Is crime in Wolverhampton the bigger issue or are the people affected by it? Who can help?

Have you ever witnessed or been through something you wished you never had? Someone being killed, attacked or abused, or were you the that someone, that victim?

Crime is taking place all around Wolverhampton and being a part of any of these situations can leave a person helpless and vulnerable for the rest of their lives. Who is supporting them and what is being done about it?

An article by Jessica Labhart from Express and Star last year in December showed there was over 2,000 crimes in just four areas of Wolverhampton in eight months. From Birmingham Mail, Graeme Brown discovered 2,093 reported crimes and mentioned none of the areas in Wolverhampton had fewer than 100 crimes across the month. This shows committing crime is the norm, and there’s too much of it, but not all news articles cover the effects on the people who are forced to go through or see these crimes. 

Anyone can become a victim but not everyone gets the help they need or even noticed. A recent article from Express and Star by Tom Oakley asks for help, ‘Can you help police trace man wanted after series of attacks’ and mentions his name, age, number to report to and the fact that he is linked to Wolverhampton, but it doesn’t mention anything about the attacks or how many people were victims of them. This article gives people the chance to help in the capture of the criminal but not in a way which readers will feel the need to help as the story isn’t as detailed, sympathetic or sensitive where as if it included what the victims had gone through or how they were attacked, readers would feel that sympathy or relate to it and get more responses from people. However, it’s understandable that the victims’ names are not always allowed to be published in articles for privacy reasons but there are other ways of including this information without their names.

Earlier this month a body of a murder victim aged 14- year old girl was discovered in West Park, in Wolverhampton. An article from BBC News said Wolves FC urged their fans for any information regarding the murder and if they had witnessed anything unusual or saw the girl on the day at all. The principle of the school she went to described her as “a friendly… sociable girl who had many friends at school”. This immediately makes you wonder how the friends she had may be feeling, most likely terrified to step foot outside alongside all others who live or travel to Wolverhampton.

Wolverhampton - Crime & Support Map

The City Council of Wolverhampton posted an article on what hate crime is, how to report it and what to report. Hate crime also a cause of victims to feel unsafe since it includes damaging a victim’s property such as graffiti and making threats/verbal abuse. The article also offer a list of organisations that will help victims get the advice and support that they need. 

They also have another page on how to prevent crime in the area which includes links to the West Midlands Police website and the local policing unit in Wolverhampton which is helpful. 

A member from the leading charity by the name of Victim Support (VS) visits the University of Wolverhampton, both City Campus and Walsall for drop-in sessions for those students who need the support. 
They are a leading charity who support a range of people that are affected by crimes and are victims of them. Last year they supported 814,000 victims of crime, that’s almost 1,000,000! They offer support to children, young children, parents, teachers and professionals. Their website also includes stories from victims who have been helped by the charity and 97% of those victims were pleased with the support given to them by this charity which was remarkable. They have been around for around 40 years and the first Victim Support Scheme was set up in 1974 and by 1986, every country in England had a Victim Scheme. 

Although there are charities and organisations in Wolverhampton to help the victims of crime, there are still many more crimes taking place in the area which suggests that a there should be stronger neighbourhood watch in that area whether it’s the police or people who are living within the community. Also, when the police encounter the victims or witnesses, they should direct them to the suitable organisation for support as there are many people who may never want to go out of their way to get that support they need and may try deal with it on their own which is much more difficult.