Too scared to go to town at night
Wednesday 22nd December 2010, 3:00PM GMT.
Hundreds are frightened of going to town at night
HUNDREDS of Islanders are too scared to visit St Helier at night and many of those who do fear for their safety, according to new figures.
As town nightspots prepare for the busy Christmas and New Year period, the Jersey Annual Social Survey has revealed that many Islanders fear walking the streets of St Helier after dark.
According to the survey, which is designed to be representative of the whole Island, 12 per cent of people do not visit town after dark because they don’t feel safe.
Twenty per cent of Islanders who do visit town at night ‘usually feel unsafe’, and a further five per cent ‘always feel unsafe’.
• See today’s JEP for the full report
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It sounds like a joke to me… Afraid of what exaclty? I guess only teenagers! My gosh… have you ever lived in A City….? Scared of visiting town at night…. Om my!
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So 37% of the islands population feel unsafe in town at night,12% so much so that they don’t go to town at night – what about the other 63%, are they the ones causing the trouble or are they too leathered to care.
Town has changed for the worse, in my day you could walk through town at any hour without fear. If you pass by Mulcaster Street on a Saturday night you will see people staggering all over the road, some fighting, others shouting abuse. Given that there must be more CCTV cams here than pretty much anywhere why are there no prosecutions. Where are the police ? a strong police prescence would greatly assist people in feeling safe.
I don’t even drive through town at weekends for fear that some idiot will damage my car. Show pics on the TV, these people must have jobs, and let shame them into behaving themselves, let their colleagues and employers see what they get up to at the weekend.
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Sensationalist headlines, JEP: “People scared to visit town at night”, “HUNDREDS of Islanders…too scared…fear for their safety”
Whilst there are some alcohol related issues at weekends in St Helier, I’d hardly say it is a hotbed of anti-social behaviour and it remains significantly safer than similar sized towns in the UK.
The 5% of people who “always feel unsafe” must lead extremely sheltered lives.
If you want to fear for your safety, go for a walk through a council estate in Peckham or Deptford one evening!
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Perhaps a high visible police presence than the 16 officers on duty as recently reported in the JEP to act as a deterrent in the first place.
Also, zero tolerance to all drunken crime with on the spot fines, repeat offenders locked up there and then with a sentence thats fits the crime other than the slap on the wrist culture that exists today.
Thats the youth dealt with, now on to the adults who influence our kids in the first place.
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I really do not see the point in this headline, people with long memories will remember the last time this was stated in the press,Frankie the then chief minister did a night time walkabout as the night clubs were turning out, surrounded by a large police presence and then had the gall to tell everyone how safe he felt. The truth of the matter is that there is no deterrent for crime in this Island so nothing will change only get worse!!!
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12% don’t go so don’t know what they are talking about.
And 75% of those left think it’s a great place to go enjoy yourself after a days working.
That must put it high up on the list of places that are a must to visit.
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i agree, town is an absolute disgrace.
People over here have a massive chip on their shoulder and just look for trouble.
Its not even the violence that is the problem. People just get absolutely wrecked and show no respect to each other or to themselves, i dread to think what the tourists think of us.
As one taxi driver said to me:
‘its like Basra without the bombs!’
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I’m normally too drunk to notice all the thugs in town, so I feel perfectly safe.
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A joke? I do not want to encounter drunken teenagers or others on my night out, so I take my money elsewhere. Most of the people I know do the same, apart from those who have a taxi/driver from outside the Capannina and back.
It is the restaurants who are losing our custom.
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That’s because so many drugs are mixed with alcohol itself a drug,which if you had just invented you would not get a permit to sell as it is Toxic,getting the double standard here…? simply stop every car coming off that ferry at night and you’ll catch the importers…restrict booze sales…and there you are…But you won’t will you.
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They never asked me Who did they ask and what were their ages?
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Unfortunately if people think it is bad now it will only get worse.
With the cut backs in public spending there will be less police on the streets despite what anyone tells you and so less police means more crime and violence.
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Martha @1.
What a facetious remark! A lot of people have genuine ‘fears’. For some it’s spiders; needles; the sight of blood; donating their organs believing they might not be dead when the surgeon takes their bits, fingernails being scratched down a chalk board. Some of losing their job and home, whilst Cheapside gets tarted up, and an expensive garden is created opposite the world biggest pigeon coop. (Odeon).
I, personally, have no fears of St Helier after dark, it’s just a rather unpleasent place to be at night.
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Comment 2. – “I don’t even drive through town at weekends for fear that some idiot will damage my car.” – How, in spontaneous rioting or a drive by shooting?
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Martha (1) I’m sure the man lying on the pavement in Roseville St last Saturday night with a broken bottle waiting for an ambulance wasn’t frightened when he went out either!
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I frequent town most nights.. at various times depending on whats on etc.
I cannot remember the last time I saw a policeman on the streets after dark – plenty of police cars driving down hill/mulcaster street or down broad street but never a bobby on FOOT.
Plenty of drunken under age kids vomiting on benches or swearing and being threatening to passers by. Liberation Square/WeighBridge, Snow Hill and Broad Street appear to be congregation points – funny how I know this and the police obviously do too – they just avoid the areas like i do!
