Residents of Clifton Street in Cardiff are living in fear as brazen crime, violence and open drug dealing become a daily occurrence, with one shop owner pleading: “Please help us.”
Residents describe a 'third world' street
Express reporter Adam Toms visited the street and spoke to locals who say they are sick to the back teeth with crime. One shop owner, Poonam Mehta, told him the street resembled a “third world” country. She moved to Britain from India expecting a much better existence than the one she is enduring at the moment.
Locals are terrified of walking down the road, and say they regularly see violence and blood on the street, anti-social behaviour and open drug dealing. The local Tesco is also a frequent target for shoplifters, and human faeces can be found on the floor, according to those spoken to.
Brazen behaviour despite police presence
Toms was sent videos and photos of apparent drug addicts not even trying to conceal their behaviour. This brazenness is despite a police station in the street, which is the headquarters of the local neighbourhood policing team. Its front desk is generally closed.
The street is one of a number across the UK where there has evidently been a breakdown in law and order, with brazen crime occurring on a daily basis. Not long ago, Toms reported on St James’s Street in Brighton, which has starkly similar problems, and local business people are also sick of it.
Hostels and lack of support blamed
In both cases, hostels are located nearby, and people experiencing socio-economic, addiction and other mental health difficulties spend their time outside during the day. A resident of a hostel near Clifton Street, a former heroin addict, told Toms that people are stuck in their lifestyles, which surely nobody would wish on their worst enemy.
At the same time, there will undoubtedly be some people who are content living as they are and would not actively seek to try and get out. They are to some extent institutionalised, and those who want to try and escape need assistance in order to transition to a more orthodox life. Without this, more and more places will spiral out of control, making life a misery for locals.
There is only so much police can do in the face of an overwhelming amount of troubling behaviour as their numbers continue to be sub-optimal.
