Most of the time when its quit busy I feel ok walking around town alone. However, due to recent news and the mounting violence, I would hate to have to get the bus home on my own.

How could they make the city safer? They obviously need more CCTV, lights, and more police patroling the streets 24/7. Oh, and some Batman type person to give the crooks a severe beating before turning them over to the cops.

mounting violence?

fri/sat nigths are a lot nicer with a heavy police precense.

I have to say, that I don't have an issue with walking home alone or walking around town alone. It doesn't happen often at all as friends don't tend to let us girlies walk off alone.

I feel very safe in Sheffield, obviously I wouldn't walk down dark alley ways or through secluded parks etc at nite, alone, but thats just commom sense and would be the same wherever I was.

yeah but fri/sat are mainly drunken scraps and mobile phone muggings. I'm more concerned about the rest of the times when the weird psychotic minds are on the loose.

Gurrr, damn this justice system.

I got a briefing from a city centre police officer last week, and discovered that the police force spend well in excess of half a million quid on patrolling Sheffield city centre just on Fri and Sat nights alone.

Half a million quid, thats nothing thesedays.

Sheffield is a relatively safe city compared to others of its size. I don't savour a walk at night by myself, but I have done it and never had any trouble. Unfortunately I find that in Sheffield after a certain time if you want a taxi home you do have to walk a little way out of the city centre to even stand a chance of getting one.

I think you have to try to remember that the world is not full of bad people - most people are decent, if a little rowdy when drunk! If you are unlucky enough to be attacked I heard the best thing to do is grab their balls and pull as hard as you can - stuns them long enough for you to get away :heyhey:

Originally posted by banesmabes
Sheffield is a relatively safe city compared to others of its size. I don't savour a walk at night by myself, but I have done it and never had any trouble. Unfortunately I find that in Sheffield after a certain time if you want a taxi home you do have to walk a little way out of the city centre to even stand a chance of getting one.

I think you have to try to remember that the world is not full of bad people - most people are decent, if a little rowdy when drunk! If you are unlucky enough to be attacked I heard the best thing to do is grab their balls and pull as hard as you can - stuns them long enough for you to get away :heyhey: hopefully carrying said balls with you :banana:

I feel much safer now walking around Sheffield than I did walking around Luton back in the day.

hi, i work in town and have to go along fargate in the evening its not nice, me and my fellow workers are continuously stopped or followed by beggars with some tale or other to try and get money from us, its horrible, especially if its more than one person i always feel intimidated, i know there are cctt cameras, but it would all be over by the time anyone could do anything.
theyre usually fit young people who could easily work for a living like i have have to do, despite being slightly disabled.
i was once "escorted" all the way along fargate and down high street by a young bloke with a sob story, what am i supposed to do?

Originally posted by suzyoo
hi, i work in town and have to go along fargate in the evening its not nice, me and my fellow workers are continuously stopped or followed by beggars with some tale or other to try and get money from us, its horrible, especially if its more than one person i always feel intimidated, i know there are cctt cameras, but it would all be over by the time anyone could do anything.
theyre usually fit young people who could easily work for a living like i have have to do, despite being slightly disabled.
i was once "escorted" all the way along fargate and down high street by a young bloke with a sob story, what am i supposed to do?

Yeah, the only type of person that's stopped me walking through town.

About a week ago a man stopped me and my girlfriend, praising how good we looked together and then asked for money. :rolleyes:

Best thing to do is say that you don't have any change....

I think the CCTV would act more as a detterent if they were clearly visible and signs were up to let everyone know that there is CCTV in that area.

A while back me, hubby and two friends had some hassle from two blokes stood behind us in the taxi queue. They became extremely threatening towards my hubby and the rest of us. I walked up to the police van parked near the City Hall.

I asked the driver of the vehicle for some help and explained that we were being threatened and I was concerned about what might happen. The driver was a bit off-hand but as I began walking back to the queue apparantly a whole load of police must of got out of the back and were behind me - my friend said it was a fab sight, me walking in front with an army of coppers behind me (I was totally oblivious to their presence) :P

Anyway, the blokes in the queue obviously denied everything so the police said they'd leave it - but as a parting shot, one of the (hugely tall) coppers said - don't worry love, this area is monitored by CCTV so if anything happens we'll be straight back. The blokes, then realising they were being monitored muttered a few things but behaved themselves (thank God)!

Wherever I am in sheffield I have never felt in danger.
I have a friend come from France staying for 2 weeks, and at the end of his stay we actually talked about the feeling of security and he felt there was nothing to be worried about; having walked from town to the near suburbs (London Rd/Queens Rd/Chesterfield Rd) at random times (0000->0400), nothing to report: shops, open, street lights...