Not so much scared but sickened.
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Personally I think town is great! loads of lads like me ‘avin a night out with me mates with a few bevvys and ciggys. Going out is better than staying in some damp bedsit, waiting to be charged for having a bath or a shower. Perhaps if the despots in the states cared a bit more and dropped the qualies lark we would have more of a reason to stay in.
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Boo Hoo! If you are too scared to go to town, don’t go.
If you go out in the woods today
You’re sure of a big surprise.
If you go out in the woods today
You’d better go in disguise.
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic.
Weekends wooo!
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see scousers cropped up again and managed to fit in his issue with qualies like he does on every post going. scouser if its that bad, get the next boat out of here in the morning, we aint gonna miss you!!
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This presumably is the start of someone’s campaign to recruit still more police officers, then get them a car each etc etc.
So how do these numbers relate to 20-30 years ago? I bet they aren’t that much different not that anyone could tell me.
And the people too scared to go, wouldn’t go anyway.
Another nothing story is how I read it.
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#2 ‘…these people must have jobs’
Yeah, Looking after other people’s money and getting paid a hefty percentage of it because they are high worth employees with expensive lifestyles, i.e. getting drunk.
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There has been drunken trouble in town for years.
My dad lived in the Royal Square and was constantly kept awake by thoughtless yobs at the weekends. He died in 1987.
I can remember P.C. Judy LeBlanc telling us that whenever there was a fight, they let the villains knock hell out of each other, then when they were exhausted, the police would jump in and arrest them. And that was in the ’50s.
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Martha #1 – the point is, Jersey isn’t a city but has some of the issues associated with city life.
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To Martha (1) – I’ve lived in London, Paris, Sydney and Melbourne and travelled solo in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Cape Town, Delhi and Cairo (amongst other places). I still feel more unsafe in St Helier on a Saturday night surrounded by drunken idiots than I’ve ever done in all those places (apart from the time I was chased by an axe-wielding drug addict on a small Malaysian island 10 years ago but that’s another story!).
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Never had any trouble or seen any trouble. St Helier is a kindergarten at night compared to any UK city or town.
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I’ve just walked from Peckham Rye to Deptford Creek (via Trundley’s Road/Rolt Street, etc.)and reached Greenwich in one piece.
Was I too early for trouble, Ant? (3)
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Again police protection and crime prevention is an oxymoron. What happens is that the police come and investigate afterwards if your lucky. They dont want to know.
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Ian Le Marquand….get the cops out of the cars and on the streets…with a couple of dog handlers at the weighbridge A la Dick Stokes……peace restored.
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The Jersey police force employs, the last figures I read, 280 police men / women in uniform. Far better paid than there big city colleagues in the UK who deal with guns knives and gangs on a daily basis, and local PC’s pay less tax. They are also supported by the excellent unselfish fully kited out Hons.
I have met some really pleasant cops on the beat. Problem seems to be, they are invisible most of the time. I wrote invisible, not lazy, unaccountable and badly managed.
Tim South
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‘Never had any trouble or seen any trouble. St Helier is a kindergarten at night compared to any UK city or town.’
I love the way people generalise about the UK as if its the same all over. Whatever it is, its always Jersey is better at this or safer than the UK.
Absolute tosh. It depends where you go in the UK, some towns are more dangerous, some are as bad and some are safer.
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Anyone with a O level (sorry 3 GCSEs) avoids town of an evening. Have done for a good 10 years unless its a start of a stag do before moving out of St Heler parish. Is this really news to people? Its very RAF in town.
C
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I’m a St Helier resident and its not safe in town AFTER DARK! With the amount of drunks and heroine addicts on the streets,theres also been a number of assaults. Also people urinating up against the walls and being abusive all because of being too intoxicated with alcohol! Welcome to the streets of St Helier! I really feel for the elderly that live in St helier too, it cant be easy for them! Theres also been times where people have left their faceases in other peoples gardens where they havent been able to make it home or make it to a public toilet and to top it all, when its so warm during the summer nights when St Helier is buzzing, residents are kept awake with shouting and screaming till 5am in the morning! Even the streets are filthy with stains where someone has thrown up or urinated from the night before! So NO it isnt safe! Children drinking under age, not only that and also the amount of suicides thats happened in the island! Fencing has been placed on the very top floors of certain car parks to stop people from throwning themselves off.
This is the reality of Jersey, so no its not safe!
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Alcohol is not the reason for all the trouble in town, it’s the Marijuana that they smoke on top of it!
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Ant 14 – Comment 2. – “I don’t even drive through town at weekends for fear that some idiot will damage my car.” – How, in spontaneous rioting or a drive by shooting?
By staggering into my car, if you don’t stop your car they just walk into it. Then they get angry because it’s your fault and hit the car with anything to hand Driven through town late on a Saturday night have we – or are you one of the rabble?
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It would be interesting to know how many people took this survey???
