University of Leeds

Leeds

Is leeds as bad as they say?

Hi, im just wondering is leeds as bad as they say?

Really paranoid because apparently burgularys in leeds are the norm, and apparently its more uncommon to NOT get burgled than to actually get burgled.

It may just be paranoid because of newspaper stories, but i do see police vans up the road from me all the time, just parked there as if they are investigating somebody.

Whenever i see a group of youngish (in 20s) males, who clearly arent students walk past, they always look like the dodgy type - baseball caps, trackys and looking right and left - shifty eye type

Ive never been anywhere in my life i have felt so paranoid and unsafe - not unsafe of gettin mugged or stabbed, but i mean unsafe that we could get burgled

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Reply 1

bettywarband

75 views no reply :frown:

University of Leeds

Leeds

Reply 2

viridzs

As far as I know it's getting more common to get burgled unfortunately but the union says it's mostly due to students not taking care such as leaving their computers and valuables at a noticible space such as in the window or not even closing the windows when noones home etc. if you're careful you should be fine. Burglaries are only a problem at student areas such as headingley. Hope this helps.

Reply 3

bettywarband

im in burley near the burley road.. is that classed as `student area?`

Reply 4

antipathyx

I'm living on Welton Road in the Hyde Park area currently and we were burgled on Christmas day, all 130 rooms in our apartment complex :frown:

Unfortunately it seems to be the norm around here

Reply 5

username1308327

Leeds is like any other city - it has its good points and bad points.

Unfortunately, burglaries are quite common in the student areas e.g. Hyde Park, but that's because burglars know that students are easy targets and some students are not very careful - walking through the park after dark, leaving windows open, keeping the door unlocked to pop out to the shop for a couple of minutes, having valuables on show, etc.

From what I have heard Burley is supposed to be more mixed - students, families and young professionals, compared to Hyde Park and Headingley, which are highly populated student areas.

Reply 6

username1308327

Original post by bettywarband

I know the feeling... :frown:

Reply 7

bettywarband

Original post by kittykatxoxo

I am so sorry to hear that... :frown:

For me I am looking for a place to live for the next academic year and I have decided to move closer to campus. I really don't want to live in Hyde Park anymore.

yeh up the road from us
tescos armed robbery
2 mintues from us is where a police officer woman got shot

5 minutes burley park area where constant daylight muggings

i hear of students being mugged in daylight near uni
and hyde park, is an absolute hotspot for muggings burgularies

its easy to say `meh its media hyper` cept when u have friends who directly talk about these experiences

and when you hear the wail of a police siren every ten minutes in leeds center or heading into the center

not even manchester is that bad

yes its petty crime but theres so much of it

Reply 8

Sh47

Lol i wanted to come to Leeds but some of the reasons put me off but i live in a bad neighbourhood as it is so should be able to deal with thugs, @ the OP you should carry pepper spray/pointy keys to protect yourself or give you time atleast to run away as soon as you are given a chance. Violence should always be a last resort though never try and be "tough" by standing toe to toe with criminals.

Reply 9

tsr000

Original post by Sh47

Pepper spray is illegal in the UK, if police finds it on you - criminal record :wink:

I think Leeds itself is quite safe. It's the surrounding areas that give it a bad name like Bradford etc which is very rough

Reply 10

kaitune

Could you tell how bad it is around the city centre? I am a tiny nerd, so I don't really stand much chances at fighting nor running away. I am moving to Leeds this sep, so this all sounds rather frightening.

Reply 11

tsr000

Original post by kaitune

City centre is just as safe as any other city centre in the UK so there's no need to worry at all. At night, it's best to stick in group and not wonder on your own but that goes for everywhere, whether that's Leeds or Chelsea.

Just make sure you don't let all the negative comments bother you too much or you will be walking round paranoid for no reason :smile:

Reply 12

indigobluesss

I've never been there so my view might be slightly biased, but a lot of my friends say it's quite dangerous at night :/

Reply 13

Danny the Geezer

Leeds is like any city, believe me Manchester is the same. Headingley is quite safe albeit has burgalries, Hyde Park is a very studenty area despite it being quite rough around the edges, just know where to go at night/take precautions etc

Reply 14

Gaunty07

I've lived in Leeds all my life. I've never been mugged, attacked or burgled once. So long as you don't go walking through dodgy areas alone, don't go out at stupid hours at night alone or leave your house/windows unlocked when you're out or sleeping, the chances of you becoming a victim of a crime in Leeds are as slim as any other City in the UK.

Reply 15

cs_expert

I live in east of London and I feel so safe any time in the day or night. I have been out on the streets, sometimes coming home from work etc. as late as midnight or even later. I have never seen anything that will make me feel unsafe. Even I go to park as late as 11PM on weekends and there are peaceful people there, sometimes families and I have never sensed any alarm or fear. Leeds is rated as a better city in terms of safety compared to London in some online surveys and statistic gathering websites. My assumption was that it would be as safe as this. I am moving there next month and some of the posts above present a pretty severe situation.

Reply 16

Jippet

I live on Victoria Road in Hyde Park and I'm moving house for next year but it's somewhere close, we just needed less bedrooms. Yes it's rough and yes there are a lot of burglaries in the area but lately I've noticed a higher police presence and since Xmas there haven't really been any that I've heard of. You just need to be careful not to leave windows and doors open and keep valuables out of sight. I haven't been burgled yet *touchwood*.

(not saying everyone who get's burgled leaves stuff open but it increases your chances obviously)

Oh aswell, it's a massively student area so the dodgy looking people you want to avoid are kind of swallowed up by the students, especially at busy times like 5pm-9pm when everyone's going to the Hyde Park sainsburys to buy their predrinks haha.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 17

sonurda

Why dont u go there yourself and have a look? Personally I don't trust people in this anymore as everybody got dofferenet opinion...
I have been told what ******* is Birmingham and how crap it all is.. And when I came there I was amazed by everything about it, nice people, modern city... As much as I wanna study there *-*...

Reply 18

Jippet

Original post by sonurda

just listen to what people have to say who actually live/lived there for a while and listen to all of them, not just the extreme ones. Should give you a good idea.

Reply 19

jo95

So I found this trend and kind of got "scared", meaning is it really as bad as the say?? Sadly I won't be able to visit the city anytime soon, but do you think is so bad in crime? Or is it like any other city?