'Disturbing' number of reports of violence against women and girls in Shrewsbury, report finds

Multiple incidents of drug taking, grooming and trafficking were reported in Shrewsbury last November after town centre security was beefed up.

A Safer Streets report said statistics are spiking, however it says that "it's not a bad thing" that the crimes are being brought to the attention of security guards and police.

Last summer, Shrewsbury Town Council ramped up security in the Quarry, doubling the hours that guards are on duty from 30 hours a week to 60 hours a week in August, with a taxi marshal also employed to manage the night time economy. The authority is using £168,000 of a Safer Streets grant from West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion to fund the extra security presence.

In the latest update on the situation, town clerk Helen Ball said in a report: "As anticipated statistics are spiking and there have been disturbing incidents of violence against women and girls. This isn’t a bad thing as it brings this serious issue into the public focus and sets our a stance of this not being acceptable behaviour."

She added: "Quarry Security have been operational since April with enhanced hours paid for by Safer Streets since August. Taxi marshals began in August and have worked every Friday/Saturday night. Town Rangers are managed by the BID and have been functioning since October.

"All incidents are recorded on the town council’s ASB logs and 101/online reporting or Crimestoppers is used to report matters of concern to the police. This collective reporting is now beginning to show trends of people, locations and activity and this is helping to priorities patrols and work flows.

"Quarry issues are being well managed. The security staff are well received by staff, the public who use the park and in particularly young people who see them as safe individuals to talk to. There remains concern about under-age drinking and further discussions are taking place with public health.

"Taxi marshals have helped enormously in improving relations between the Hackney carriage drivers and the private hire drivers. The taxi marshals also support individuals who find themselves incapacitated from over-exuberance and working with the street pastors they ensure these individuals return home safely."

West Mercia Police chief constable Pippa Mills and the region's police and crime commissioner John Campion visited the town at the end of 2022 to see how the Safer Streets project was working and discuss another Safer Streets funding bid.

"Further discussions are taking place, particularly around the matter of sustainability as it is evident that this project is greatly supporting the police, making the town a safer place and addressing some of the endemic issues around rough sleeping," the town clerk added.