St Helier is a whole lot safer than a majority of other towns/cities
When you have a population hitting 100,000 and very little for them to do you will obviously have groups of teenagers as well as adults standing on strett corners etc
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I have walked home for years in town, but more and more do i feel unsafe and have opted for a taxi home from the weighbridge to rouge bouillon! thats crazy, why should i have to do this to feel safe? because many times, ive walked home and had some foreignor (..not being racist.. just saying what happened) following me, or just lurking, and even had one jump out in front of me! with the amount of sexual assaults, attacks and the rest, its no wonder we dont feel safe, and the truth of the matter is (according to the names published in the JEP) they are MAJORITY foreign. I dont mind the drunken idiots, you can norm avoid them, its the ones who sit and wait for you. I recently parked my car on pier road for 2 hours and came back to find my wing mirror hanging off,(pavement side) because some idiot either fell into it, or hit it..
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Definate over reaction here. Of the hundreds of islanders surveyed were the 12% made up of OAPS? I see this article highlights the bad side instead of highlighting the positive side and the 88% who DO feel safe. Typical Jersey.
As a Londoner I would challenge anyone to have a walk through South East London with me at 2am and then tell me Jersey is unsafe. Get real and get a life! There are worse places by far out there and for some………. The world doesnt end at the low water mark in the bay you know.
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Where I am at university in the UK, someone got stabbed a few metres from my house in the few minutes they walked outside to take a phonecall – I am terrified to walk home alone there and it’s not even a city with a bad reputation.
In Jersey, on the other hand, I feel perfectly safe walking through town alone at night. I am a small woman without much skill in self defence.
If there are people who are scared of going to town, so be it… but Jersey is a very safe place and I don’t think their fears are justified.
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I have decided to submit the comments on this thread to “The impartial guide to better holidays” review.
The holidaymakers will be interested in the stories of drunks and wild teenagers fighting, vomiting and urinating in the streets.
Oh, I must not forget to mention the tales of potheads and heroine addicts in the parks, traffic congestion, lack of parking in the anti-suicide car parks, the overweight population and all the bickering that goes on between the indigenous islanders and outsiders…wonderful reading, but don’t expect too many visitors!
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Am I allowed to describe any of the aforementioned perpetrators as scum?
Permission Judiciously Granted, hopefully!
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What rubbish! I would honestly say that anyone who feels they are not safe in town are probably being over-timid about it.
This is one of the safest places you could possibly be
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St Helier is safer than ever before
I’ve recently been watching a series of 1980′s documentaries called Bergerac
There was at least 1 murder every week back then, so it appears Jersey has greatly improved it’s crime rate
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36 muff
“(according to the names published in the JEP) they are MAJORITY foreign”
So foreign meaning not born in Jersey or European, I think that you will find that the majority of trouble is from teenagers which were born in Jersey with Jersey parents, you will also find that their are less foreigners in La Moye than British prisoners.
Don’t be blaming foreigners as that’s just a typical Jersey Bean excuse.
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@32 Pedigree Bean
I am also a town resident and have never felt unsafe in town (although i can understand how the elderly may feel intimidated). People having a few drinks and socialising with their mates is nothing to be afraid of.
Any trouble or violence that happens in town is likely to be deserved, by that i mean self inflicted. I don’t believe that there are any random attacks on innocent people.
If you stay out of trouble then trouble is unlikely to find you!
@33 Bob
I can only assume you are joking with that completely ridiculous comment!
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#truthseekerc
That’s because so many drugs are mixed with alcohol itself a drug,which if you had just invented you would not get a permit to sell as it is Toxic,getting the double standard here…? simply stop every car coming off that ferry at night and you’ll catch the importers…restrict booze sales…and there you are…But you won’t will you.
Surely the above is a joke – noone can be that daft?! A few points:
- Yes alcohol is bad, but its use is ingrained in our society, and you’re not going to be able to cut it out (the yanks tried it once – didn’t work out!). Restricting sales is futile and won’t work. What if I want to buy a crate of beer for a party? By your suggestion, presumably I’ll only be able to buy no more than 2 beers an evening? What tosh. Better off forcing pubs and clubs to not sell to intoxicated people, but then it’s against their interests in every way, not to mention the almost certainty that the person being denied alcohol is going to get upset and kick off.
-Stopping every car that comes in? Seriously?! Firstly, how much time do you think it’s going to take to unload/load up the Condor each trip? It won’t work. Secondly, do you realise you live on an island? With hundreds of boats about and tens of unsecured small harbours/beaches, you’d have to be seriously daft to try to import a significant quantity through the ferry/customs. Your idea will only cause stress and frustration, without solving any problems.
-Finally, I presume you’ve not got any experience with drugs by the way that you talk about them and blame them for the island’s problems. People don’t take them in order to get angry. In fact very few drugs actually cause aggression, and you normally know someone’s been on the drugs because all they want to do is tell you how much they love you. With Cannabis, all they want to do is sit around and eat pizza. The only bad experiences I’ve ever had in town have been with people who were clearly drunk.
In essence – tighter controls on selling to intoxicated people will help. Increasing the visible police force will, as will harsher punishments for alcohol related crime. Stopping this molly-coddling of youth and teens is also essential – they’re the ones who cause the most trouble, yet all they get is a slapped wrist. If it was up to me, I’d have them in the stocks in the Royal Square on a Saturday, or have them in bright orange jump suits doing community service, but that’s just me.
