Ipswich town centre ward with the most August crimes

Alexandra ward, which encompasses much of the town centre as well as Alexandra Park, Cardinal Park, Suffolk New College, and the University of Suffolk saw 305 crimes recorded.

The ward has borders that stretch from Civic Drive in the west to Freehold Road in the east and from Neptune Marina in the south to Crown Street in the north.

124 crimes were reported in the heart of the town centre with the majority of these occurring in the Dogs Head Street area where 46 offences were recorded.

In the northwest of the ward, Lloyds Avenue was another hotspot with 54 crimes being recorded in that area.

However, in the south of the ward there were only eight offences recorded in the area surrounding the University of Suffolk, four in the Key Street area and only two in the Waterfront area.

In the east of the ward there were nine offences recorded in the Spring Road and Woodville Road along with only three in the Alexandra Park area.

Ipswich crime map for August (Image: Google Maps)

The most common offences were violence and sexual offences with 130 recorded, followed by 50 cases of shoplifting and 33 public order offences.

However, Labour and Co-operative councillor John Cook, who is Ipswich Borough Councillor for Alexandra ward, said that it was "inevitable" that the area would see more crime than other parts of Ipswich due to its central location and the presence of a substantial night time economy in the area.

Despite this, he was keen to emphasise that the ward was generally a safe place and that he was regularly in touch with the police.

Councillor John Cook. (Image: John Cook) He said: "Alexandra Ward covers the whole of the town centre, so the vast majority of shops, pubs, restaurants, take aways, night clubs, the Magistrates Court are in the ward. The sheer number of people in the town centre - a minority of whom will have criminal intent - makes it inevitable that it will see more crime.

"If you were able to look at the rest of Alexandra beyond the town centre, you'll find the figures more in line with the rest of Ipswich.

"I'd wish to assure residents that Alexandra is a generally safe place to live, but that we're not complacent. I've lived in the ward and worked in the town centre for 24 years and feel safe here. I have regular meetings with the Police from the local PCSOs and PCs up to the Superintendent responsible for Ipswich, and I have confidence in them. That's not to say I'm not always urging them to do more.

"The Borough Council also has a role to play, as does Ipswich Central. We have a good network of CCTV cameras monitored by Council officers. Most of these sensibly focus on the town centre."

Gipping ward in the south of the town had the second highest number of crimes recorded in August at 103 followed by Stoke Park with 100, Westgate 95 and Priory Heath with 86.

Castle Hill in the northwest of Ipswich was the ward that saw the lowest number of crimes recorded at 21 followed by Sprites with 29, Rushmere 34 and Holywells where 37 were recorded.