Revealed: Ormskirk’s crime hotspots, street-by-street

Jan 19 2012 by Joe Thomas, Ormskirk Advertiser

TODAY the Advertiser can reveal a street-by-street crime map of our town – pin-pointing the worst hit areas.

Figures released by the Home Office show how many crimes are reported in each area on a monthly basis.

The statistics highlight Moor Street as the crime capital of Ormskirk.

Attributing incidents reported to the police to a location “on or near” where it happened, www.police.uk builds a detailed picture of criminal activity on our streets.

The latest figures were the twelfth set released, making it possible to build a year-long map of crime hotspots. From December 2010 to November 2011, 381 crimes were reported on or near Moor Street.

The statistics include a cocktail of crimes – from anti-social behaviour to acts of violence – and reveal Ormskirk’s crime rate is similar to the national average. The biggest problem for both Ormskirk and Moor Lane is anti-social behaviour. During the twelve months figures are available for, more than 50 reports of anti-social behaviour were made every month in the town, reaching a high-point of 149 in October, 17 of which were in the Moor Street area.

Concerned about anti-social behaviour, Derby ward Cllr David Sudworth said: “Serious crime is thankfully rare in Ormskirk but there are issues with alcohol-related anti-social behaviour in the town centre.”

He added: “The police need to maintain a strong presence in Ormskirk, and that's why I was delighted our recent community-led campaign to keep the police station open to the public ended in victory.”

Rob Owens, chairman of Ormskirk Tennis Club, which is based on crime hotspot County Road, admitted they were experiencing growing anti-social behaviour. Last week a player’s car was seriously damaged, and a gang of youths threw a brick at a player on court.

He said: “From a tennis club point-of-view, it (anti-social behaviour) is definitely getting worse, but we are not at the point yet where people are getting directly threatened.”

His main concern was police tackle the issue now before the problem escalates.

Figures for Burscough and the Northern Parishes were low to average with Mark Square (40), Tarleton, Mart Lane (50), Burscough, and Avenham Close (55), Banks, standing out.

Sergeant Andy Willis, geographic co-ordinator for West Lancashire, urged caution in interpreting the figures.

He said: “Our focus continues to be on iconic crimes such as dwelling burglaries, which have seen a 19% reduction over the same time period, and violent crime which has seen an 18% fall, as well as issues which affect quality of life such as anti-social behaviour.”