Drugs, however, are not the problem here, and your suggestions only expose your brochure level of knowledge and experience in the real world of drugs and alcohol.
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C Le Verdic#40
I thought “you” only needed to know they were smokers for “you” to do that?
Have you seen the late night weekend crowds outside Chambers? Hundreds spilling about the Mulcaster st
Half waiting to get in and get drunk, the other half standing outside having a fag between drinks.
Ide be too scared to go there if I was “you”, I imagine one half or the other would get a bit uppity if you called them scum to their faces!
With or without “Permission Judiciously Granted”
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Quite a few buffoons here that have rolled out the same old story along the lines of, “typical Jersey, this is a safe place compared to xxxxxx (insert city of your choice here)”
By the same warped analogy then places with high crime and drug rates such as Liverpool and Glasgow must actually be SAFE, as you could theoretically compare them to war zones.
Just to add my tuppence worth, I for one do not feel safe in St Helier either, there is plenty of aggressive drunkeness on display which can frequently lead to spontaneous violence, and the JEP headlines frequently verify this fact.
Besides which, with the lenient sentences which violent criminals receive, coupled with the soft easy life at La Moye Hilton, there is neither a deterrent nor a means of keeping them off the street for long enough that they learn their lesson.
Just a thought- the ‘nice chap’ that nearly killed someone in the Trinity Arms recently only got 3 years, therefore with standard 2/3 served will be out drinking again in 2 years – anyone think he will have been rehabilitated? Anyone care to point out that it’s not his turn on the pool table? Yeah, safe little island indeed.
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Bob @ 33 – Re: ‘Alcohol is not the reason for all the trouble in town, it’s the Marijuana that they smoke on top of it!’
Where’s the ‘Report Ignorance’ button when you need one? I think you’re talking crapaud my boy!
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Not only night time,but early morning as well.
One sunday morning going to the local shop I was confronted by a gang of 2o-30 youths,all high on something,all crowding around me,not another soul in sight,of a sudden they all started singing HI HO,HI HO,Its off to church we go,I burst out laughing and they went on their way singing say a little prayer for me.
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@ 26.
Google maps are good arent they.
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It is the combination of @33 Bob’s “Marijuana that they smoke” (who are “they”) and @32 Pedigree Bean’s “heroine addicts on the streets” that cracked (crack cocaine, of course) me up!!
Yes, town can be noisey at weekends. Yes, there is some alcohol related anti-social behaviour and yes, we could see more Police on the beat. Seriously though, Jersey is a very safe place to be. The fact that every single assault is reported on in the JEP is testomony to that – in most other places, you have to kill someone to get a mention in the press. Flights, glassings, stabbings etc are so commonplace, they are no longer newsworthy.
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I fully agree with your comment Tobias (47) I would add that I have felt safe in New York and Cape Town to name but two places that some people would probably count as “risky” but the fact is that if you find yourself in an intimidating atmosphere anywhere it is not a good feeling.It may not mean you are certain to get attacked or whatever but it is still unpleasant and I believe that this is how St Helier can be at night due to the amount of drunkeness which abounds.
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Why not encourage the Centeniers to attract more manpower as Street Wardens or unpaid PCSO officers to patrol the trouble spots in force or have mobile quick response units to deal with these problems ? Im sure the States could find addittional funding to organise this and working alongside of the States Police the problems could be resolved.
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Personally I’d rather walk around St Helier at night than brave trying to stay/walk on the pavements during the day when there are young mothers pushing prams wider than the pavement in your direction and not slowing down.
They just seem to use their children as snowplows!
I’ve said it for years that the alcoholism on this island is only getting worse. One day something god-awful will happen and alcohol will be banned island-wide.
Mark my words, record them for evidence purpose if you may.
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Bob 33 – Bob Alcohol is not the reason for all the trouble in town, it’s the Marijuana that they smoke on top of it!
Bob I’ve tried repeatedly to smoke marijuana on top of alcohol and it keeps getting wet – any tips?
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Have no fear – have a beer!
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I have lived in Los Angeles, London and Hong Kong, as well as Jersey, and have walked all of them at night. In Los Angeles I felt that there was a greater risk of being murdered by some crazy, or caught up in serious gang violence, if you were “in the wrong place at the wrong time”. However, people often seemed reluctant to trigger low-level street fights due to the fear that others would use force to defend themselves – which often meant guns. In Jersey, however, there is hardly any risk of murders or gang violence but otherwise “normal” people are often willing to engage in “punch ups” at the slightest provocation (which always carry the risk that death or serious injury could be the result). This is mainly because we are not allowed to use serious self-defence for fear of ending up in prison for ‘fighting in the street’. All the ‘tough guys’ know this therefore they feel free to beat people up knowing that it is most unlikely that lethal force will be employed against them.
