Warrington's 10 most dangerous streets according to police data

Cheshire Police’s crime statistics listed on police.uk showed that Browning Drive in Winwick had the highest number of incidents during 2021.

A total of 206 crimes were recorded on this road during the year, more than one for every three days.

It was the second year in a row that the quiet residential street on the Winwick Park estate topped the list, with 134 reports having been made on this road during 2020.

This was followed by Orchard Street in Fairfield, with 145 incidents having been reported on the A49.

The top five was rounded off by Greenings Court on Carrington Park, Poplars Avenue in Orford and Westminster Place in Warrington town centre.

Manchester Road, Hallfields Road in Orford, Moran Drive in Chapelford, Winwick Road and St Anthony Place in Winwick also made the top 10.

1. Browning Drive, Winwick – 206

2. Orchard Street, Fairfield – 145

3. Greenings Court, Carrington Park – 102

4. Poplars Avenue, Orford – 89

5. Westminster Place, town centre – 83

6. Manchester Road – 79

7. Hallfields Road, Orford – 76

8. Moran Drive, Chapelford – 73

= Winwick Road – 73

10. St Anthony Place, Winwick – 68

How accurate is the data?

Some of the entries in the top 10 may come as a surprise.

At the very head of the list, Browning Drive is situated in a well-heeled area where house prices have been known to reach £500,000.

On the other side of the A49, St Anthony Place is a quiet cul-de-sac made up of less than a dozen homes.

Meanwhile, Westminster Place is a small courtyard off Winwick Street which few residents would be aware of.

Just how accurate the figures are is a grey area, with the Home Office – which runs the police.uk website – stating that not all crimes listed under a street were necessarily committed on that actual road.

Instead, the system creates ‘snap points’, meaning that offences reported in the nearby area can be listed on a different street.

Cheshire Police have previously cited Browning Drive and St Anthony Place are two examples of this.

Chief inspector Neil Drum said: “While these figures may sound alarming, it’s important that they are put into context.

“For example, many of the streets listed are near busy shopping centres, medical facilities or around the town centre.

“These types of areas tend to receive a higher proportion of reported incidents than others.

“Our beat management teams closely monitor repeat demand, and whenever a location is highlighted as an area of concern they will always undertake problem solving work to address this.

Chief inspector Neil Drum

“It’s also important to note that the data itself doesn’t accurately show which streets are the most affected by crimes.

“It merely highlights which areas in the town are more affected by crime than others.

“For example, while Browning Drive in Winwick is highlighted as having 134 incidents in 2020 that does not mean they all occurred on that specific street.

“Browning Drive is simply the name of the snappoint name used by Crimemapper to highlight incidents in the wider Winwick area.

“Regardless of the location, I want to reassure anyone who lives, works or visits the town that whenever there is a report of a crime we take it seriously and will do everything we can to investigate what has happened, find those responsible and provide support to victims.”

No dramatic rise as restrictions ease

The police.uk website also groups some crimes by locations they were committed in, including schools and nightclubs.

For 2020, nearly all of these areas saw a drop in the number of reported incidents amid restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

And while some did see an increase for 2021, consistent with the easing of such measures, very few had crime rates as high as in 2019.

Such areas listed in Warrington for 2021 were (2020/2019 figures listed in brackets):

• Airport/airfield – 32 (34/55)
• Bus/coach Station – 27 (23/38)
• Further/higher educational building – 95 (93/110)
• Hospital – 77 (82/99)
• Motorway service area – 122 (76/124)
• Nightclub – 35 (21/48)
• Park/open space – 140 (119/89)
• Parking area – 165 (273/311)
• Pedestrian subway – 90 (136/223)
• Petrol station – 359 (337/472)
• Police station – 107 (122/472)
• Prison – 82 (90/129)
• Shopping area – 465 (344/600)
• Sports/recreation area – 289 (445/334)
• Supermarket – 462 (755/564)
• Theatre/concert hall – 2 (9/10)
• Theme/adventure park – 19 (6/26)

This echoed recent figures from the Office for National Statistics, which showed that crime fell in Warrington in every category except one.

Cheshire Police recorded 17,473 offences in Warrington in the 12 months to September 2021, according to the ONS.

That was a decrease of eight per cent compared to the previous year, when there were 19,061.

At 83.4 crimes per 1,000 people, it was slightly higher than the average rate across England and Wales – which stood at 82.4.

The most common type of crime in the town was violent offences, of which there were 7,901 – a decrease of one per cent.

Crime involving the possession of weapons such as firearms or knives saw the largest reduction with 54 offences, down 27 per cent

The only category that saw a rise was offences of stalking and harassment, of which there were 3,358 offences – a year-on-year increase of nine per cent.

Deputy chief constable Julie Cooke previously said: “I understand that residents may be concerned that the number of offences has risen over the past 12 months.

“However, it is important to note that the crimes within this category include a wide range of offences – such as harassment, stalking, malicious communications and controlling and coercive behaviour – which we have made significant progress over the past couple of years in improving how we identify and record the crimes.

“Here in Cheshire, we have a dedicated harm reduction unit which helps to protect victims of stalking, but also adopts a pioneering approach to managing offenders.

“We have also invested in training our officers to help them identify these types of offences and better understand how to deal with incidents of stalking and harassment.

“This helps us to better engage with victims and encourages them to have the confidence to come forward and report what they are being subjected to, knowing that we will take it seriously.”