Brummies - How are you feeling about the city centre now?

[ymemanresu]

Another stabbing last night by The Bull. Personally, i’m avoiding the place now. Never felt scared being in Birmingham before

I’ve never seen Birmingham as somewhere that’s particularly safer than anywhere else. There’s always felt like an undercurrent of violence in some parts. I’m not in Brum, but visit fairly regularly and will be coming to the Christmas market in a couple of weeks. I am in a city half an hour north by train that’s had various stabbings and knife incidents lately. As scary as it is, you can’t let it stop you living your life. Personally I think knife crime attacks will rise exponentially in the next few years.

4 stabbings in just over a month seems a lot though. Hmm the market is smaller this year, i do think recent events might put people off.

You’re probably right. Tbh regarding the market, I’ve heard a few people say in recent years it’s nowhere near as good as other cities, so this might be the final straw for some people and they’ll go elsewhere.

It may seem a lot, but it isn't. Nationally, there is a fatal stabbing every 17 hours. We don't get to hear about most of them, and reports of non-fatal stabbings are even rarer. The rate of knife crime is falling, both nationally and in Birmingham. However, if the press report a higher proportion of stabbings, it makes it look as if knife crime is going up.

Note that I'm not saying that we should accept the current rate of knife crime or be complacent. We should be working to eliminate it completely. But any apparent increase in stabbings in Birmingham is more likely to be an increase in reporting rather than an actual increase in stabbings.

I lworked in Birmingham (lived in various places round Solihull) for 20 odd years. Always felt fairly safe often walked to and from Broad street to snow hill late ant night etc. always felt safe.

We moved away a couple of years ago

1. large groups of young Pakistani and Bangladeshi men literally forcing you out the way in city centre
2. Men staring at you in the street
3. One of my sons old school friends new class mates was stabbed yo death walking home from school in broad daylight, he was 12 years old
4. in the last week someone stabbed round the corner from where we used to live
5. over the weekend massive police operation to track down group linked to above chasing through the park my son used to walk to to junior school and play football in.arested 4 took zombie knives

ive been back for gigs, wouldn’t walk anywhere now -taxi from door of hotel to gig.

its scary, its been lost. There is no way I would be raiding my son there.

I went to the Christmas market for the first time last year. I don’t think the place has got a nice vibe at all, and I didn’t feel particularly safe there.

There were a few groups of ‘roadmen’ completely dressed in black with hoods up. It’s a city where you have to stay very alert in my opinion.