I feel much safer walking around Sheffield than I do in Leeds or Manchester. The place I feel safest though is London, it's just the large number of people makes me feel more secure.

pretty safe, safe enough not to think about it generally.

Fairly safe, its not a dangerous place.

Half a million quids not much I normally spend about that much between breakfast and lunch.

http://www.sheffieldtoday.net/?source=www.244.org.uk how safe are we i hope they catch the scum bag that did this to the poor girl my heart goes out to her and her family.she must be going through hell right now.

despite what the story says the bus station is normally deserted after the last buses have left, and the cctv is completely useless.

Thats no comfort at all.
I'm all for capital punishment for criminals of that nature.

Originally posted by redrobbo
I got a briefing from a city centre police officer last week, and discovered that the police force spend well in excess of half a million quid on patrolling Sheffield city centre just on Fri and Sat nights alone.

Per week, or is that over a whole year? [Forgive my ignorance of orders of magnitude in public service funding.]

I feel safe but then have done for ages now, I'm a young girl and no ones ever approached me really or tried anything on. I think if something was to happen to me personally i then would be more scared, that incident was brutal but i have not seen anything that dodgey around the interchange and i have been there at late times too.

I think Sheffield is as safe if not safer than most cities in England, but like all crime, its a case of wrong place at wrong time. After the shocking attack the other night, i'm insisting my g/f gets taxis to my house while i'm at work, at least till this mans caught. (she hates taxis, and gets bus to and from town at moment)

I feel safer in sheffield than anywhere else. People worry too much, one incident and everyone panics. Compare this to the amount of trouble elsewhere and we are very lucky to be in such a safe city.

I feel perfectly safe, I can hold my own, I may not be a big guy, but I can certainly look after myself, if I should so have too. But really i fell pretty ok walking round sheffield.

Joel

Originally posted by thestruggle
Most of the time when its quit busy I feel ok walking around town alone. However, due to recent news and the mounting violence, I would hate to have to get the bus home on my own.

How could they make the city safer? They obviously need more CCTV, lights, and more police patroling the streets 24/7. Oh, and some Batman type person to give the crooks a severe beating before turning them over to the cops. it seams to your perseption of the city bieng more violent but its not,we all know that the city centers lack of people at night can make any one a little edgy walking through,but go for it i walk through town most nights,sometimes sober lol,its only because you can see the persistant beggers more when its empty,just be a good dodger like me :D

dont feel safe walking around any major city at night alone. but ive done it many times with no trouble and in lot worse places than sheffield.

guess its luck of the draw.

if in doubt...run


the winner of any fight is the guy who chooses not to ....and runs like the clappers!!

Know what you mean about luck of the draw

i dont feel safe walking around town on my own at all, at night time anyway. i lived there for five years and saw alot, its an horrible place. i used to live near the devonshire green and worked at bistro casablanca.

one night i was out with some friends on a friday night, my friends were a little behind me and some were in front i was on my own, three somaliens ( i hope you understand that because i cant spell it :confused: ) grabbed hold of me and told me not to stuggle or shout, me being me and full of alcohol tured around and hit him in the gob, good job i did or i would have been raped (i think) i managed to get away from them and run to work. (good job i was close to work when it happened)

ive also had tramps chase me because they said i was laughing at them when all i was doing was having a laugh with friends, funny thing was when that happened there was a man watching me get chased, i asked him to help and he just stood there like an idiot :confused:

that all happened near devonshire green, so go careful :)

I was victim of a street robbery 25 years ago they got £1.24 they still have'nt caught them :)

Other than that and after spening numerous nights in town on weekends and in the week never had any trouble.

I think towns generally quite safe but theres still parts that attract those of lesser moral values than the average person out in the late evening/early morning.

I think alot of it depends on how you look, how your dressed, whether your female or male, whether your on your own. All these factors seem to have effect on what happens to you. I think Sheffield is safe, if you don't think Sheffield's that safe then you would not think any where was safe realistically

Originally posted by Kerry_Lou
I think alot of it depends on how you look, how your dressed, whether your female or male, whether your on your own. All these factors seem to have effect on what happens to you. I think Sheffield is safe, if you don't think Sheffield's that safe then you would not think any where was safe realistically

It depends whether you're implying that women dressed say to go clubbing and walking home alone are more vulnerable? It is actually a myth that women are the most at risk of attack on the street. Young black men are generally the most likely people to be attacked, with women and the elderly among the least likely - although these are the attacks that gain the most press coverage, hence we have a skewed view of how common these crimes are.

