Coventry: The most dangerous city in the UK?

I have never quite understood my fellow students’ opinions on Coventry. Sure, it’s not the most exciting place to live in the world, but the level of disgust that was produced from what seemed like one trip to Kasbah on the Uni Express confused me. Certainly the assertion that Coventry was in any way dangerous seemed a slight exaggeration.

Perhaps I was wrong, judging by this latest article. US-based geography website World Atlas has recently named Coventry as the most dangerous city in the UK and the seventh most dangerous in Europe. According to the website: “the city suffers from a myriad of criminal activities. Anti-social behaviour, burglary, theft, drugs, robbery, sexual assault, and shop-lifting all cause insecurity in this city”. I, like a lot of people, was sceptical. About as sceptical as that time Fox News said Birmingham was a ‘no-go’ area for non-Muslims.

The assertion that Coventry was in any way dangerous seemed a slight exaggeration

Essentially, I find it somewhat hard to believe that Coventry is a more dangerous place than almost every other major city in the UK. Off the top of my head, I can think of places such as London,Manchester, Nottingham or Belfast that better fit the bill. In a short Google session with crime statistics that are probably as valid as that World Atlas article, it seems that I am correct. Coventry is not nearly as dangerous as other cities I have mentioned.

Before this, I like most people, had never heard of World Atlas. Upon reading the article in question, I’d like to know how they reached this conclusion. I can’t imagine them poring over their gathered data and meticulous research with much care for the city they were condemning.

Look, far be it from me to pass judgement,given the hapharzard use of citations in some of my essays, but using a Daily Mirror article which acknowledges Coventry as below the UK average crime rate seems counterproductive to your argument. How is it possible for Coventry to have below average crime rates and maintain being the most dangerous city in the UK?

Off the top of my head, I can think of places such as London,Manchester, Nottingham or Belfast that better fit the bill

World Atlas also highlighted “hot-spots” of criminal activity such as Willenhall, Foleshill, Hillfields and Wood End. Granted, I wouldn’t walk through some of the areas they mentioned alone at night, but that is in part due to an aversion to physical exercise that I, like most students, suffer from. I used to contemplate getting a taxi from Pop to Sherbourne, after all.
However, I find it interesting that these were the areas that had the most attention. World Atlas admits to basing their rankings on “perceived threat of being annoyed, harassed, insulted, or solicited by Locals”. I have memories of the `Scooby Doo, buy the Big Issue’ man in Coventry city centre as much as any local, but I don’t think that’s quite what they meant. What exactly is a perceived threat meant to entail? Moreover, is there any proven correlation between perceiving a threat and there actually being one? If I feel threatened that does not mean that I am in direct danger, I could just be an incredibly anxious person.

Mention areas such as Willenhall, Hillfields (home of student favourite Kasbah) or Wood End to anyone who has spent any time in Coventry and they may potentially wince but they will not be terrified at the very thought. I’m not saying there isn’t crime in these areas, but not nearly as much as this article makes out.

World Atlas admits to basing their rankings on “perceived threat of being annoyed, harassed, insulted, or solicited by Locals”

Now, I don’t want to draw any wild conclusions but I do find it interesting that the words “perceived threat are tied to areas which historically have large immigrant populations. Foleshill, according to the 2001 census, was the only Coventry ward to have a majority non-white population. I am not drawing a correlation but the focus on ‘percieved threats’ being highest when locals consider largely immigrant areas perhaps highlights an attitude towards immigration which is more problematic than the perfectly normal crime rates in Coventry.