The safest street in Tyne and Wear for a night out

Christmas is fast approaching, meaning it’s time for Work Christmas parties and nights out with friends. But, with any night out, comes the worry of being safe. Spark Sunderland carried out an investigation into which popular night out street is the safest.

We picked out a select handful of the popular spots for a night out; Green Terrace, Sunderland; Concord High Street, Washington; Bigg Market & Groat market, Newcastle; Mile End Road, South Shields; Union Road, North Shields. These are based on where people typically go on a night out with friends. However, we must add that this does not form a representation of all drinking spots in the Tyne and Wear region.

Research showed that out of the five streets, Bigg Market and Groat Market had the highest crime rate in our sample of October 2020 – October 2021. Over 450 crimes were committed in this 12-month period, with the main crimes being violence and sexual assault, theft, drugs, and Anti-social behavior. 101 of these incidents over the year period were violence and sexual assaults.

The street with the second highest crime rating was Green Terrace in Sunderland. 173 crimes were reported in the 12-month period. Violence and Sexual Assault, theft and anti-social behavior were among the top crimes committed. 42 of these crimes being violence and sexual offences. Whilst the rest fit into the Anti-social behavior, burglary, public order, criminal damage, and theft categories.

Concord high street, Washington has the third highest crime rate with 154 crimes being committed in the 12-month period. 22 of the crimes committed were violence and sexual assault. However, Theft, criminal damage, public order, anti-social behavior, and burglary were all crimes listed.

Mile end road, south shields had 68 crimes committed whilst Union Road, North Shields had 52 crimes committed. Both including all the crimes previously listed for the other streets.

From these results, Mile End Road, South Shields, or Union Road in North Shields are the safest for a night out. However, this does not represent every street in the Northeast, and not all crimes are committed due to the night-time economy.

We contacted Northumbria Police for a comment on this story, however they declined to comment. They did direct us to an article they have published about staying safe whilst out.

Chief Constable Neil Hutchison said, in the article “We recognize and understand the concerns that these that these issues generate, and I want to reassure people that we are committed to playing our part to ensure our region remains one of the safest to enjoy a night out”

“This includes working with partners, including local authorities, businesses, licensees, door supervisors, hotel staff and taxi drivers, so we can all come together to help keep people safe.”

In addition to this, they deploy a Safe Haven van in Newcastle at weekends, with officers and St Johns Ambulance staff on hand to provide further assistance.