Basically, there are risks involved with walking in any town or city after dark; you just have to make sure you know what those risks are and how to avoid or deal with them if necessary…
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47, Tobias: “frequently lead to spontaneous violence”. I go out pretty much every weekend, normally Friday after work, and I can’t remember ever seeing a violent incident. So, to suggest that there is frequent violence is just wrong.
It is also wrong to suggest that violence is spontaneous. The majority of trouble is between people who know each other. It is very very rare to hear of random unprovoked attacks. In fact it is so rare, that when they do happen they still form part of our news, whereas in many towns such events are not newsworthy at all.
Frankly it is fair to say that Jersey is relatively safe if you compare it to UK towns with similar size populations – which are presumably the only relevant comparison.
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I was not joking or being facetious… I have been living in the island for over 10 years now and walked many many times alone at night because of the work I used to do… I have never ever had any unpleasant incident! On the contrary! I have been walked home by strangers, offered a drink or a ciggy … I have made friends on the street at night and I am still in contact with two of them. And I am a well behaved, ‘normal’ girl… I was not looking for ‘adventures’ of any kind.
I feel Jersey is the safest place ever!
Of course there’re some isolated occurrences… but few… And I think it is not a wise thing to blow them open wide and put such a silly article on the front page … If you want people to be afraid – they will be and if you go to town expecting trouble – you will find it!
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‘Frankly it is fair to say that Jersey is relatively safe if you compare it to UK towns with similar size populations – which are presumably the only relevant comparison.’
Again the arrogant assumption Jersey is better and this annoying generalisation that all UK towns (no matter the size) are going to be worse!
There are plenty of towns with similar sized populations like Oxford or Bath which are safer than St Helier!
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Jonty @ 58
Thanks for the reply, but I’d be inclined to disagree. Back in 1996 (or 97 can’t remember exactly) I worked part-time on the door at the then-Kensington amonst other places. Unfortunately for me, the Kensington was about the only pub in St Helier that opted to not join the Pub Watch scheme which barred anyone convicted of violence…hence, as expected, it kicked off in there frequently as all the aggressive fruitloops that were barred everywhere else would go there in their droves. Joy. I didn’t stay long, moved instead to the far-safer Scruffy Murphys where the happy, chilled Irish lads just like to sing after a few gallons of Guinness, rather than introduce each other to the furniture.
Anyway I digress. Point is, I saw it kick off more times than I’d have liked, and the majority of the time it was spontaneous, often seemingly caused by too many young drunk men all trying to be the ‘alpha male’ high on dutch courage, and a mere accidental nudge very quickly escalated. They’d occasionally go for the pool queues as weapons – which was actually quite amusing, due to the way they are weighted it’s actually very difficult to use effectively (unless they are purposely splintered such as at the recent Trinity Arms incident but luckily I never saw anything like that)
Anyway waffle over, as I said earlier I do not feel safe walking through St Helier as I have personally seen how fast and how frequently violence can erupt in drunken people – but not, however, in those that have been partaking of the Naughty Weed as erroneously stated in this thread, which is why I for one am so against the criminalisation of legal highs that emulate cannabis (or NON-legal highs as they are in Jersey thanks to our daft government).
If all the drunks in town had been smoking ganja instead of drinking, I’d have no worries at all about strolling through the streets, the only negative thing about that would be all the takeaways and snack shops would be jam packed.
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What, me need a map,#50?
Spent all my working life in the area and I’m only a little farther down the road as I sit here typing. Staying in tonight, it’s too cold to go out walking!
Sad to hear that Jersey is going to the dogs. It’s not been that bad since the days of Teddy Boys brandishing bike chains at Snow Hill.
#28. Ah, the days of Flash and Zorro(sic). Such was the police propaganda machinery that the whole island knew their names (the dogs as well as the officers).
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44.BR I do stay out of trouble, i dont venture out after dark if i really have to, its as simple as that! One day (hopefully it doesnt happen) u may have an unpleasant experience, you will soon change your mind! I have walked past drunks in the street where i live, too drunk to stand up straight, they lean against the wall urinating well the odd one tries to but the abuse u get. “F this “F that.. You F this lovely especially when u have children! A few yrs ago, there was a bad assault in town at a Pizza place, this guy that was covered in blood walked into my mothers cottage and frightened the hell out of her, he was looking for an exit point! Town isnt safe if u havent experienced it for yourself and others have! Theres been lots of assaults in St Helier! Its about time u opened your eyes and also listened to the news! Plenty goes on that u dont know about!
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Hey whats new , there has been drunken fights ever since alcohol was invented ,i doubt that there is any more trouble now than there was a hundred years ago , dont be scared to go out have fun LIVE A LITTLE you are not on this planet long so make the most of it chances are you will have a great time, merry xmas to all
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I’m not scared… just careful.Le Marquand is just scare mongering..
yes everyones comments are all valid. A balance is needed to the situation.
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Quote: It’s not been that bad since the days of Teddy Boys brandishing bike chains at Snow Hill.
Great days, Great days…..still got my bike chain somewhere in the shed.
What “The Birch” ? bring it on, bring it on….
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59 Martha
“and walked many many times alone at night because of the work I used to do… I have never ever had any unpleasant incident! On the contrary! I have been walked home by strangers, offered a drink or a ciggy”
Paid by the hour were we, are you still working the streets at night.
