We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Residents of Soho Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, have shared their frustration as the crime rates in the area have spiked. The road on the northwestern side of the city has become a hub of criminality with beggars, drug users and prostitutes gathering on a daily basis, and police response is insufficient, according to a report that calls the area the city’s “red light district”.

Citizens are worried and feeling fear due to the situation, while also being exasperated because of the excessive littering in the area.

Dipak Patel, a business owner in the area, claimed that the situation is not new but has been going on for several years.

He told Birmingham Live: “It’s got worse over the last five, six years.

“We’ve had daytime prostitution issues, from 8.30am, Saturday afternoons.

“We get visitors from outside and this is the impression they have of Birmingham? It’s not good at all.

“Condoms on the street, just walk down the side in the morning and they’re all there.”

The shopkeeper stressed the need for not just increased police attendance in the area, but also support from the local authorities.

He noted: “People are scared. Friends who live in the area are moving out because you can’t walk on Soho Road. People just don’t feel safe to come out. They see no police officers.

“We understand the pressures on the police, but it needs some sort of plan to make things better.”

“It’s a complex issue that needs a complex solution, it’s not just something that’s going to be resolved with quick police interventions, it needs the local authority, housing, police; it’s a lot of different agencies that are going to have to get involved.”

Another resident, Daniel Chand, who has family in the area echoed similar concerns, detailing how potentially illegal prostitution takes place in the daytime.

DON’T MISS: Pupil banned from school for wearing the wrong black socks
Huge 6ft dog Basher finally finds a home after being labelled too big
Hospital patient had a wait of almost two days in ambulance

He said: “They stand at a location, sometimes they use a phonebooth in Soho Road, whether they use a phone or whatever it is, or the customers just come in there.

“Sometimes prostitutes use the side of Handsworth Library, there’s a little gap.”

Mr Chand explained that the local authorities “waste money” instead of taking action to tackle criminal activity in the area and assist those in need.

He noted: “They waste money on planters, I find drug syringes in there, condoms in there. There’s too much talk, little action.” 

Source: Read Full Article