How depressing...
City's shocking toll of sex attacks on women
Preston has one of the highest rates of sexual attacks on women in the North West, shock new figures reveal today.A report from the North West Public Health Observatory shows the city has the third highest rate of sexual assaults in the region.
Between 2001 and 2006 there were 1.11 sexual assaults for every 1,000 women in the city. Only Blackpool with 1.4 and Manchester with 1.8 had a higher rate of incidents.
It means there has been more sexual assaults in Preston than crime hotspots such as Liverpool. And the shock figures put Preston above the North West average of 0.85 offences. The England and Wales average is 0.88 offences.
Preston MP Mark Hendrick today said the findings were worrying.
He said: "I'm very concerned about these figures. I think we need to look more deeply into the statistics before coming to any conclusions, but I would be interested to see how they relate to figures on alcohol abuse."
The North West Public Health Observatory said higher figures have been seen in more "deprived" areas of the North West.
Prof Mark Bellis, who co-authored the report, said: "These indicators paint a clear picture of the challenges the region faces, especially in its poorest communities."
The figures are more favourable in other parts of the county. In South Ribble there were 0.6 sexual offences, in Wyre there was 0.44, 0.38 in the Ribble Valley, 0.63 in Chorley, 0.58 in Chorley and 0.48 in West Lancashire. In Lancaster there were 0.82 and in Fylde 0.58 per 1,000 women.
05 December 2006
http://www.prestontoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=73&ArticleID=1914087
