The centre of Cardiff is the biggest hotspot for violence, drugs, sexual offences, robbery and other crimes in the city, a report has found. Even streets with no pubs or bars see high levels of crime because of the number of people in the area.
A council report on the impact of alcohol consumption creates a profile of crime in the city centre detailing the streets with the highest number of offences and the times when crime is most likely to be carried out. It also looks at the growing number of problems around off-licence premises and the issues caused by street drinking.
The report, called a cumulative impact assessment (CIA), was discussed at the city council's licensing committee on Wednesday October 25 as councils are required to review every three years their licensing policies which are designed to avoid large concentrations of licensed premises in one area. For more Cardiff news, sign up to our newsletter here.
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The report details, using police data, the streets with the highest number of offences recorded as violence, drugs, sexual offences and public order offences during the night from 2019 to 2023. They were:
It found noted that Queen Street featured high on the list despite having fewer licensed premises but said this demonstrated the "cumulative impact" of licensed premises in the city centre. It said: "This is likely because of high footfall at night with people crossing the city from the St6Mary Street and Greyfriars Rd/Churchill Way areas as well as having several late-night refreshment venues where people congregate while getting food before they leave the area".
The highest levels of crime are between 11pm and 3am and most specifically between 1am and 2am. However there is a different issue around off licences. The data shows that there is a significant increase over the past four years in crimes at such premises, growing from 212 in 2019 to 344 offences last year. Most of the offences happen between 11am and 6pm.
Conversely, the peak of crime at takeaways in the city centre was much later at between 3am and 4am. The report says: "The presence of takeaways/fast food outlets slows down the dispersal of people out of the city centre and leads to an increase in the number of people on the streets." And it says these venues cause additional litter problems.
A council report on community safety issues within Cardiff city centre during the night time economy highlights that although incidents in the city centre are way above the ward average, incidents have dropped since 2019. The report states that the percentage of anti-social behaviour in the city centre has decreased in the last four years from 18.2% in 2019/20 to 14.7% in 2022/23.
Another council report on the CIA presented to the licensing committee shows that 1,256 violence against the person offences were recorded between 6am and 6pm in the city centre for the 2022/23 financial year. Police statistics revealed that the streets with the highest number of offences recorded as violence, drugs, sexual offences and public order offences during the night time economy hours from 2019 to 2023 were:
A number of changes have been proposed for Cardiff Council's current CIA. The policy allows the council to refuse applications in areas where there are already high numbers of licensed premises. The changes include the removal of the hours 7am to 9pm as exemptions from the CIA.
Other proposed changes include the exclusion of certain licensed premises, including hotels, cinemas and restaurants from the CIA, with the council's report noting that "not all types of licensed premises contribute to crime and disorder in the city centre." It has also been proposed that Stuttgarter Strasse be removed from the revised CIA.
The review of the CIA found little evidence to suggest that the street suffers from a high percentage of crime and disorder in relation to licensed premises nearby. At today's committee meeting, it was agreed that the proposed CIA should go out to a 12 week consultation before being brought back to the licensing committee for consideration. Following this process, the CIA will go on to full council for a final decision.