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#johnston bravo..
I am not using a jersey bean excuse at all… I have friends who are from all over the world, but.. read the JEP. I know teenagers have a lot to answer for over here.. ive been robbed numerous times mainly by 18/19 year old jersey beans.. but what im saying is… that frequently reported in the jep are the attacks assaults etc and they appear to be majority foreign names. jersey people are far from perfect, but im sick and tired of walking past minden car park getting heckled and even touched,and pulled by ‘foreignors’ who think that they can treat women like this! for the record.. dressed in jeans and jacket not in short skirts. I am more scared of the foreignors that the jersey folk. The reason the prison doesnt have many foreignors is because they are frequently shipped out or back to their own country.. FACT! (depending on severity of their crime)
why does everyone compare uk to jersey that is not what the report is about. It is about jersey, so no point in comparing. Everyone has a right to say they feel scared, no one can say they are wrong! its their own feeling! i would honestly say 8 times out of 10 i feel safe walking home.
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Johnston….ok, that was offensive.. I would be offended but I had to laugh
.. I admit – what I said did sound ambiguous… haha!
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(still laughing
)
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@44 Pedigree Bean,
You say yourself you “don’t venture out after dark” so how can you make comment on something you clearly do not know enough about.
My eyes are open, i am in town every weekend and i have never encountered violence, and when does being drunk mean you are a threat to anyone, the majority aren’t, people are just trying to have a good time with their mates. And i’m not sure why parents would be walking their children around town in the middle of the night, to me thats more of a worry the a few dunk people.
And i wouldn’t believe everything you read, you may hear about people being attacked but they don’t report why, as i said in my previous post, there is a good chance they brought it on themselves.
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people are afraid of the fear of violence, there is actually very little violence. Ever British crime survey since 1996 points this out, violent crime has been on the decrease for years. The older people get the perceive crime tobe more prevalant, when they were younger it was actually quite worse.
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Nick: “this annoying generalisation that all UK towns (no matter the size) are going to be worse!” Did you even read my post? 1st, clearly I was pointing out that it is only useful to compare to similar size towns; 2nd, I said Jersey is relatively safe, that is not the same as saying Jersey is better than all UK towns.
Besides, your facts are just wrong. Take Bath for instance, where violence against the person amounts to 16 incidents per 1000 people, whereas in Jersey its 9 per 1000. That’s almost half.
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p.s. Oxford is even worse at 29 incidents per 1000!
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Tobias, your point of view is understandable – I suspect having worked on the door, violence might appear frequent. However, to the average punter out on a Friday it remains rare.
Muff, you miss the point. Of course everyone is entitled to feel afraid, there will always people afraid even to step outdoors. The point is that it is not right for the media to publish misleading articles like this one, capable of fueling such fear when there is in reality nothing to worry about.
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I was too scared to go into town at night twenty years ago!!!! ( and yes I was an adult then too!)
So what’s new?
Look at papers from times passed, and then tell me things are worse.
Its not worse just sort of ….different?
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74, that’s because it always kicks off at closing time about those arguments between the supporters of Kierkegaard and Schopenhauer. We have the same thing outside of Chambers about how much we can rip off the non-Jersey types with our rental. Some go for the max utility approach ( to us, most of them, stuff the incomers), others think of them as human beings.
PS Rather than what car would Jesus drive, how about would he work in our Finance industry?
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A while ago I was with a few friends on the way to my car which was parked at snow hill, a group of 16-18 year olds were just chatting amongst themselves – Then out of the blue a pint glass smashes my mate in the face – blood everywhere.
What do you do?
You get in the kids face, get him on the floor, tell him and his oppos that you are a policeman, call the police and it’s all over.
I must admit it’s easy for me to say as i’m ex-forces.
Maybe this is a case of bringing back National Service!
I would be happy to escort people who feel worried about walking through town.
Let’s not then the minority win!
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BR: I do venture because i have to! Shops have had problems also. Police have been assaulted, had three or four bad assaults in the back streets where i live, drunks that are too intoxicated shouting abuse, people screaming up to 0500hrs in the morning! My next door neighbour even has someone wipe the backside on one of his socks and yes we have had someone come in off the street dumping on our next door neighbours door step cos they have been so drunk and to top it all hun, yes i used to go out alot of an evening, every evening! Too many people that have drunk that much and are too intoxicated it seems they dont have any respect for themselves! I also remember a policeman being bottled down at the weighbridge and the list goes on! Oh sorry forgot, what about the ambulance people that get abuse whilst trying to see to someone thats either collapsed because they have drunk too much or been assaulted, and yes i do know some abumulance drivers and i know the crap they put up which is disgusting if u ask me! So i think its about time u hit reality, opened your eyes, maybe your ones of these that gets too intoxicated of a night time?? I did used to venture out alot of an evening, even walking back from the car park at night is scary! So yes when i have taken my children out during holidays etc, 8 oclock of an evening we have had drunks worrying them!! Happy Xmas & a Happy New Yr to you! x
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Jonty # 74. Crime figures can be and often are manipulated so that senior police officers appear – on paper at least – to be doing a better job than they are. I can recally in the late 1960s, a wily Detective Inspector used to go though the crime records making changes to make the staitistics look good. Malicious damage to a window would be written off, ‘No Crime’ as the damge was assessed to have been caused by a passing motor vehicle throwing up a stone from the highway. Larceny (theft) of women’s underwear from a washing line could be written off as ‘No Crime’, as it had been been blown off in high winds. Don’t rely on the official statistics where reported crime – including assaults and public order incidents.
