Safe at night? Survey finds less than one in five feel safe in Sunderland city centre after dark

The Ipsos poll, which took the opinions of around 1,000 people living in Sunderland, has been described as “appalling” and “totally damning” by opposition councillors. Those taking part were asked how safe or unsafe they felt in the city centre after dark, with only two per cent saying ‘very safe’ and 15 per cent saying ‘fairly safe’ – meaning that overall just 17 per cent of people felt safe.

By contrast, 32 per cent replied ‘fairly unsafe’, and 33 per cent said ‘very unsafe’. A further 18 per cent responded saying they felt ‘neither safe nor unsafe’,

The survey was commissioned by the council and was carried out in 2021. The findings were revealed to councillors for the first time during a meeting of Sunderland Council’s Scrutiny Co-Ordinating Committee last week.

The response has prompted outcry from opposition Lib Dem councillors who are now calling on the council to bring organisations in the city together to come up with an urgent action plan to tackle the issue and restore local people’s confidence of going out in the city centre at night.

Julia Potts, Liberal Democrat councillor for Millfield and Thornholme Ward which includes the city centre, said: "It is absolutely appalling to learn that just 17% of people living in Sunderland feel safe in our city centre after dark. This is a totally damning statistic which should be a wake-up call for council bosses. Sunderland Council chiefs must now urgently put together a task force with the local police, business groups and other local organisations to work on improving perceptions of our city and provide reassurance that we have a city centre that everyone can enjoy on an evening.

“We can’t have the vibrant city centre and the growing night-time economy that we all want to see in Sunderland if nothing is done to urgently get a grip of this problem and improve the way people feel about being in the town after dark.”

In response, Councillor Graeme Miller, Leader of Sunderland City Council and Chair of the Safer Sunderland Partnership, said: “Our residents’ survey, which was carried out with Ipsos between October and December 2021, highlighted some key priorities for the city, including that we need to do more to help our residents feel safe in the city centre after dark. Since receiving the results of the survey we have put new measures in place, including recruiting additional staff to our enforcement team, issuing body cams to wardens to support enforcement, and carrying out Safer Streets-funded programmes to address anti-social behaviour.

"We have wardens carrying out patrols in hotspot areas and we continue to work in partnership with the police, Sunderland BID and The Bridges to address anti-social behaviour in the city centre. Regeneration in and around our city centre is making the area busier and more vibrant, attracting more people to the city centre and helping to increase feelings of safety. Fieldwork is currently live for the 2022 survey, which will help us to further understand residents’ views.”