North Wales News: Wrexham is worst university town for viloent crime says survey

A UNIVERSITY is one of the worst in Britain for having nearby violent crime according to a new survey.

Wrexhams Glyndwr University was top of the Complete University Guides league for violent incidents within a three-mile radius of the campus, outside of London.

Yesterday university chiefs said the statistics did not directly record crime on the campus and they took student safety very seriously.

The guide looked at three of the most common crimes, violence, burglary and robbery, against all people.

According to the statistics, which used police data, between June 2011 and May 2012 there were 1.63 violent crimes recorded per 1,000 people in a three mile radius of Glyndwr.

Wrexham was followed by Portsmouth and Bristol universities for violent crime.

But Glyndwr fared better for robbery with just 0.02 reported per 1,000 people and 0.76 per 1,000 for burglary, putting it much further down those leagues.

The worst for robbery were Aston and Birmingham City on 0.39 per 1,000, and Leeds was worst for burglary on 1.41.

But the cumulative crime ratings put Glyndr into the top 10 out of 82 universities on the table.

Lynda Powell, Glyndwr Universitys director of campus management and commercial services said: Glyndwr University takes the security of its students extremely seriously.

I would stress that the survey records crime in a three mile radius of the campus and not crime on the campus or directly involving students.

Outside London, the University of Buckingham, the UKs longest-established private university, emerged with the lowest cumulative crime rates, followed by the universities of Aberystwyth and Durham.

Bernard Kingston, founder of The Complete University Guide, said: While these crimes are the three most commonly perpetrated against students, the figures relate to all victims, not just students.

Our new methodology allows potential students to assess the risks for individual institutions with much greater precision, at least for England and Wales.

In the absence of data for crimes affecting university students specifically, either on or off campuses, they offer the best available guide.

Dr Kingston added: Quality of tuition and the prospects for employment after graduation are key elements in choosing a university course, but it is important not to overlook other aspects of the environment in which the student will be living for three or more years.

Our university cities do not exist in isolation from the communities within which they are located, and, regrettably, crime is a constant presence.

Universities in Greater London are located in areas with the highest crime rates and were listed separately. For the first time, the Guide published figures for all universities in England and Wales. In past years it has focused on cities with two or more universities.

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