Is Glasgow really as unsafe as recent BBC coverage suggests?

[Retiler]

There was a recent BBC Disclosure program called ‘Welcome to Glasgow’ in which crimes on the streets of central Glasgow was shown. Is this representative of Glasgow these days? Attacks on innocent passers by and open drug dealing on the streets? I had heard Glasgow was run down but this program was quite an eye opener. My child was thinking of applying to uni there but I hear really bad things about Glasgow from a number of sources.

I don't know but Edinburgh is genuinely unsafe now in the centre of town for ordinary women

That’s terrible. Is it a drugs and alcohol problem?

I personally wouldnt say so. Im not from Glasgow but im close enough that I'm regularly through there for gigs, getting the subway across town and the train home quite late and a few of my pals live there and honestly I've never once felt unsafe. Ive seen people fight and take drugs and general antisocial behaviour but no worse particularly than anywhere else Ive come across. But Im only one person with an opinion so I dont pretend to know whats going on on a daily basis. I was going to apply for teacher training there a long time ago but ended up going to Edinburgh as I had family there. But I really like Glasgow.

Ah see, there you go! I live in Edinburgh and Ive never felt unsafe there either so maybe it just me! Ive witnessed bad behaviour for sure, but its never impacted me personally or made me nervous for my own safety.

I wouldn’t say so. I work in the city centre and whilst I’d agree that there’s a much more obvious homelessness and drug problem than a few years ago (probably pre-Covid) in certain areas (under Hieleman’s Umbrella for example) I don’t actually feel unsafe. Any issues I’ve seen, even at night, are generally contained within these groups.

As a family we went to Manchester recently and parked in an NCP car park and had to step over a group actively shooting up so I don’t think Glasgow is an outlier, just the same as any other city sadly.

I read that. I lived in Glasgow for years when younger, and it was always assumed Glasgow was rough and Edinburgh posh.
Last time I visited Glasgow, a lot had changed in terms of building and areas seemed to have changed character, but I felt safe enough away from the centre at night (felt fine during the day). Anecdotally, seems reasonable (heard the same from others who've visited more recently).

In what way? I haven't noticed this - do you mean at night?

Glasgow looks awful these days - very run down city centre & Sauchiehall St is horrible just now. I'm not convinced the level of violence is new - women in Govanhill held a protest march years ago about the level of sexual assaults in the area, and there have been random stabbings & targeted attacks in the city centre before. Edinburgh has also had major issues with gang violence but I feel fairly safe here - have always avoided Cowgate late at night, that's been a drunken mess for centuries.

The Scottish government have deliberately adopted a policy of not prosecuting young people for crime - based on the flawed psychology claims that human decision making isn't mature till mid 20s (in my view that's unfounded - there are very few studies of this, and our cognitive abilities massively change over the life course, we don't just 'mature' into adults and stay the same).

It means the police can't take any action against children & young adults involved in crime. Gangs recruiting them into county lines & the like is an entirely predictable consequence.

Is Glasgow worse than Birmingham or Manchester - well the drug death rates are way higher, drug and alcohol consumption are higher so dealing & drug violence is going to be higher too. Scotland has a massive problem in our attitude towards alcohol & drug use - excess is engrained in the culture & alcohol still celebrated. The Scottish government won't ever admit that though.

I found Glasgow safe and friendly on all the occasions I’ve visited. Walked around day and early evening with DC and definitely noticed signs of decay and drug use but none that made me feel unsafe. I grew up in 1980s East London and lived on a street nicknamed Murder Mile so I’m not that easily fazed tbf.

I thought the BBC programme was very biased. It did not show anything about people enjoying the city centre in safely.
I often go into the city centre (I live 5 miles away) and I have never felt unsafe.

Glasgow accepts a high number of migrants relative to its population, and I do think the rapid change in the city has contributed to tensions in some areas. There are often large groups of young men around the St Enoch area, some of whom don’t appear to speak English, and I’ve witnessed what looks like open drug dealing there. I also rarely seem to see a police presence in the city centre, and parts of it can feel quite sketchy.
There are also groups of teenage boys hanging around who can seem quite intimidating, and that’s probably what concerns me most as I have a 16-year-old DS. He’s going to the cinema in Glasgow with friends tomorrow night and DH is picking him up afterwards, mainly so he doesn’t have to make his way to Central for the train later at night.
Having said that, I don’t personally feel particularly unsafe in Glasgow as a woman. I’d use the same common sense I would in any large city — I wouldn’t walk alone through quiet or poorly lit areas late at night, and I’d keep my wits about me. I just think the city centre feels noticeably rougher and less well-policed than it used to.

I don’t think so, I’m in Glasgow regularly and it doesn’t feel unsafe to me. There’s lots of building work going on, the renovation of George square and following the fire at central station which makes the city centre look run down and there have always been poorer areas. Like any city you need to be aware of your surroundings and not go wandering down lanes etc but it doesn’t feel unsafe, possibly because it’s familiar to me. I always feel less safe in unfamiliar surroundings.

It depends totally on your demographic and area you reside.

I, in my 50’s, living in a southern suburb only travelling to the city centre for work and occasion meals out in busy areas am extremely unlikely to be the victim of any crime or violence.

A young male who lives in a deprived area and surrounded by the problems associated with that is hundreds of times more likely to be the victim of an assault or murder than I am.

Younger women are also much more likely to be the victim of random sexual assaults in the city centre due to vulnerability, which is why safety measures are so important for this group.

There has always been violence in Glasgow, I grew up in what would today be one of those deprived areas, there is nothing I’ve seen in the past few years, whether online/media or on the street that I thought was anywhere near as bad as the 80’s/90’s.

When, to remind people, we were the murder capital of Europe and knife attacks were common, in the East End especially a huge proportion of men of a certain age had facial scars from previous violence.

The difference now is that every single incident is filmed and documented on uncontrolled platforms like TikTok and X which are used to spread a narrative.

The BBC are not better, I mean one of the incidents were a couple of kids throwing a traffic cone at a man who was using a devil dog to intimidate them, not exactly the breakdown of society.

Things like this happen everywhere, in previous years though unless you or someone you know witnessed it you would remain oblivious.

The fact is, and I say that as someone who has been involved in projects to try and make some impact in Glasgow, that the root causes are always the same, deprivation, generational poverty and a toxic culture developed through decades of neglect.

Having said that we also need to look at what we can do to get AS’s/Migrants either contributing to society or processed properly and moved on, there have been a huge amount of people placed in the city and often, through no fault of their own, are unable to work or integrate which leads to some of the issues with drug dealing/crime that have been highlighted.

The same as our ‘native’ (whatever exactly that means in a city that has always had immigration) population really.

I'm from Glasgow and now live elsewhere but visit often mostly for work and sometimes socially to meet friends. - mostly city centre. I'd say it's generally safe and I haven't always felt like that.

I was recently coming out of the St Enoch Centre midafternoon and I found it really scary. There was obvious drug dealing going on. People out their heads on drugs. A lot of shouting - either mentally ill people or stoned. There were two policeman standing keeping watch. I told a friend about this and he said St Enoch's Square is a no go zone these days.

I'd also add that areas I used to be nervous walking alone feel much safer now - around Charing Cross, Gallowgate, the Barrowlands are okay now.

I agree the city centre is a mess. The George Square renovation better be worth it. I hate to think this might be a tourist's only visit to Glasgow and it's a disaster zone. (A bit like Edinburgh during the bin strike and the tram construction)