St. Helier is probably no better or no worse than many towns in the U.K. The problem is the ‘fear of crime’ and not what is actually happening on the street. The public want reassurance and the way that can be achieved is by flooding the streets with as many States and Honorary police officers as possible during those periods when problems are know to occur.
I have been retired from the police for many years and so I am out of touch with how things are nowadays. There is anecdotal evidence that there are far fewer cops on the street today than there were in years gone by. We would often have six officers on foot in the town, an area car with two officers in it, a van with a crew of two, then two or three traffics cars with two officers in each, a couple of motor cyclists and probably tow or three CID officers and Drugs Squad officers. Then there would be maybe two Sergeants and and Inspector on patrol as well. On top of this there would be maybe 10 or more Honorary officers.
Even with that number of officers on the street there would be violent episodes occurring in the town.
I don’t feel frightened on the streets of St. Helier and the chances of becoming a victim are pretty remote. I know how to read situations and nowadays will avoid getting involved. Often people get into problems because of their own actions – it’s a matter of knowing what to do and what not to do to avoid danger.
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Nice to see you becoming a regular again, Blue Knight:
‘Malicious damage to a window would be written off, ‘No Crime’ as the damge was assessed to have been caused by a passing motor vehicle throwing up a stone from the highway. Larceny (theft) of women’s underwear from a washing line could be written off as ‘No Crime’, as it had been been blown off in high winds.’…
…Fragments of skull could be written off as coconut!
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I’m one of the “scum” that drink in St Helier at weekends, i also live there and frequently have to walk home from whichever establishment has served me enough beer to get totally smashed, i’m also a forty something woman and I would far rather come across 20-30 drunken singing adults than 5 or 6 drunken teenage “scum”, and yes, walking past Minden Place whatever you’re wearing is intimidating, being leered at, commented on, and generally sexually threatened…….and its certainly not the beans that are doing that!! Make the parents of these “scummy” teenagers accountable, legalise the legal highs..police the problem areas..and stop bloody moaning!!!!! Simples!
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i dont know what the scared people would do if they lived out the island,,, would u like the states to provide a bodyguard for you all….nothing wrong with the town these people forget they were young once and ..did various things to annoy and scare old people … grow up and get a life .. or are u all that bored u have to complain about everything.
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why not have the two armed police who i see most weekends patrolling the airport patrolling the streets of st helier at night .
i am sure that with their intimidating postures and the cocky strut that they employ( are they trained to walk aggressively??) that all the violent drunks and scummy teenagers and foriegners would think twice about causing trouble.
as for comparing jersey with other places just watch coronation street and make your own choice where you would prefer to live.
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72. Anon, I think that’s bang on – fear of violence. This must be the case as, if these 12% don’t feel safe therefore do not venture in, how can they know what it’s like.
I’m 25, go out when I’m in Jersey (few weeks per year) and there is the odd bit of heckling and sometimes violence – the violence is there if you go looking for it but if you keep yourself to yourself, there is no problem.
Even though the comparison to the UK / various other places has been brought up already, it does make Jersey seem like a bubble-wrapped paradise.
To whoever thinks Jersey has a massive heroin problem, take a visit to La Linea, Spain. It will open your eyes somewhat.
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I lived in La Linea in 1989. Strange to think that it hasn’t changed in 20 years. some of the street people there were quite cool but there was a massive heroin problem.
You certainly had to watch your back walking through there at night, usually from Gibraltar. Mind you, you also had to watch the english soldiers in Gibraltar, who apparently liked to put it about in the best traditions of english colonialism!
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Oh well better give the Police the guns they want then. Please anything other than a School system that prevents more than 20 in a class and is based on life skills rather than Geometry.
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I think we should all be lucky that we dont live in somewhere that you fear going out at night and not coming home in the morning, the poor girl in the UK never saw the day after her Christmas party, Jersey may have its ‘Drinkers’ but that is the lifestyle that is promoted here, its the love life island of harding working and hard living. I have been in town when it has kicked off a couple of times and i must say it is normally 18-23 year old local girls who all have to have a say about each other which gets out of hand as they all strut around from bar to bar gaining the courage, by drinking, to actually go up and have a fight with the other girl, which is all paid for by the parents. The only fighting i have seen between men is in the back street pubs of St Helier which allow men to sit in there all day and get far too drunk! Landlords should take responsiblity of allowing people to drink that much and also people should start respecting each other more, I’m a 25 year old female who has never had a fight in her life but i have had some pretty huge arguements whilst out, but i would never disgrace myself to fight. I do Agree with most comments here that the JEP are just looking to fill the headline space as there was nothing interesting to print that day though as town is not that bad and to say that there are over 100,000 people living on this rock i say we all get on pretty well together!
