Calls for women bouncers and more thorough checks on club-goers in Halifax

The borough’s Conservative group made the suggestions in a motion to Calderdale Council in response to what they say is a growing problem with violence in Halifax town centre’s night time economy.

Their ideas also included a traffic light system for bars and clubs in Halifax depending on how many violent incidents they are linked to, expanding the use of drug wipes and reviewing alcohol promotions, and promoting the Ask Angela women’s safety campaign.

At a council meeting, Leader of the Council Tim Swift (Lab, Town) said the Conservatives had agreed to withdraw their motion after a discussion between group leaders because all three party groups – had an interest in the issues raised.

Calderdale Community Safety Partnership, and the council's other partners with a role in it, have been asked to do some work to see how it could be taken forward on a cross-party basis, said Coun Swift.

Figures obtained by the Courier from West Yorkshire Police via a Freedom of Information request show there were nearly 100 more violent incidents in Halifax’s Town ward between August 1 and October 31 2021 compared to the same period in 2019.

The offences - which happened at residential properties as well as in the town centre - included incidents of violence, rape and other sexual offences.

The number of assaults with injury rose from 122 to 164, and the number of rapes went up from two to nine.

Chief Inspector Gary Panther, of Calderdale District Police, said: “Although it is rare, we realise that instances of violent offences within Calderdale can rightly cause public concern and we continue to take a proactive and robust approach to tackling serious and violent crime.

“It is important to note a proportion of the rise in offences can be put down to improvements on how we record crime which has an impact on the figures.

“Officers across the district continue to work extremely hard to provide the best possible service to residents and are committed to keeping our communities safe.”

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