‘Everyone has CCTV,’ in Leeds’ most deprived neighbourhood with the highest crime rates.
If you walk through Beeston Hill and look closely at the corners of the houses, you will likely see an array of small, white, unimposing-looking cameras dotted around like barnacles on the red brick terraced homes. ‘It’s for safety,’ says a young resident, who fears someone coming to his house to ‘start something,’ citing issues with drug addicts, gangs and homeless people pervading the streets of the south Leeds estate.
The Beeston Hill area has the worst deprivation levels in the city, and is one of the most deprived in the country, according to the 2019 Index of Multiple Deprivation. It’s the 38th worst area for deprivation in the UK.
Beeston Hill and Hunslet Moor came out as having the highest crime rates outside the city centre, with 179 crimes reported in September, according to Police.UK. That’s a rate of 26.6 crimes per 1,000 people.
West Yorkshire Police has said drugs and street gangs are a big issue in the area and have been taking a ‘robust’ approach with drugs warrants and ‘trap house’ closures. The force urged worried residents to keep up a regular dialogue with them as they’re keen to work with the community.
Leeds City Council has said Beeston is a ‘priority area’ and they’ve focused their efforts to improve it with community engagement. The council has set up multiple projects in this goal.
Father and son Mohammed Alamin and Ryhan Qureshi, 49 and 21, have a closed-circuit camera set up in their home. It’s hooked up to a flat screen monitor in the kitchen and shows multiple angles of vision outside their home. They’ve said this isn’t uncommon.
General shots of Beeston Hill
(Image: Samuel Port)
Warehouse worker Ryhan said: “This whole estate has CCTV, everyone has CCTV. You see cameras everywhere, here. It’s for safety, you got to make sure, you want to be safe. If someone comes to yours and tries to start something then you’ve got CCTV there.
“The UK is in a very very big crisis, all prices are up. People are struggling in their lives.”
The father-of-four loves his neighbourhood and said he was involved in getting a playground and a jungle gym installed in their local park, Brickfield Park on Lady Pit Lane. He’s now keen to have more trees planted in the area to further enhance the ‘beautiful’ park and improve the air quality.
While the pair are grateful for the work Leeds City Council has done to improve the area, they feel more still needs to be done. Rhyan said: “The council have started doing a lot of stuff but I think they need to tackle issues of people hanging about and doing bad things. There’s a lot of crime here, too.
“They should be building stuff for kids like youth centres for places that kids can go. They only thing they know is the streets and there’s some bad influences there.”
CCTV on a Beeston home
(Image: Samuel Port)
He went on: “They smoke a lot of drugs and stuff, like crack, all those Class A drugs. They’ll smoke all them. It’s not good for the community.
“There’s a lot of homeless people. Next to the petrol station, you’ll see a lot of people sleeping. Dewsbury Road, they’ll be sleeping in gardens. It makes me feel sad. I think about what it would be like if I was in their position and had nowhere to go to. I want to help them, any money I have, I’ll give them.”
‘It makes me feel really bad’
Bangla Town shop owner Mahammed Babu Ahmed
(Image: Samuel Port)
Corner shop Bangla Town is in the heart of Beeston Hill, in Lady Pit Lane. Owner Mahammed Babu Ahmed, 44, took over the shop about a year ago.
He gave a heartfelt insight into the living conditions of the area. Mahammed said: “In the night-time, all over, there’s people begging. Lots of people sleeping rough.
“There’s lots of people shouting in the road and drinking. I’ve seen people throwing cans and bottles through windows and on the road, all over.
“Sometimes they break into houses as well and take things, burgling. It makes me feel really bad. We report it a lot to the police.”
Mahammed says rough sleepers begging is a big problem in the area
(Image: Samuel Port)
The father-of-six sometimes gets people coming into his shop, begging for food and he just has to let them have it. Mahammed said: “Sometimes they’ll ask for bread, a sandwich or some little things, like milk.
“In the community, I feel like if someone asks something from you, I feel like it’s the right thing to do, to help them. If I see someone who doesn’t have anything, that’s when I give to him.”
Inspector Mark Lund, who heads the Leeds South Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Beeston Hill is part of an inner-city area that has some significant challenges around crime and anti-social behaviour, particularly the organised supply of drugs at street level.
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“We remain firmly committed to doing everything we can alongside our partner agencies to tackle these issues and to bring those responsible to justice.
“We continue to take a robust approach through a range of initiatives and operations, including drugs warrants, ‘trap house’ closures and other proactive work in partnership with Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team.
“We are always keen to hear people’s concerns and are in regular dialogue with community representatives and residents to help prioritise our work.
Rowland Road in Beeston Hill
(Image: Samuel Port)
“Information from the community remains a vital element in our work to tackle drug dealing and we urge people to pass that on to us either directly to local officers at any of our regular contact points or anonymously through Crimestoppers.
“People have the absolute right to feel safe in their area and we will continue doing everything we can to reassure residents and root out the minority of offenders who cause the greatest amount of harm.”
Leeds City Council says it has invested approximately £60,000 a year into youth activities. It added that most of the housing in the area is private-rented with Leeds City Council managing approximately 900 dwellings. It added that rent arrears in this area have reduced during the last 12 months with the help of this support.
It has also set up various projects to engage with the community, such as youth clubs and football teams. It has also set up Problem Solving Partnership Group to address longer term challenges around crime and anti-social behaviour.
Councillor Mary Harland (L, Kippax and Methley), executive member for communities, customer service and community safety, said: “The area in and around Beeston Hill is one which is a priority area for the council with significant focused support being provided.
“At the heart of that support is community engagement, working in partnership with people of all ages and backgrounds as well as stakeholders in the area to make a difference and improve the daily lives of all residents and the local environment they share. We are very proud of this collective work, and look forward to continuing to strengthen these relationships in the months and years ahead.”
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