Harrogate district’s latest crime hotspots for anti-social behaviour, drug crime, sexual offences, hate crime, domestic violence, robbery and burglary revealed

North Yorkshire Police has published a breakdown of the top offences in each ward area between May and September – and one location which has become an increasing crime concern features prominently.

Low Harrogate includes most of the town centre and perhaps unsurprisingly is named in all the top five areas for crimes including domestic violence, drug offences, robbery, burglary, sexual offences, hate crime and fraud.

But what might not come as a surprise is the fact that the ward has the highest rates of anti-social behaviour not just in the Harrogate district, but across the whole of North Yorkshire.

Despite this, police officers have insisted the town centre “is safe” and that crime overall is on the decline.

Police say Harrogate town centre ‘is safe’ despite highest anti-social behaviour rate in county

Here we look at the top hotspots broken down by each offence:

Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

Low Harrogate – 96

High Harrogate – 43

Starbeck – 35

Ripon Spa – 28

Ripon Minister – 26

North Yorkshire Police said in its report that although there are some hotspot areas, the latest crime figures “really cement that there are large parts of Harrogate which are unaffected by ASB”.

Outside of Harrogate town, the force said that Ripon Minister is “by far the busiest ward” for officers responding to reports of ASB.

It also said officers have and will use powers to deal with offences, including an ability to disperse people from a certain area for up to 48 hours.

The report added: “Continued work is also being done across the night-time economy to ensure that those people out enjoying a drink can do so without the often-associated ASB that alcohol can attract.

“This has included use of drug dogs, increased patrols dedicated to the bars and a joint effort with licensing officers who can utilise their own powers.”

Drug crimes

Low Harrogate – 34

High Harrogate – 25

Granby – 19

Rossett – 15

Starbeck – 15

Low Harrogate again features at the top of the list for this crime and police said most drug offences tend to be within the town centre and with CCTV being used to identify individuals.

Offences in High Harrogate – which covers the area around Skipton Road north of the Empress Roundabout – tend to be vehicle stops, the report said.

“We are aware there is a constant flow of drugs into the area from both home-grown dealers and those from other cities,” the report added.

“Since May to the beginning of September, just within the Expedite team there have been 64 arrests and nearly 200 safeguarding visits.”

Sexual offences

Low Harrogate – 23

High Harrogate – 22

Granby – 17

Starbeck – 13

Stray – 13

North Yorkshire Police said there has been a “steady decrease” in reported sexual crimes across the district and that the vast majority of reports involve the victim knowing the suspect as a friend or family member.

The force went on to highlight concerns over nightclub spiking incidents and said there have been some suspected cases in the Harrogate area.

It explained: “We have not had any confirmed cases of drug spiking in the area despite treating several cases as possible cases.”

The latest cases to be heard at Harrogate Magistrates Court between September 29 and October 7

Hate crime

Low Harrogate – 36

Granby – 15

Ripon Minister – 12

High Harrogate – 10

Starbeck – 10

Across the Harrogate district, a total of 183 hate crimes have been reported between May and September, and almost half are still under investigation.

Most reported incidents involved racial hate crime, whilst others included hateful comments over people’s sexual orientation, disabilities and religion.

The report said just under 9% of incidents have resulted in court outcomes, while around a quarter were not progressed due to the victim’s wishes.

“North Yorkshire Police takes all instances of both hate crime and hate incidents extremely seriously given their hugely impactive and personal implications,” the force said.

Domestic violence

Starbeck – 99

High Harrogate – 96

Low Harrogate – 93

Granby – 91

Woodfield – 84

Starbeck had the most reported incidents of domestic violence, with High Harrogate and Low Harrogate following closely behind.

North Yorkshire Police has stressed that it takes domestic violence against both females and males seriously, adding: “There are specialist officers that are either involved or review every incident and we take a supportive partnership approach to every incident.

“We now have a wider range of powers and tools that we can utilise to support victims and tackle offenders including domestic violence protection orders and notices.”

Robbery

Low Harrogate – 7

Starbeck – 7

High Harrogate – 6

Granby – 5

Ripon Minister – 4

There have been few robberies reported over the five-month period – and North Yorkshire Police said the joint-top hotspot Low Harrogate saw a 50% reduction in its figures when compared to the last reporting period.

The force added: “There are no linked robberies that have gone unnoticed and equally we have no repeat locations/victims or suspects that are causing increased areas of concern.”

Burglary

Low Harrogate – 31

Woodfield – 22

Saltergate – 21

Starbeck – 20

Ripon Minister – 17

Burglaries are much more common than robberies, and following national criticism on attendance and detection rates, North Yorkshire Police said it has committed to attend “all reports of dwelling burglaries unless exceptional circumstances would dictate otherwise”.

Fraud

Ripon Moorside – 47

Low Harrogate – 30

Woodfield – 29

Granby – 28

Saltergate – 27

The final crime listed in the report is fraud and Ripon Moorside – which covers the south-west of the city – comes out on top by some margin for its size.

North Yorkshire Police described fraud as an “ever evolving and growing issue” which is being driven by the reliance of technology in day-to-day lives.

The force added: “Due to our modifying world, fraud has now become the UK’s most common crime, and as a result of this, North Yorkshire Police have already committed and retained fraud as one of its force priorities.”