How you look, how you're dressed, whether you're male or female, whether you are alone, mainly affects how you feel about what might happen to you, rather than whether anything actually will happen.

well i must think that nowhere is safe because i dont think sheffield city centre is safe, when i am on my own. ive seen too much to think it is safe.

banesmabes can i ask you how you know young black men are the most likely to be attacked, or is this just your opinion?
i would have thought that it is equal with blacks,whites and asians to be attacked, not just young black men.

i also think that women when out on their own in certain areas in the city centre (at night) do have a high risk of being attacked.
there is some very strange people out there.

all i say is to go careful and try to avoid being alone at night in the city centre :)

statistically 18 - 24 white males are the most likely to be involved in violence.
Whether you are alone or not doesn't just alter your perception of risk, it does actually alter your risk, that's just common sense.

Originally posted by janny
banesmabes can i ask you how you know young black men are the most likely to be attacked, or is this just your opinion?
i would have thought that it is equal with blacks,whites and asians to be attacked, not just young black men.

i also think that women when out on their own in certain areas in the city centre (at night) do have a high risk of being attacked.
there is some very strange people out there.

all i say is to go careful and try to avoid being alone at night in the city centre :)

I heard it somewhere recently, or read it somewhere, an article about who is at greatest risk of crime and how the most likely victims are those that get the least coverage in the press, whereas those attacks that get the most coverage are the least likely to happen (hence why they get the coverage).

Personally I don't believe in altering my life because of what a VERY small minority of people might be planning on doing. I don't make a habit of being out alone at night - but I don't live anywhere near my friends, therefore if I want to go out, being alone on part of the journey home is inevitable. I don't take daft risks when I'm out but I also beliebe that you cannot live your life worrying about whether you are going to be attacked or not - especially when the risk is fairly minimal.

Fine if its daylight, hate it at night.

Dont feel safe at all then.

well i would have thought that why they get the most coverage is because they are more important, not just because they are the least likely to happen.

and no you cant live your life worrying about whether youre going to be attacked, that would be stupid, but i still think its better to be a little warey (if thats spelt right)

Originally posted by janny
well i would have thought that why they get the most coverage is because they are more important, not just because they are the least likely to happen.

and no you cant live your life worrying about whether youre going to be attacked, that would be stupid, but i still think its better to be a little warey (if thats spelt right)

what makes one more important than another?

No, I think it's novelty value that means they get covered more. Papers exist to sell papers, nothing more and nothing less.

Wary, yes, or aware might be better. Situational awareness is the first tool in your self defence toolbox, and appropriate use of it means you never have to do anything else.
That might be as little as not getting in an unlicensed cab, avoiding a bad area on the walk home, or making sure you walk home with friends.
Or again, it might be as much as realising that you are being followed, taking your heels off (not that I wear them, being a bloke) and legging it before the situation can develop any further.

for instance i think rape is more important than someone being beat up, and i think thats why it gets the most coverage, not because it is the least likely to happen and not just to sell papers. people need to know about these serious situations.

Originally posted by janny
for instance i think rape is more important than someone being beat up, and i think thats why it gets the most coverage, not because it is the least likely to happen and not just to sell papers. people need to know about these serious situations.

Yes, rape is worse than someone being beaten up - but stranger rape on a dark street is also incredibly rare. It receives a lot of media coverage because it is so shocking - yes, because it is horrendous, but also because is doesn't happen very often. The fact is women are much more likely to be attacked by someone they know and trust (usually their partner). Yes, be wary when out alone, take a few precautions - but don't let the precautions stop you from living your life the way you want to.

i know what you are saying banesmabes.
when you say rapes dont happen very often, i think you will be suprised how often rape does happen but doesnt go into the papers.
i know of two people which it has happened to, and nearly myself ( i think that was what was going to happen)
myself i dont think its as rare as what you think.
it may be but who knows :confused:
i just know that you wont catch me at night in the centre alone.

Originally posted by janny
i know what you are saying banesmabes.
when you say rapes dont happen very often, i think you will be suprised how often rape does happen but doesnt go into the papers.
i know of two people which it has happened to, and nearly myself ( i think that was what was going to happen)
myself i dont think its as rare as what you think.
it may be but who knows :confused:
i just know that you wont catch me at night in the centre alone.

Yes, rape is more common than even the police know, because the vast majority go unreported. But that is usually because the women concerned are raped by someone they know and trust, and they either don't want to get that person into trouble, or they don't think the police will believe them. As I said, stranger rape on a dark street is VERY rare. The vast majority of rapes are carried out by someone the victim knows (often their partner) - hence stopping yourself from going out at night will not prevent this. I just think we need to get these things in proportion.

I feel safe in town on my own. As long as you keep your eyes and ears open you'll probably be okay.

Yep, I nearly always feel safe in Sheffield town centre. A welcome contrast after living in Nottm for 18 years :)