them on the West Cliff, you can see them in Boscombe, you can see them in different parts of Bournemouth and they are not even covered.”
On the overall state of Bournemouth, the person said it was “really unfriendly and made the impression that it's not safe anymore to walk alone”.
They added: “The town is really unfriendly and makes the impression that it's not safe anymore to walk alone.
Fellow local Vic, 29, highlighted other types of crime in the area. They said: “It’s a bit stabby, it’s quite stabby. There’s quite a lot of knife crime it’s definitely gotten worse. There’s been a couple of days I can’t get into work because things have been shut off.”
Vic added that they had also considered leaving Bournemouth altogether and blamed part of the decline on the Conservative Party and funding cuts.
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Speaking to Express.co.uk about the current situation in Bournemouth, MP Tobias Ellwood said: “The scourge of youngsters carrying knives is a national challenge.
“Given that Bournemouth has also been affected recently I successfully lobbied for a Police Violence Reduction Unit -from the Chancellor at the last budget.
“These units have a track record in other towns and cities of reducing knife crime. Not just with dedicated police doing stop and search. But also visiting schools to educate youngsters.”
Deputy leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Councillor Millie Earl said: "The police has the lead role in dealing with criminal activity.
“We work in partnership with them and other agencies, providing measures such as our Community Safety Officers (CSAS), who are on duty in the area to help reassure the public, alongside the enhanced and visible policing presence currently in place.”