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@86 Mock nosebag – yeah I got mugged by a few on the way back to Gib from La Linea. Knife to the throat ‘n’ all. Some parts of it are nice but the dodgy parts are seriously dodgy. Makes St Helier seem extremely safe in comparison.
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Ollie # 88. You make an interesting observation about alcohol being a major contributory factor in violence occurring on our streets. You are right, by law licencees have an obligation to prevent drunkenness on licensed premises. If they or their servants serve a drunken person with alcohol they commit an offence. Also it is an offence to be drunk on licensed premises or to purchase alcohol for a drunken person on licensed premises. The police used to rigorously enforce this law and actually had a Licensing Unit, comprising of a Sergeant and six Police Constables. They routinely visited licensed premises to ensure the law was complied with.
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I’ve never felt unsafe in Glasgow (Glasgow is known for gang violence not random attacks, and the majority aren’t in gangs). I’ve never felt unsafe in New York, London or Livepool. I have felt unsafe in certain parts of St Helier, but the reason you really cannot compare St Helier to any of the above places is because there are fewer people on the streets. If 2 threatening people pass you in St Helier there isn’t necessarily anyone around to help or discourage a potential attacker, however, in cities like Glasgow, London and New York you always have the option to stay in very populated areas and that makes you safer. Still, back home (part of the UK_ has no crime at all so I can’t say I’ve ever felt unsafe there, even with no-one else around.
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I very rarely notice town being “scary”, I imagine it’s a bit intimidating if you were a fragile young lady scanlty clad, you might get a bt of unwanted attention, but as a 24 yr old 6ft3″ 14.5 stone bloke I don’t usually have that problem. However I tend to avoid town as I find it disgusting.
I dont want to spend my evenings in overcrowded pubs (chambers, Yacht to name but few) then witness the downfall of humanity on the way home seeing all the people who at the begining of the night were dressed up all nice or just come from their respectable jobs, now sitting on the floor trying to tackle a kebab and can barely lift a fork.
One think i always seem to notice and i feel so sorry for the owner is the Jewellers on the corner of Bond Street. Theres always someone relieving themselves in the doorway. The worst part is there is a public toilet not 10ft away.
If I do feel the earge to have a few drinks one evening, I would much rather go out of town and be able to actually talk to people, rather then shout to them while being knocked by everyone trying to get to the bar. However I don’t drink that often as it seems to me unless theres something to celebrate, it’s a bit pointless, you don’t need 10 pints of lager to have good time with your mates!
Comparing the town to other places is silly, its like saying that rapists arent that bad compared to hitler. Its doesn’t matter, the point is its our town and we want it to be better.
Lets all just have a bit of respect for eachother and for ourselves. Lets get out of this “its Friday night lets get wasted” mentality. Most of the time its not bad people, its what alcohol does to good people.
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This is nothing.
Where’s the comparison? Do these people also feel unsafe driving; walking; making a phone call; going to the toilet at night without the lights on? Would then feel safe walking across the 5 mile road at night? Would they tackle the north coast at night? These stats mean nothing! Of the people who voted, how many of them would go out in town anyway, even if it was extremely safe? Certainly not 100% of them.
Yes, town is mostly a disgrace at night – but that’s only for a few hours and only because no one goes out till 10 and they’re all kicked out of clubs at 2. If clubs could stay open later then certain parts of town wouldn’t be so affected by people who are trying to drink as much as they can in 3-4 hours.
As well as later closing times the police need to be a bit more savvy. They all stand around the area as if they’re riot police who are awaiting inevitable public disorder. It’s mental. I understand that they’re under a lot of stress as there’s a lot of people around but I don’t think there presence needs to come with the attitude. If anything, the way they all stand around, they cause me to have less confidence in their ability to handle the situation.
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‘Even though the comparison to the UK / various other places has been brought up already, it does make Jersey seem like a bubble-wrapped paradise.’
WILL YOU LOT STOP MAKING GENERALISATIONS ABOUT THE UK! It depends where you live ffs! There are places in England that seem like a ‘bubble-wrapped paradise’ compared to Jersey and there are parts of London where you need to constantly watch your back.
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#88 Ollie the situation you mention in the UK with the girl isn’t really relevant. The vast majority of such crimes where people are murdered or go missing are committed by someone the person knows extremely well, such statistics cannot be factored into statistics about how safe people feel walking about town at night amongst strangers since the situation is totally different. Unless you believe no-one has ever been murdered or gone missing in dodgy circumstances in Jersey of course?
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Why shouldn’t people compare Jersey to other places they have lived – UK or otherwise? I have lived in numerous big cities in the UK, many small towns and a couple of villages (North & South) – so feel that I am sufficiently ‘qualified’ to compare my experience elsewhere to Jersey. If that doesn’t satisfy you then simply compare the crime statistics for Jersey to the UK. When you do you will see that they are considerably lower and justify the comments people are making that Jersey is very safe compared to the UK.
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